GabrielSoft - Managing your Homepage Feature Region

The homepage feature region is a very important element of your website! It is the “top of the fold” region of your homepage, which is usually the first thing visitors see when they land on your site.

Here’s the biggest question you need to ask yourself before you dive in:

Do I want to display photo(s) or video?

As you consider the type of feature region you'd like to build on your website, you must fundamentally decide what type of content you'd like to feature. With eCatholic, you can configure your feature region to display two types of content: photo(s) or video.

  1. Photo Mode - upload one or more still images into the feature region.
  2. Video Mode - embed a video in the feature region.
1

Using Photo Mode

If you want to display one or more still images in your feature region, here’s what you need to know.

The size of your feature region matters when displaying photos. You must choose from the following feature region sizes (illustrated above):
  • Standard - 650 x 325 pixels (2:1 aspect ratio)
  • Wide - 975 x 325 pixels (3:1 aspect ratio)
  • Full - 1920 x 480 pixels (4:1 aspect ratio)
  • Full XL - 1920 x 810 pixels (64:27 aspect ratio)
Don't want a feature region at all? If you  do not want a feature region on your homepage, use the None filter in the Feature Region Size filters to view themes that allow for this configuration.

Any photo(s) you upload to your feature region will be cropped to the exact pixel dimensions of the region format you select.

LEARN MORE: Check out How to add pictures to the homepage feature region for instructions, tips, and best practices.
2

Using Video Mode

If you want to display video in your feature region, here’s what you need to know.

Once you select a homepage layout that supports Video Mode, you can easily add a video from:

  • YouTube - Paste the URL of any video hosted on YouTube
  • Vimeo - Paste the URL of any video hosted on Vimeo
  • Your eCatholic LIVE archive - Select a video from your LIVE archives (eCatholic LIVE subscribers only)

Compared to using Photo Mode, the size of your feature region isn’t as critical when using Video Mode. Only the Standard and Full XL feature region sizes are compatible with Video Mode. Most users prefer the Full XL format for video, which will display your video in a 64:27 aspect ratio.

LEARN MORE: Visit How to add video to the homepage feature region for instructions, tips, and best practices.

Choosing the right theme and homepage layout

Once you decide which sort of feature region you’d like to build, it's important to choose a theme and homepage layout that support your preferences. Here's what you need to do:

1

Select a theme

  1. Go to the Design Studio.
  2. Click the Explore Theme button to open the Select a Theme dialog (pictured below).

  3. Use the Feature Region Size filters to filter the themes based on your preferences (pictured below).

2

Select a homepage layout

Once you've selected a theme, the next step is to choose the correct homepage layout that matches your preferences. Still in the Design Studio:

  1. Click the Layouts button to view your homepage layout options (pictured below).

  2. Use the thumbnail images for each layout to identify the type of feature region you want to build ( pictured below).

    1. Layouts that support Photo Mode are marked with an image icon.
    2. Layouts that support Video Mode are marked with a video icon.

NOTE: When choosing a layout, the homepage feature region isn't the only important factor; you should also consider button regions as well as the arrangement of the homepage content columns.