Target audience: Content editors who regularly publish news
This guide covers everything you need to know about creating and managing news items in the Site Manager.
Working with Categories
Categories help organize your news into logical groupings. Before creating news items, set up your category structure.
Creating Categories
- Navigate to Media > News > Manage categories
- Click Create news category
- Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Parish Announcements," "Youth Ministry," "Saints' Lives")
- Configure options:
- RSS: Enable if you want this category to appear in RSS feeds
- Search: Enable to make this category searchable on your site
- Click Save Changes
Organizing Categories
Reorder categories by dragging and dropping them in the list. This order affects how they appear in category selection menus.
Managing Category Contents
Click any category name to see all news items within it. From here you can:
- Create new items in that category
- Reorder items by priority
- Edit or delete existing items
Creating News Items
Getting Started
- Go to Media > News
- Click Create news item
- The news item editor opens with several sections
Basic Information
Title
The headline for your news article. This appears in news listings and at the top of the full article page.
Page Name
The URL-friendly name for this article (e.g., "sunday-homily-march-12"). Leave blank and the system will generate one automatically from your title.
Brief Description
A summary that appears in news listings. Keep this concise - typically 2-3 sentences. This helps readers decide if they want to read the full article.
Featured Image
Click the image placeholder to select or upload an image. This image appears in news listings and at the top of the full article. For best results:
- Use high-quality images (at least 800px wide)
- Choose images relevant to the content
- Ensure proper permissions for any photos used
Properties
Category
Select which category this item belongs to. Each item can only be in one category.
Tags
Add searchable keywords that describe your content. Type a tag and press semicolon to add it. For example, a homily might be tagged with: "Great Lent; fasting; prayer; repentance"
Tags help visitors find related content when searching or filtering news.
Media Type
Classify what type of content this is. Common types include:
- Article
- Video
- Audio/Podcast
- Photo Gallery
- Document
You can create custom media types by typing a new name and pressing semicolon.
Authors
Select who wrote or presented this content. Authors must first be created in Contacts under the Media menu. You can select multiple authors.
Original Source & Source URL
If you're republishing content from another website (with permission), credit the original source here. Enter the publication name in "Original Source" and the URL in "Source URL."
External URL
By default, each news item gets its own page on your site. However, you can link to an external page instead:
- Click the Select Link button
- Choose from pages on your site, other news items, store products, or uploaded files
- Or manually enter any external URL
When visitors click "More Info," they'll go to this URL instead of the internal article page.
News Display Settings
These settings control when and how your news item appears on your website.
Display with
Choose when this item should be visible:
- Depends on date: The item automatically moves between current and archive based on the dates you set below. Use this for most news items.
- Current items: Always appears in current news listings, never archives. Use for evergreen content you want to keep visible.
- Archive items: Only appears in archive view, not in current listings. Use for historical content.
Current as of
The date and time when this item becomes visible. You can:
- Set it to the past to publish immediately
- Set it to the future to schedule publication
- Include a specific time (defaults to now + 30 minutes)
Archive as of
The date when this item moves from current to archive view. Archived items don't appear in regular news listings but remain accessible via search and direct links.
The system defaults to 3 months from now, but adjust based on your content:
- Weekly announcements: 7 days
- Event promotions: Day after the event
- Feature articles: 6-12 months
- Permanent content: Use "Current items" instead
Show with News
Master toggle that controls whether this item appears in any news listings. Turn this off to:
- Hide draft content while keeping it accessible via direct link
- Temporarily remove content without deleting it
- Keep the full article page live while removing it from news feeds
The item remains accessible to anyone with the direct URL even when hidden from listings.
Calendar Integration
If you want this news item to also appear on your site's calendar:
Show on Calendar
Enable this option to display the item as a calendar event.
Event Start
The date and time when the event begins.
Event End
Optional. The date and time when the event ends. Leave blank for events without a specific end time.
This is useful for content like:
- Parish events with specific dates
- Feast days and liturgical celebrations
- Classes or meetings
- Fundraisers or social gatherings
The item will appear in both news listings AND on your calendar.
Push Notifications
If your site has push notifications enabled, you can automatically notify subscribers when you publish new content.
Send Notification
Turn this on to send a push notification. By default, this is ON for new items and OFF when editing existing items.
Notification Delay
Choose when to send the notification:
- No delay: Sends immediately when you save
- Current + 15/30/45/60 minutes: Delays the notification
- Current + 2/3/4/5 hours: For more substantial delays
Delayed notifications are useful when:
- You're publishing multiple items and want to stagger notifications
- You want to publish now but notify subscribers later
- You're scheduling content in advance
Editing the Full Article Page
After creating a news item, you can add detailed content to its article page:
- From the news item list, click the page icon next to any item
- The page editor opens with the standard Site Manager page builder
- Add content using sections:
- Text blocks with formatting
- Additional images and galleries
- Embedded videos
- Document downloads
- Custom HTML
The page automatically includes:
- The news item title as the page title
- Breadcrumb navigation
- Publication date
- Author information
- Tags and categories
- Featured image
You can add as much or as little additional content as needed. Some articles might just need the brief description, while others might include multiple paragraphs, images, and embedded media.
Managing Existing Items
Viewing All News Items
Go to Media > News to see a searchable table of all news items. You can:
- Sort by any column (title, category, date, etc.)
- Search for specific items
- Filter by date range
Editing Items
From the news list, each item has several action buttons:
- Pencil icon: Edit the item properties (title, dates, category, etc.)
- Page icon: Edit the full article content
- Bell icon: Send a push notification for this item (if you didn't send one initially)
Deleting Items
Click the dropdown menu and select Delete. You'll be asked to confirm. Deleted items cannot be recovered, so be certain before deleting.
Consider hiding items (turn off "Show with News") instead of deleting if you might want them later.
Best Practices
Publication Scheduling
- Use future dates in "Current as of" to schedule content in advance
- Batch-create multiple items and schedule them throughout the week
- Set appropriate archive dates so content doesn't become stale
Writing Descriptions
- Keep brief descriptions concise and engaging
- Include the key information readers need to decide if they want to read more
- Avoid duplicating the title - add new information
Image Selection
- Use high-quality, relevant images
- Maintain consistent image styles across your news items
- Properly attribute images you don't own
- Consider creating custom graphics for announcements without obvious photos
Categorization
- Create categories that make sense for your visitors
- Don't create too many categories - 5-10 is usually sufficient
- Use tags for more granular organization within categories
Archiving Strategy
- Set realistic archive dates based on content type
- Review archived content periodically and delete truly outdated material
- Use the archive date to create urgency for time-sensitive content
Notifications
- Don't overuse push notifications - sending too many trains users to ignore them
- Reserve notifications for your most important content
- Consider your audience's timezone when scheduling notification delays