Manage Content Blocks

Manage Content Blocks

Update the supporting content of your website without rebuilding the pages that display it.

Not everything on a website is a Post or a Page. A homepage introduction, a permanent call to action, or the text beside an illustration may belong to a designed component rather than an individual publication. Content Blocks give those values a dedicated place in VerdinCore's Dashboard.

This guide shows how to create a Block Group, build a Block from typed elements, update its values, and check that a website template displays the result. The important distinction is that you manage the content in the Dashboard; the template determines where and how it appears.

What you'll do

1. Create a Block Group to organize related content.

2. Create a Block inside that group.

3. Add Text, Link, Rich Text, and Image elements.

4. Save and maintain the Block as its content changes.

5. Verify the result on a website that uses the Block.

Before you begin: Sign in with an account permitted to manage Blocks (an Admin or Superadmin in the audited role configuration). For this walkthrough, prepare a short homepage message, a link to a destination on your site, and an image you are allowed to publish.

An important prerequisite: A newly created Block does not automatically appear on the public website. A developer or site implementer must have connected the intended template to that Block. You can complete the Dashboard steps independently, but a public preview requires that connection.

1. Create a Block Group

Go to Dashboard → Blocks. The page provides three actions near the top: Block Groups, Add Block Group, and Add Block. If this is your first Block, begin by creating a group.

1. Select Add Block Group.

2. In the New Block Group dialog, enter a descriptive Name, such as Homepage Content.

3. Enter a Handle, such as homepage_content.

4. Select Save changes.

((Screenshot from VerdinCore Dashboard > Blocks > Add Block Group: show the "New Block Group" dialog with Name set to "Homepage Content" and Handle set to "homepage_content". Keep the field explanations and "Save changes" button visible. Frame the dialog closely at approximately 1200 × 800, with a little of the Blocks page behind it. Suggested caption: "Create a named group to keep related website content together." Hide any real administrative identifiers.))

Names and handles have different jobs

A group Name identifies the group to people working in the Dashboard. A Handle gives it a stable identifier for use by the site's implementation.

For group and block handles, use letters, numbers, and underscores, without spaces. Choose something meaningful from the beginning. A handle that is referenced by a template is not merely a label: changing it later can require a corresponding template change.

To inspect your groups, select Block Groups on the Blocks page. The popover lists each group's Name, Handle, and number of Blocks. Select Edit beside a group to change its details.

((Screenshot from VerdinCore Dashboard > Blocks > Block Groups: open the "Block Groups" popover after creating "Homepage Content". Show the group name, homepage_content handle, block count, and "Edit" control; keep the "Add Block" action visible in the background if possible. Approximately 1350 × 850. Suggested caption: "Block Groups provide a clear overview of related content units." Use demonstration groups only.))

2. Create a Block

Now create a content unit that belongs to your new group. For this example, we will prepare a panel introducing a set of guides.

1. From Dashboard → Blocks, select Add Block.

2. In the New Block dialog, choose Homepage Content from Select a Group.

3. Enter guide_highlight in Handle.

4. Enter a helpful Description, such as Homepage panel promoting the guides section.

5. Keep the dialog open; you will add the content elements next.

The Description is for the people maintaining the content, not a heading automatically displayed on the public website.

A Block's handle must be unique across Blocks, not just within its group. Just as with a group handle, treat it as a lasting reference once a website template depends on it.

3. Add the elements

The Block editor offers four Add element buttons: Text, Link, Image, and Rich Text. Each click adds a new entry of that type. Every entry needs its own Handle so the website can distinguish one value from another.

We'll create a Block with five values:

These names and values are examples for this walkthrough, not a claim that VerdinCore ships with this particular homepage component.

Add the text and link values

1. Select Text, enter title as the element Handle, and enter Explore the guides as its Value.

2. Select Text again. Use button_label and Browse guides.

3. Select Link. Use button_url and enter /guides, or the appropriate destination on your website.

A Link element stores a destination, not the visible button label. Keeping button_label and button_url separate lets the template decide how to render the action. Relative links and permitted URL schemes can be used; unsafe link protocols are rejected during validation.

Add formatted text

Select Rich Text, enter description as its Handle, and write a short introduction in the compact editor.

The Rich Text controls support bold, italic, links, bulleted and numbered lists, and undo/redo. This is intentionally a smaller editing experience than the main Post and Page editor. Use it for content that needs modest formatting, not for an entire article.

Add an image

1. Select Image.

2. Enter illustration as its element Handle.

3. Choose a supported image file with the image upload control.

4. Wait for the upload to finish and for the filename to appear in the field beside the uploader.

The image is uploaded separately from the Block save operation. Selecting a file is not enough: the Block needs a successfully uploaded image reference before the Image element can be saved. While the upload is in progress, the Block's save action is unavailable.

In this workflow, Block images retain their accepted source format rather than going through the Post/Page featured-image crop pipeline. Do not expect a crop-position editor here.

((Screenshot from VerdinCore Dashboard > Blocks > Add Block: show the "New Block" dialog after populating the guide_highlight example. Include the selected Group, Handle, Description, "Add element" buttons and populated Text, Link, Rich Text, and Image sections. Make the image upload filename and "Save changes" control readable. Use a desktop capture approximately 1700 × 1100; take two successive frames if a single capture makes the fields too small. Suggested caption: "A Block brings together typed content values without prescribing their layout." Use fictional text and a non-sensitive illustration.))

Before saving, check that each element Handle is distinct within the Block. Avoid ambiguous identifiers such as text1 or field2 when title, button_url, or illustration would make their purpose clearer.

4. Save the Block and find it again

When all values are ready, select Save changes. The Dashboard returns to the Blocks listing after a successful save.

The list shows information useful for ongoing maintenance, including Handle, Group, Elements, Description, and creation/update dates. You can narrow the list using Block Group or change Sort Order to find recent or frequently edited Blocks.

To inspect the result:

1. Find guide_highlight in the Blocks list.

2. Confirm that it belongs to Homepage Content and has five elements.

3. Select Edit to reopen it.

4. Check that its text, link, Rich Text, and image reference have been retained.

((Screenshot from VerdinCore Dashboard > Blocks: show the saved guide_highlight row with Group "Homepage Content", element count 5, its Description, and the "Edit" action. Include "Block Group" and "Sort Order" filters above the table. Approximately 1600 × 900. Suggested caption: "The Blocks list makes structured content easy to find and revisit." Hide real usernames or unrelated internal records.))

5. Make an ordinary content update

Suppose the guide collection has grown and the homepage message needs changing. You should not have to rebuild the panel simply to revise its wording.

1. Open Dashboard → Blocks.

2. Find guide_highlight and select Edit.

3. Change the title Value to Explore our latest guides.

4. Revise the Rich Text description or replace the link destination if necessary.

5. Select Save changes.

6. Open the public page where the Block is actually used and verify the result.

What should remain unchanged? The Block's handle, the element handles, and the template's intended layout. For normal copy changes, edit values rather than identifiers.

An edit in the Dashboard changes the stored content. Whether and where that content appears publicly is determined by the active template. If the component was never configured to use guide_highlight, the new Block will not cause a panel to appear by itself.

((Screenshot from a real, published VerdinCore-powered website showing a component demonstrably connected to the guide_highlight Block, after the updated title is saved. Show the full component plus enough surrounding layout to establish its place on the page; use approximately 1500 × 850. Suggested caption: "The website template presents updated Block content within its existing design." Capture this only after confirming that the real template uses the Block. Otherwise omit the screenshot; never substitute a mockup of an unimplemented integration.))

6. Reorganize or remove content carefully

As your website evolves, Blocks may need new homes or become unnecessary. The editor allows you to change a Block's Group and values, remove individual elements, and delete an entire Block.

To delete a Block, open it through Edit, select the Delete block control and confirm the prompt. This action cannot be undone. Check where the Block is used before deleting it.

To delete a Group, open Block Groups, select Edit for that group, and use the delete control. VerdinCore will not delete a Group that still contains Blocks; move or delete them first.

Maintenance rule: Content values can change frequently. Handles should change rarely and deliberately, in coordination with whoever maintains the website templates.

Troubleshooting

Keep the content flexible and the design intentional

Content Blocks are useful precisely because they do not try to turn every content update into a layout decision. The editor can revise the message; the website keeps the component's visual structure.

That is the workflow to remember: organize the content, give its fields stable names, edit their values, and verify the result where the template uses them. Once that connection exists, small changes remain small jobs.

Related documentation: Reusable Content Blocks · Themes & Rendering · Posts & Pages