Understanding the Page Editor in eDirectory

Introduction

The Page Editor is one of the main customization areas of your eDirectory website. You can access it through Design > Page Editor in your Site Manager.

Think of the Page Editor as a map of your website. It contains all the pages currently available on your site, such as the Home Page, Listings Page, Events Page, Articles Page, Contact Page, and many others.

In this article, we will explore how the Page Editor works, how widgets are used to build your pages, and how you can customize the layout and organization of your website content.

Accessing the Page Editor

To access the Page Editor:

1. Log into your Site Manager
2. Go to Design

3. Click on Page Editor

Inside this area, you will see the list of pages available on your site.

Each page can be individually customized.

Understanding Widgets

When you click to edit a page (for example, the Home Page), you will notice that the page is divided into sections called Widgets.

Widgets are individual blocks responsible for displaying specific content or sections of the page in the frontend of your website.

For example:

• The Header Widget displays the website header and navigation menu
• The Search Widget displays the search bar
• The Featured Listings Widget displays featured listings
• Other widgets may display events, articles, classifieds, banners, categories, and more

Each widget has its own purpose and settings.

Drag and Drop Flexibility

One of the main advantages of the Page Editor is its flexibility.

Widgets can be:

• Dragged and dropped to different positions on the page
• Reordered to change how content appears
• Individually edited
• Removed if no longer needed

This allows you to completely reorganize the structure and appearance of your pages without requiring coding knowledge.

To drag and reposition a widget:

1. Locate the desired widget on the page
2. Click on the ☰ option of the widget. After clicking it, an icon with arrows will appear

2. Click and hold the drag icon
3. Drag the widget up or down to the desired position on the page

4. Once you find the desired spot, simply release the widget to drop it into place

5. The new position of the widget will be refleted on the frontend.

Understanding the Pages in the Page Editor

Each page inside the Page Editor represents a real page of your eDirectory website.

For example, if you edit the Home Page inside the Page Editor, the changes will directly affect the Home Page displayed on the frontend of your website.

If you make changes and want to instantly preview how the page looks, you can use the Eye icon to be redirected directly to the Home page on the frontend.

For pages other than the Home Page, you may also see a View button while editing the page. Clicking this button will open the frontend version of that specific page.

Why Some Pages Have the "View" Option and Others Do Not

Inside the Page Editor, you may notice that some pages have the View option while others do not.

This happens because some pages already contain all the necessary content and widgets required to display immediately.

For example:

• The Home Page already contains widgets such as Header, Banner, Search, and Featured Listings
• Since the content is already available, the page can be previewed directly

However, some pages display dynamic content and require user interaction before they can appear.

For example:

• The Results Page does not have a View option because the page only appears after a user performs a search on the frontend
• Listing Reviews pages require a listing to be accessed first
• Listing Detail pages require the user to click on a specific listing

Because these pages depend on user interaction or dynamic data, they cannot always be previewed directly from the Page Editor.

Exclusive Widgets for Specific Pages

Some pages contain widgets that are exclusive to that page type and cannot be used on other pages.

For example:

• The Results Page contains the Results Widget, which is responsible for displaying search results

• Category and Location pages contain widgets specifically designed to display categories and locations for Listings, Classifieds, Events, Deals, Blogs, and Articles

Detail Pages

Detail Pages are the frontend pages where users can view the complete information for a specific piece of content, such as a Listing, Classified, Event, Deal, Blog, or Article.

Each Detail Page contains exclusive Detail Widgets that are responsible for displaying the content information entered through the submission forms. These widgets automatically pull and organize the content data for display on the frontend.

The only content type that includes a customizable template is the Listing content type. Listings use the Listing Template system, which allows users to design and customize how the Listing Detail Page will display the information entered in the listing form.

You can verify this by editing the Listing Detail Widget. When you click to edit the widget, the Listing Template page will be displayed.

For the other content types — such as Classifieds, Events, Deals, Articles, and Blogs — the Detail Pages use a fixed Detail Widget with a predefined layout. These layouts cannot be customized through templates like Listings.

When editing these Detail Widgets, you can preview in the widget image how the information will be displayed on the frontend.

The widget automatically pulls the content directly from the form fields associated with that content type.

The widgets positioned above and below the Detail Widget are usually static widgets, such as:

• Header
• Search Bar
• Footer

The actual content information displayed on the frontend is controlled by the Detail Widget itself and is automatically shown when users access the content page.

Other Exclusive Widgets

Some pages also contain their own exclusive widgets, such as:

• FAQ
• Contact Us
• Advertise With Us
• Identification
• Check-out
• Payment Confirmation
• Claim

These widgets are specifically designed for those pages and cannot be used on other pages.

Different Widget Layouts

The pages of the site offer multiple widget layout options.

This includes layouts for:

• Header
• Search box
• Categories
• Content sections (Listings, Events, Classifieds, Articles, etc.)
• Footer

If you do not like the current layout of a section, you can:

1. Delete the existing widget

2. Click on Add a Widget

3. Search for another widget with a different layout

4. Add the new widget to the page

This makes it easy to experiment with different designs and page structures.

Understanding the Home Pages of Contents

Each content type on your website has its own Home Page, such as:

• Listing Home
• Classified Home
• Event Home
• Deal Home
• Blog Home
• Article Home

These Home Pages are important because they help define the structure of your content URLs.

For example, if you edit the Listing Home page, you will notice:

• A Page Title field
• A URL field (example: listing      )

The value configured in the URL field becomes part of all Listing Detail Page URLs.

Understanding the URL Structure

A Listing Detail Page URL is typically divided into 3 parts:

Your Domain + Listing Home Page URL + Listing Slug URL      

Example:

https://demodirectory.com/listing/urban-oasis-day-spa.html      

In this example:

• https://demodirectory.com       → Your website domain

• /listing/       → The URL configured in the Listing Home page

• urban-oasis-day-spa       → The Listing Slug URL configured in the listing form

This means you can customize different parts of the URL in different places:

• The Listing Home Page URL can be changed by editing the Listing Home page settings
• The Listing Slug URL can be changed directly in the listing form when creating or editing a listing

Customizing the Listing Home Page URL

If desired, you can change:

• The Listing Home Page Name
• The Listing Home Page URL
• The Listing Slug URL

This allows you to create a URL structure that better matches your website and branding.

For example, if you change the Listing Home URL from:

listing      

to

businesses      

your listing URLs will automatically change from:

https://demodirectory.com/listing/urban-oasis-day-spa.html      

to:

https://demodirectory.com/businesses/urban-oasis-day-spa.html      

Custom Pages

In addition to the default pages provided by eDirectory, you can also create Custom Pages to display your own custom content on the site.

Custom Pages are useful for creating:

• About Us pages
• Landing pages
• Custom informational pages
• Promotional pages
• Custom content sections

Please refer to this article for the complete step-by-step guide on creating Custom Pages: How to Create Custom Pages to Display Listings for a Specific Category in eDirectory

Navigation Menu Configuration

When you first purchase eDirectory, the default navigation menu is automatically configured with links to the main system pages, including:

• Home → Links to the Home Page
• Listings → Links to the Listing Home Page
• Events → Links to the Event Home Page
• Classifieds → Links to the Classifieds Home Page
• Articles → Links to the Articles Home Page
• Deals → Links to the Deals Home Page
• Blog → Links to the Blog Home Page
• Contact Us → Links to the Contact Us Page

Important Information About Menu Updates

If you change the name of any existing page or create new custom pages, the navigation menu will not update automatically.

For example:

• If you rename the Listing Home page to "Businesses"
• The navigation menu will still display "Listings" until you manually update it

The same applies when creating custom pages. A new menu option must be added manually to allow users to access the new page from the website navigation menu.

How to Update the Navigation Menu

1. Edit the Header Widget

Locate the Header Widget on your page and click to edit it.

2. Edit the "Listings" Menu Option

Click the Gear Icon next to the Listings menu option.

3. Update the Menu Name

In the Page Title field, change: listings      to Businesses     . Then save the changes.

4. Apply the Changes

Finally, click Save Changes in the navigation menu widget

and in the top-right corner of the page editor to apply the updates to your website.

After saving, the navigation menu will display Businesses instead of Listings.

Creating Additional Navigation Menu Options

If you create custom pages or want to add more options to your navigation menu, you can create additional menu links manually.

To Create a New Menu Option

1. Click the + button inside the Header Widget menu editor

2. Click the Gear Icon next to the new menu item

2. Enter the option name in the Page Title field
3. Select the page you want the option to link to
4. Save the changes

The new option will then appear in your website navigation menu.

Conclusion

The Page Editor gives you full control over the structure, organization, and appearance of your eDirectory website.

By understanding how pages and widgets work together, you can customize layouts, reorganize content, manage dynamic pages, and create unique user experiences without needing advanced technical knowledge.