Pages

Basics Content

Pages are the building blocks of every Automad site. They are organized in a tree that defines the structure and the URLs of your site. This guide explains how to add pages, configure their settings, move them around and restore them after deleting.

Adding a Page

To add a page, click the New button in the dashboard. The Add Page dialog asks for the following details:

  • The title of the page, which also defines its URL
  • The Template that is used to render the page
  • Keep page private, which is enabled by default
  • The parent page in Select a location for the new page

A new page is created as a draft and only becomes publicly available once you publish it. Since Keep page private is enabled by default, the page stays private even after publishing, until you turn the option off in the page settings. If you discard the changes of a page that has never been published, the page is deleted.

Page Settings

The Settings tab of a page contains the title at the top, followed by a link to the page on your site. The following settings control how a page is accessed and displayed:

SettingDescription
Keep page privateOnly logged-in users can access the page and its subpages.
TemplateThe template that is used to render the page.
Hide page in navigationThe page stays publicly accessible, but it is left out of navigations and pagelists.
DateAn optional date that can be displayed by templates and used to sort pagelists.
Directory NameThe last part of the URL of the page. See Changing the URL below.
Redirect page to another URLVisitors are permanently redirected (301) to the given URL, and links in navigations and pagelists point to that URL directly.
TagsLabels that connect related pages. Read more about tags.

The remaining fields of the Settings tab define the metadata of the page and are explained in Open Graph & Favicons. The Page Language field is explained in Multilingual Sites.

Changing the URL

The URL of a page is made of the directory names of the page and its parents. By default, the directory name is derived from the title. As long as it matches the title, it follows the title whenever you rename the page. Once you enter a custom Directory Name, it is kept when the title changes. The homepage has no directory name.

A new title or directory name takes effect when you publish the page. Automad then moves the page to its new URL and updates the links to it on all other pages automatically.

The More Menu

The More menu in the top right of a page offers the following actions:

ActionDescription
Restore a previous versionRestores an older revision of the page as a copy. Read more about page versioning.
Open previewOpens the page on your site, where you can also edit it in place.
Duplicate pageCreates a copy of the page, including its files, next to the original. The word Copy is appended to the title of the copy.
Move pageMoves the page and its subpages below another parent page that you select in a dialog.
Copy URL to clipboardCopies the URL of the page.
Delete pageMoves the page and its subpages to the trash after a confirmation.

The homepage can't be duplicated, moved or deleted, so its menu only contains the first two actions.

Reordering Pages

The order of the pages in the page tree of the dashboard sidebar is the order in which they appear in navigations. To change it, drag a page to a new position in the tree. You can also drop a page below another parent in order to move it. When you hold a page over a collapsed parent for a moment while dragging, its subpages are expanded.

In contrast to changes of the title or directory name, moving and reordering pages takes effect immediately. Links to a moved page are updated automatically.

Trash

Deleted pages are moved to the Trash, which you can open from the dashboard sidebar. The trash lists all deleted pages and offers the following options for each of them:

  • Restore page brings the page back, including its subpages.
  • Permanently delete removes the page for good after a confirmation.

To empty the trash completely, click Clear and confirm.

Publishing Global Defaults
User Guide
This user guide covers the core concepts of Automad's essential features, content editing, and page creation. To begin, visit /dashboard on your site and sign in with your credentials, then follow the pages sequentially to understand what you can accomplish and how.
Publishing
In Automad, changes made to content fields — such as blocks or settings — are saved automatically. These changes are stored as drafts. Signed-in users can see and edit drafts at any time, while public visitors only see content that has been published. This makes it easy to work on content over a longer period without exposing unfinished pages to your visitors.
Global Defaults
One of Automad’s core ideas is the concept of global defaults. Many fields can be set either globally or individually for each page. When a page is displayed, Automad first checks the page itself for a value. If nothing is set there, it falls back to the global data.
Blocks
Blocks are small, self-contained pieces of content such as text paragraphs, headings, galleries, slideshows, and more. You can also add dynamic content like Pagelists, Filelists, or custom snippets. The block editor offers an intuitive editing experience and lets users freely compose a page from multiple blocks.
Layouts
Layouts in Automad are created using the Layout Section block. They can be added anywhere on a page and can contain other Layout Sections, allowing you to create complex, nested designs. Sections can also be set to stretch to the full width of the content area or page. Watch the short videos on this page to see these features in action.