Selecting the Appropriate Section

In order to understand the options presented in the "Section" field, it helps to have an understanding of how each page fits into the overall framework of the website. The pages on a Digital Bell site are placed into a hierarchical layout, with the Home page at the top of the hierarchy.

Think of the site layout like a pyramid, with the Home page at the top, and all of the other pages on the site added "under" the Home page. Below the Home page in the pyramid are the main menu items. These vary from school to school, and can be seen in the menu at the top every page on the site (School Info, Athletics, Parent Info, and Contact are popular main menu items). 

These main menu pages are where the site begins to branch out to form the complete pyramid. For example, the "Athletics" page may contain further pages below it, such as:

"Home -> Athletics -> Sports"

"Home -> Athletics -> Sports -> Volleyball"

"Home -> Athletics -> Coaches

and so on.

Each of the main menu items can contain similar "sub-pages." The next section explains the concept of "sub-pages" and "parent pages."

A "sub-page" is any page that has been added under an existing page in the site hierarchy. For example, the main menu items are all "sub-pages" of the Home page. This is represented by their path in the site layout - ex. "Home / Athletics"

Going one level further, in a path of Home / Athletics / Sports, the "Sports" page is a sub-page of "Athletics," while "Athletics" is a sub-page of the Home page. 

A "parent page," on the other hand, is the page directly above a page in the site hierarchy. Using the example from above - Home / Athletics / Sports - The "Athletics" page is the parent page of "Sports" while the "Home" page is the parent page of "Athletics." 

When making a selection in the "Section" field, you are essentially selecting your page's "parent" page, which in turn makes your new page a sub-page of the selected page.

For example, making a selection of Home / School Info / Faculty & Staff in the "Section" field would give you the following results:

• Your new page will be a sub-page of the "Faculty & Staff" page
• The "Faculty & Staff" page becomes the parent page of your new page

In addition to knowing how pages fit into the site's hierarchical layout, as well as how the web pages relate to one another, there are two important aspects to consider when selecting the "Section" for your new page.

Context

Firstly, is there an existing path and parent page that makes sense for your new page? If you are creating a page for Varsity Football, it would be appropriate to select "Home / Athletics / Sports" as the section. A page for the school dress code would also be appropriately placed under "Home / School Info."

If you are unsure where to place your page, first inspect the options to find out if there is an existing path that makes sense to use. If there isn't a page that would make an appropriate patent page, consider creating one.

Navigation

Also, note that the "Section" you select will affect how your new page will appear in the site's menu system, and how visitors can navigate to it. If the most appropriate parent page is one of the main menu pages (ex. Home / School Info), a link to your new page will appear in its drop-down menu. However, if the appropriate parent page is further down the hierarchy, the link to your page will only appear in the "Related Links" section of the parent page (unless manually added elsewhere on the site).

For example, if you are creating a page for the swimming coaches, it would be appropriate to select "Home / Athletics / Sports / Swimming," as the "Section." A link to your "Swimming Coaches" page would then appear in the "Related Links" sidebar of its parent page ("Swimming"), which is where a visitor is likely to look for the coaches' contact information.