Basic page example
Quick facts
A Basic page can host a variety of micro content components and text formatting.
Formatting and micro content components can help break up content blocks.
By checking back, you can see if certain features have been themed and/or updated yet.
You might get inspired by all the possibilities.
On this page
Basic Page Overview
Use a basic page for detailed text-based content. The basic page content type is a flexible informational page and the destination of many landing page links. Basic pages are used to provide information about a focused topic. Basic pages are ideal for providing full details about a benefit, service, or offering, or step-based information to complete a task with the state.
The bulk of information on many sites will use basic pages.
Use the basic page content type for information that is mostly text. The main content area, called the body, of a basic page is a rich text editor. You can style text using bold and italic, add headers, lists, tables, blockquotes, and more. You can’t create a custom layout, but you can embed images and add microcontent components and media items. The basic page requires the body field to be populated with content.
Features
A powerful feature of a basic page is that it allows you to use automatic lists and link collections in the content area. This is useful for listing documents that are valuable for site visitors. The right approach depends on how much control you want and how the content should behave. Learn more about documents in automatic lists and documents in link collections.
Link collection of example pages
Explore the options for what a basic page might look like for your site.
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Basic page that uses all the WYSIWYG elementsThis page shows how content on a basic page might look when each of the text editor tools is used.
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Basic page that uses all micro-contentAll available microcontent types are shows in use on this basic page.
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Basic page with Featured imageA featured image is present in the big blue bar on the top of this page.
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Basic page with Locations and Contact examplesDifferent examples of locations and contacts are on display on this basic page.
Basic pages don’t have a character limit, so they can be as long as you need them to be. Use headers or a table of contents to structure your content and make it easy for site visitors to scan the page.
Key aspects of a basic page
| Can include | Cannot include |
|---|---|
| Top of page area with the page title and an optional featured image | |
| Add an optional table of contents with jump links | |
| Add an optional summary box | |
| Unlimited character count body field with robust text editor tools | |
| Add embedded microcontent elements to the body field | |
| Add related document files | |
| Add related contacts | |
| Organize and categorize basic pages with taxonomy terms | |
| Custom layout |
Microcontent options
Check out all of the microcontent components available for use on a basic page.
Use an accordion to create a list of headings that show or hide more descriptive content. It is intended for:
- Presenting content when visitors need only a few specific pieces on a page.
- Condensing content when there is a lot to display on a single page.
- Replacing tab interfaces on an existing page.
The accordion component requires a title that authors can hide in the front-end display, and an optional description. The accordion list contains accordion items. The accordion list is limited to twenty accordion items. Each accordion item requires a title and description pair.
Use an automatic list to create a manually curated list of contacts, locations, documents, news, or events. It is used for presenting the most recent entries of a content type in the context of a landing page or basic page body field.
Use a button group to add up to three links that support the basic page content. The button group is useful for providing a link to a clear next step, for example to start an application or log in to an account.
The button group component requires a title which is used to identify it in the authoring interface. The title is hidden by default in the front end display. Authors can choose to show the title by unchecking the hide title checkbox.
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Basic page formatting guidance
- Use bulleted lists
- As you review content you’re placing, when you see a list with commas in a paragraph break it into a bulleted list! It makes it easier to read.
- Fix subheadings and use appropriate nesting
- Your agency site may already use subheadings on some pages, but not always correctly.
- High level guidance for subheadings: H2s for new topics, H3s for sub-topics of H2s, and H4s for sub-sub-topics of H3s, etc.
- You’ll often only use several H2s, maybe H3s.
- Don’t choose subheadings based on design preference.
- Subheadings need to be nested appropriately for Google and search engines to understand the content on the page; they’re also crucial for accessibility. They’re not meant for design consideration. If the font size feels too big or too bold, just keep going.
- If you want to use a Table of Contents box on a busy page, subheadings need to be H2 to appear there.
- Example:
- [name of page]
- Introductory paragraph
- H2 - First subheading + text
- H3 - related content subheadings + text
- H4 - related subheading + text
- H3 - related content subheadings + text
- H2 - Second bullet
Maryland Platform Content Guide
Need more information? Consult the Maryland Platform Content Guide for detailed descriptions of the content and microcontent types available for use on your new site.