Customizing your blog and docs appearance

Use Settings → Appearance → Blog to adjust the blog listing and post layout. Use Settings → Appearance → Docs to adjust documentation navigation, search, and the page outline.

These are shared presentation settings. Changes save automatically and can affect existing public pages without republishing each article. The small previews show the arrangement of a page; they are not private drafts of your published site.

For site-wide colors and fonts, use Changing your logo, colors, and typography.

Before you change the layout

You need permission to edit Appearance settings. If a tab is missing or controls are disabled, see Why can’t I see or edit a feature?.

Open your public blog listing, one representative post, and a docs article in separate tabs. Choose examples with enough content to test: a long title, several headings, an image, and any related posts or supporting content you use.

Check the public result. Some blog and docs layouts do not use every setting shown here. After a change saves, refresh the relevant public page. If its grouping, search box, or filters do not change, keep a note of the selected setting and page address and ask your administrator or Cedros support which controls your layout supports.

Note the current selections or take screenshots before changing them. Make one group of changes at a time so you can judge the result and restore the previous settings if needed.

Customize the blog listing

1. Open Settings → Appearance and select Blog.
2. In Blog Overview, enter the Page Title and Page Description for the blog landing page.
3. Choose Overview Layout: One column, Two columns, or Three columns.
4. Choose a Card Design.
5. Review the small overview preview, then wait for the save to complete.
6. Refresh the public blog listing and check real post titles, images, and excerpts.

The title and description describe the collection, not an individual post. For example, a title of “Studio journal” and a short description of what readers will find can make the page clearer. If your blog landing page has its own authored introduction or a custom template, check that content too; it can supply the displayed copy instead.

The column choice controls the listing arrangement at suitable screen widths. Narrow screens adapt the layout, so three columns on desktop does not mean three small columns on a phone.

Choose the card treatment by checking your own content:

• Framed cards: distinct cards that separate entries visually.
• Minimal list cards: a quieter treatment with less framing.
• Editorial feature cards: a more prominent editorial presentation.

Changing the design does not write missing excerpts or add cover images to posts. If a card lacks useful content, edit the post itself. Check both short and long titles before deciding the layout is finished.

Arrange individual blog posts

In Blog Posts, use Post Layout to choose the relationship between the article and its supporting content:

• Article with companion below: keep the article central and place companion content after it.
• Wide article: give the article a wider reading area. Available companion content can still appear below.
• Article with sidebar: place companion content beside the article when the screen is wide enough; it stacks on narrower screens.

Then choose Sidebar Content. This setting also controls companion content shown below the article:

• All companion content includes the available companion sections.
• Related posts only keeps related-post content.
• Support/tipping only keeps the support section when configured.
• Shared media only keeps shared media presented outside the article body.
• No sidebar content hides the optional companion sections.

These choices select existing content. They do not create related posts, attach media, or enable tipping. Images and videos embedded in the article body remain part of the article. Links belonging to a pillar article or its supporting articles may also remain as part of that content structure.

To check the result:

1. Set Post Layout and Sidebar Content.
2. Wait for the save to complete.
3. Open a published post that has the type of companion content you selected.
4. Check the article on desktop and phone, including the area after its final paragraph.

An empty sidebar is not useful space: if a post has no companion sections, it can fall back to the standard article arrangement. Use a post with real supporting content to evaluate the sidebar layout. The small preview cannot confirm that a post has related links, payment setup, or shared media.

Configure docs navigation and search

1. Open Settings → Appearance → Docs.
2. Under Left sidebar, choose Grouping.
3. If using Group by category, choose a Default Category State.
4. Choose whether Search Box should show or hide the search field.
5. Wait for the save, then open a public docs article and test its navigation.

Group by category shows collapsible groups. It works well when readers need to choose among several topics. One flat list removes those group headings and presents the links together; it can suit a short collection.

Expanded by default and Collapsed by default set the fallback opening state for groups. A structured docs collection can instead open the current article's section and collapse the others. Readers can open or close groups while browsing. The default-state control is unavailable when you choose One flat list, because there are no category groups to expand.

Show search box displays search within the docs navigation. Hide search box removes that field; it does not remove articles from search results or disable the separate search on the docs home page.

On a phone, the docs navigation becomes a compact control that readers open when needed. Check that it opens, that the current article is recognizable, and that selecting another article takes the reader to the right page.

Show or hide the docs page outline

The left navigation helps readers move between documents. The page outline, usually labeled On this page, links to headings inside the article they are reading.

In Settings → Appearance → Docs → Page Outline, choose Show right outline or Hide right outline, then wait for the save.

Showing the outline is useful for a long guide with clear sections. Hiding it can suit short articles, but the choice is shared across the docs site. Before hiding it, check a longer guide as well as the page you are currently editing.

The outline needs real headings in the article. Use heading formatting for section names rather than bold paragraphs. An article's own display options can also suppress its table of contents, so a shared setting alone does not guarantee an outline on every page.

“Right outline” describes the desktop arrangement. On smaller screens, the outline can move below the article instead of staying in a separate right column. Check the end of the article before treating it as missing.

To verify an outline, open a longer published guide, select one of its section links, and confirm that it takes you to the matching heading.

Maintain category and tag choices

The Blog tab includes Blog Categories and Blog Tags. The Docs tab includes Docs Categories. Where the public layout supports them, these lists set choices for browsing and filtering. They do not assign labels to articles or add options to the blog editor’s fixed category dropdown.

To add a choice:

1. Find the relevant list in Appearance.
2. Enter one name in its New field.
3. Select Add category or Add tag.
4. Wait for the save, then test the corresponding choice on the public listing.

Use consistent names that match the categories or tags assigned to your content. Spaces around a name are removed, and names that differ only by capitalization are treated as duplicates.

To rename a configured choice, edit its existing field. To remove one, use the delete button beside it. These actions change the configured list; they do not rename categories on existing articles or delete those articles. Update the affected posts separately using Organizing posts with categories and tags.

When a configured list is empty, the standard listings can derive choices from the content. Removing the last configured name therefore does not necessarily remove every public filter option.

Docs Categories is not a sidebar ordering tool. Docs navigation also uses each entry's section, hierarchy, navigation label, and order. Adding or renaming a filter choice does not move a document into another navigation section. If the sidebar order is wrong, correct the affected entries' navigation metadata rather than rearranging this list. Follow Organizing your documentation navigation to change sidebar sections, labels, and order through your docs administrator or an authorized assistant.

Know which changes belong to the article

Appearance sets the shared layout around the content. For a change affecting one post or guide, open that entry from Blogs or Docs instead.

Examples include:

• The article title, description, body, cover image, and headings.
• Its category and tags.
• Docs section membership, hierarchy, navigation label, and ordering.
• Per-article display choices such as title, metadata, reading width, or table of contents. If your editor does not expose these options, ask the person maintaining your docs to adjust the article's configuration.

Save and review article edits through the content editor's publishing workflow. A saved draft may differ from what visitors see. See Understanding drafts, previews, and publishing.

The website's main header links and footer are separate again. Use Editing desktop and mobile navigation or Updating your footer and site-wide links for those changes.

Confirm saving and check the public result

Appearance layout changes autosave after a pause. Watch for Saved just now before leaving the page. There is no separate Apply theme step for these Blog and Docs settings.

If a save fails, keep the page open and read the error. The selected control or updated sample preview alone does not prove that visitors received the change. Note your intended values before reloading or signing in again, because unsaved choices may be lost.

After a successful save:

1. Refresh the public blog listing and check its copy, cards, and filters.
2. Open a post and inspect both the article and its companion content.
3. Open a docs article, use the sidebar and search if shown, and follow a page-outline link.
4. Repeat on a phone. Check long titles, images, lists, and wide tables.
5. If your site offers light and dark modes, check readability in both.

Use an ordinary visitor window where possible. Confirm the result on published pages, not only an editor preview. Changing Appearance does not publish draft articles or change who can access restricted content.

To undo a layout change, return to the same tab, restore the selections you recorded, wait for the save, and check the public pages again. Restoring an article revision does not restore these shared Appearance settings.

Fix common appearance problems

The preview changed, but the public page did not. Check for a save error, refresh the correct public page, and confirm you are viewing the blog listing or article affected by that control. A custom page or template may have its own content and presentation. If a saved sidebar or filter choice still has no effect, ask your administrator or Cedros support which controls the page’s layout supports.

The blog description is still different. Check whether the landing page has an authored introduction or custom title and description. The Appearance fields do not replace every source of page copy.

The sidebar is missing. For a blog post, confirm that Article with sidebar is selected and that the post has the chosen companion content. Check on a wider screen. For docs, try opening the compact navigation control on mobile and check whether that article has its navigation hidden.

The docs categories do not stay expanded. Structured navigation can prioritize the current article's section over Default Category State. This does not mean the setting failed to save.

A filter returns no articles. Check the names assigned to published content, not just the configured filter list. Clear other search terms and filters before trying again.

The page outline is missing or incomplete. Check the shared Page Outline setting, the article's display options, and its heading formatting. On a narrow screen, look below the article.

Controls are disabled or a tab is missing. Ask an administrator to check your access and the features available on the site. See Why can’t I see or edit a feature?.

If the problem continues, ask for help with the public page address, selected settings, device/browser, a screenshot, and the exact save error if one appeared.