In December 2023, I updated the GameInformer.com home and landing pages to allow more flexibility and control over content using a block layout. The GameInformer.com site is managed in Drupal, but was originally created with a very static homepage and the editorial team required greater flexibility in promoting content easily.
Because of technical site limitations, I used a content type with the Paragraphs module (in addition to many other modules) to enable this block layout. I updated the existing custom theme that I created previously and created a custom module to handle the unique advertising needs for the site.
I worked closely with our design team on this project providing feedback on the layout and usability to improve the site experience as well.
Homepage
As the most popular page on the site, the homepage got some special treatment. In the header, the main image can be selected by an editor or replaced with a video from Twitch or YouTube, with options to create more elements for this position in the future.
The section on the right showcases recent content above the fold and allows visitors to easily see if there's something new since they last visited. Advertisements are also prominently featured above the fold.
Further down the page, there are options for featuring groups of articles and promoting new releases. Editors can choose which items to promote or enter a taxonomy term to dynamically grab related content. They can also promote videos, streams, or create custom blocks for other promotions as needed.
At the bottom of the page, the most recent content is displayed. This helps ensure visitors can always find the most updated content even if other promotional content is displayed above. A sidebar with popular content from the week is also shown to assist less frequent site visitors so they don't miss big news.
Other Landing Pages
Other landing pages, such as the news landing page shown in these images, are designed to be maintenance free for editors. They are built with the same content type as the homepage and so can use the same customization options if desired, but by default they show an filtered feed of the most recent articles related to each page. Each page does have minor customizations, but in general this keeps things simple while allowing for flexibility if needed.
