Drupal - Front Page

Drupal - Configuring the Front Page

This chapter explains how to designate specific content to appear on your Drupal website’s front page. The front page is often the first impression a visitor gets, so showcasing key content here is crucial. Drupal provides a straightforward mechanism for this, typically by ‘promoting’ content to the front page.

Follow these steps to feature content on your Drupal front page using modern Drupal versions (e.g., Drupal 9, 10, or later):

Step 1 − Navigate to the Content overview page. In the Drupal administration toolbar (usually at the top of the page), click on ‘Content’.

This will display a list of all content items (articles, basic pages, etc.) on your site. Find the piece of content you wish to feature on the front page.

Step 2 − Edit the desired content item. In the row corresponding to your chosen content, click the ‘Edit’ button (it might be under an ‘Operations’ dropdown).

This will open the content editing form.

Step 3 − Locate the ‘Promotion options’ settings. On the content editing form, look for a section or a vertical tab labeled ‘Promotion options’. This is often found in the right sidebar.

Within ‘Promotion options’, you will find checkboxes for controlling content visibility and placement:

• Published − Ensure this option is checked. Content must be published to be visible on the site, including the front page. This setting is usually found at the bottom of the edit form or in a ‘Save options’ area, and is separate from ‘Promotion options’ but essential.
• Promoted to front page − Check this box to mark the content for display on the front page. This is the primary setting for this purpose.
• Sticky at top of lists − If checked, this content item will appear above other content items promoted to the front page (or in other lists where stickiness is respected).

Ensure the ‘Published’ status is active for the content (usually a checkbox at the bottom of the page or in the sidebar) and then check ‘Promoted to front page’. Click the ‘Save’ button to apply your changes.

Step 4 − Verify on the front page. Visit your website’s homepage. The content you promoted should now be visible. The exact layout and appearance of the front page content are often controlled by a Drupal View (typically one named ‘Frontpage’ by default) or your site’s theme.

Common Pitfall: If content doesn’t appear, ensure it’s ‘Published’ AND ‘Promoted to front page’. Also, check your site’s front page configuration (often in ‘Configuration’ > ‘System’ > ‘Basic site settings’ for the default front page path, or by examining the ‘Frontpage’ View in ‘Structure’ > ‘Views’).

Real-world application: Use this to feature your latest news, important announcements, or cornerstone articles directly on your homepage to engage visitors immediately.