Set up a blog or portfolio

Anything that's a list — blog posts, projects, team members, events, donors — is a collection, and each item can get its own page.

What collections are

A collection is a list of things that share the same shape: every blog post has a title, a date, a picture and some text; every team member has a name, a role and a photo. Lanlan keeps the list, builds a page that shows them all, and can build a page for each one.

Collections are how you make:

• A blog (each post is an item)
• A portfolio (each project)
• A team page (each person)
• An events list (each event, in date order)
• A donor wall or guest list (each person, shown on one page)

Set one up

Ask in Tell Lanlan:

• "Set up a blog. I want to write about coffee."
• "Make a portfolio with a title, year, cover photo and description for each project."
• "Build a team page from these names and bios" — then paste them or attach a file.

Lanlan chooses the fields, designs the list and the item pages to match your site, and adds it to your menu. Change the design any time: "Make the blog cards bigger." "Show upcoming events first."

Add items

• Ask Lanlan. "Add a blog post called 'My first attempt at sourdough'" — and write it together, or paste what you have.
• Bring a spreadsheet. Attach a CSV file in Tell Lanlan, or give a link to one: "Add each row of this as a portfolio project." Lanlan can also update existing items from a spreadsheet without wiping fields you didn't include.
• On the Collections page. Open Collections (under More in the sidebar), choose a collection, and press New item. Tick Published when it's ready to show. Items added here appear on your site the next time it's built, so ask Lanlan to update the site if they don't show up.

How much fits

Plans and billing.

Good to know

• On a site that waits for you to publish, new collection pages wait in the draft too. Publish your changes.
• Collection content is public: anyone can read a collection's items as data from your site's address. Don't put private details in a collection — use a form for those.
• The text of each item can use simple formatting: headings, bold, lists and links.
• Items can be sorted (by date, for example), split across several pages when there are many, and tagged.
• Content from a collection can't be changed with the on-page editor; change the item instead.

What to try next

• Live data — 3-min read
• Add images and media — 3-min read
• Connect Stripe — 4-min read

If you get stuck

Ask Lanlan. In Tell Lanlan, "I can't figure out how to…" almost always gets you unstuck. For anything Lanlan can't help with, email support.