Working with Modules

Modules are the building blocks of page content in Site Edit. A page is a stack of modules, and each module holds one section of that page — for example a hero, a block of text and images, a gallery, or a call to action. This article shows you how to open the Modules experience, add a module, edit its content, and reorder or remove modules.

Before you begin: Pages do not use a single rich-text “page body” field. Text, images, galleries, CTAs, and similar sections live in modules.

Modules vs. widgets

Both modules and widgets add content to a page, but they fill different parts of it:

Modules Widgets
Where they appear The main content area of the page The page sidebar and related widget areas
What they are for The page's sections, top to bottom Supporting content beside the main area
Where you manage them Modules hub, or directly on the preview Widgets in the toolbar, or page Settings → Widgets

If the content you want to change sits in the sidebar rather than in the body of the page, see Working with Widgets instead.

Open Site Edit

From My Sites, find the site you want to update and select SITE EDIT.

The SITE EDIT button on a site card

Open the page you want to edit

Modules always apply to the page currently shown in the preview, so load the right page before you add or change anything.

The Pages hub listing site pages
  1. Open Pages, find the page, and select it so it loads in the preview.
  2. Or use your site's own navigation inside the preview to browse to the page.
  3. Confirm the preview shows the page you expect before you continue.

The Pages list includes filters for All, Pages, Areas, and Blog Posts, which is the quickest way to find content that is not linked from your site navigation.

For blog posts: Open the post's Modules tab and turn on Enable custom modules before creating a module set for that individual post. Otherwise, the post uses the shared blog-post module setup.

Add a module

You can add a module in any of these ways:

  1. On the live preview, use the blue + between modules (or on a module's on-page toolbar) to insert a module at that position. See Editing Content on the Page.
  2. Select Add New, keep the Pages tab selected, then choose Module (“Add a module to the page you are viewing”).
  3. Or open Settings → Modules → Manage modules for the current page.
The Add New panel with Module highlighted
  1. Pages tab in Add New.
  2. Module card — adds a module to the current preview page.
  3. Other cards create new pages or posts instead of modules.

Add a module exactly where you want it

The preview + control is the most precise option, because you choose the insertion point before you choose the module:

  1. Move the pointer between two modules until the blue + insertion control appears.
  2. Select +. A tooltip such as Add a module after module 1 confirms where the new module will land.
  3. Pick a module type under New, or reuse one of your Saved presets.

Modules added from Add New → Module or from the Modules hub are added to the page you are previewing; you can then move them into position by reordering.

Edit module content

After a module is on the page:

  1. Select the module in the preview (look for the on-page edit chrome), or open it from the Modules hub.
  2. Update the available fields (headings, text, images, buttons, and layout options depend on the module type).
  3. Close the palette when you are done. Changes save to the Site Edit draft.

The fields you see belong to that module type, so two modules on the same page can offer very different controls. If a module opens a rich-text or HTML control for one of its fields, use that editor for the field only — it does not replace module-based page building.

You can also edit many modules by selecting them directly on the preview. See Editing Content on the Page.

Reorder or remove modules

In the Modules hub for the current page:

  1. Drag modules to change their order when reordering is available.
  2. Remove a module you no longer need.
  3. Confirm the preview updates, then publish when ready.

Reordering and removing change the page structure, so it is worth checking the whole page in the preview afterward — a module that looked correct in isolation may need spacing or content adjustments once it sits between different neighbors.

What happens to your draft

Every module change — added, edited, reordered, or removed — is saved to the Site Edit draft rather than to the live website. While the draft has unpublished changes, the draft bar stays visible with a change summary and the DISCARD and PUBLISH actions. Module edits share that draft with your other Site Edit work, such as design, settings, and widget changes.

Troubleshooting

  • The blue + never appears. The insertion control shows on hover between modules. If the preview does not respond, add the module from Add New → Module or Settings → Modules → Manage modules instead.
  • A module landed on the wrong page. Modules apply to the page currently in the preview. Reopen the intended page from Pages, confirm it is loaded, then add the module again and remove the misplaced one.
  • A section will not open for editing. Not every part of a page is a module. If hovering shows no edit controls, try page-level controls in Settings, or site-wide styles in Design.
  • You cannot find a module in the list. Use Search in the toolbar, which looks across settings, modules, and widgets.
  • A blog post does not offer its own module set. Open This Blog Post → Modules and turn on Enable custom modules.
  • The preview looks stale. Close the palette so the change is committed, then check the draft bar's change summary to confirm the edit was recorded.
  • Your change is not on the live site. Draft changes go live only when you select PUBLISH. That is separate from a page's own Status setting.

Publish your changes

Select PUBLISH to apply pending draft changes, or DISCARD to remove them.

For more about applying or removing pending changes, see Publishing and Discarding Drafts.

Need more help?

For questions, concerns, or feedback, chat with our team at app.placester.com/chat.

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