Merging a section and a category page

What's inside this article:

• Basic information
• Prepare a section for merging
• Merge your section with a category page
• Avoid duplicate content
• Show an introduction on the page
• Review the metadata
• Update the custom URL
• Example layouts

Basic information

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This article explains how to merge a section and a category page.

Merging a section with its corresponding category page avoids two published landing pages for the same topic.

To learn more about this process, browse the sections below:

Prepare a section for merging

Before merging, prepare the section for displaying on a category page. We recommend preparing a short, curated section that highlights just the most valuable content for the topic. The remaining content is listed below the section in the content list.

Further tips and guidance are available below:

Size

Keep the section short and focused. In most cases, we recommend:

• A maximum of 4 rows of content on desktop
• A maximum of 15 items / links

For broader topics with several subtopics, reducing the section to this size may not be possible without losing key content. A large section can make the category page very long, so a standalone section page may work better in these cases.

Widget selection

Try to limit the number of different widget types and layouts. This helps readers browse the content without distractions and creates a consistent experience across pages.

We recommend using the following widget types:

• Content widget: Share any type of content page.
• Multimedia widget: Share on-demand audio and video.

Using child categories

If a category has child categories (subcategories for more specific topics), the section can have a dedicated widget for each child category. For example, the parent category 'Russia' might have the child categories 'Politics', 'Economics', and 'Features'.

When creating widgets for child categories:

• Use titles: Give each widget a concise, descriptive title to clarify its purpose.
• Link to more content: Using a header and / or footer link, link to the corresponding category page for the child category.

TIP: For examples that follow these guidelines, see Example layouts.

For detailed information about how to build and manage sections in Pangea CMS, see our separate guide: Building a section page.

Merge your section with a category page

After preparing the section, follow these steps to merge it with a category page:

1. Open the edit page for the section in Pangea CMS.
2. Go to Settings > General > Category.
3. Select the correct category from the list. You can select only one category.

The list only includes categories that meet all the following criteria:

• The category has the Visible on site status.
• The category is a content category.
• The category page uses the List with images layout.
• The category page is not already merged with another section.

After selecting a category, click Publish or Publish & close. The section and the category page are now merged.

Due to caching, changes may take up to 5 minutes to appear on the public page. For more details, see our separate guide: Explaining cache and wait times for updates.

Optimize the category page

After merging, review and update the following settings for the category page:

• Avoid duplicate content
• Show an introduction on the page
• Review the metadata
• Update the custom URL

Avoid duplicate content

To avoid showing the same content twice on the same page, you can exclude a number of recent items from the content list. For example, if the 10 most recent items appear in the section, you can exclude those 10 items from the content list.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the edit page for the category in Pangea CMS.
2. Go to Layout settings > Exclude content.
3. In the selector, set the number of items you want to exclude.
4. Click Save.

The selected number of items is now excluded from the content list on the category page.

You can exclude a maximum of 15 items. If the section needs to show more than 15 items, consider keeping it as a standalone page. For more details, see the following topic under Basic information:

• Should sections and category pages always be merged?

NOTE: The Exclude content selector is not available on the category edit page if a section is not already selected in the Section selector.

For detailed information about how to manage category settings in Pangea CMS, see our separate guide: Creating a content category.

Show an introduction on the page

You can show a short introduction below the title on a category page. Use this to provide readers with more context about the category topic.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the edit page for the category in Pangea CMS.
2. Go to Introduction under Enable category (zone) archive page.
3. Enter the text.
4. Click Save.

The introduction is now displayed on the category page.

For detailed information about how to manage category settings in Pangea CMS, see our separate guide: Creating a content category.

Length guidelines

For the introduction, we suggest a maximum of 300 characters.

If the introduction is longer than 300 characters, it is truncated on the public site. When the text is truncated, only the first line is visible (around 150-160 characters). To see the full text, visitors can select Show more.

NOTE: The character limit for truncation is configurable per site. 300 characters is the default limit. Contact Pangea Customer Care if your site needs to set a different limit.

Review the metadata

Metadata helps search engines understand and index your content. It affects how pages appear in search engine results and how they rank for different search queries.

When a section and a category page are merged, only the metadata for the category page is used. To review the metadata for the category page:

1. Open the edit page for the category in Pangea CMS.
2. Review the data under SEO and update it if needed.
3. After updating the metadata, click Save.

The new metadata is now applied for the category page.

For detailed information about how to manage category settings in Pangea CMS, see our separate guide: Creating a content category.

Update the custom URL

A custom URL is short, human-readable text that replaces the numerical ID in the URL for a page. It is normally 1-3 words, separated by hyphens.

When a section and a category page are merged, the section URL automatically redirects to the category URL. If the category page has a numerical ID instead of a custom URL, we recommend adding a custom URL. Two options are available:

• Reuse the custom URL for the section
• Create a new custom URL

Reuse the custom URL for the section

You can update the existing custom URL for the section so it applies for the category page instead. Follow these steps:

1. In Pangea CMS, go to Settings > Custom URL in the primary navigation.
2. Find and select the custom URL for the section. The custom URL settings open.
3. Under Link, select Link to category instead of Link to section.
4. Under Category, select the correct category. Then, click Save.

The category page now uses the custom URL.

Create a new custom URL

You can create a new, unique custom URL for the category page. Follow these steps:

1. In Pangea CMS, go to Settings > Custom URL in the primary navigation.
2. Select Add new. The custom URL settings open.
3. Under Custom URL, enter the custom URL.
4. Under Link, select Link to category.
5. Under Category, select the correct category. Then, click Save.

The category page now uses the custom URL.

For detailed information, see our separate guide: Creating a custom URL.

Example layouts

Below, find example layouts for merged sections that appear on category pages.

NOTE: Pangea has provided the example layouts below for inspiration and general guidance. You can use alternative layouts, or adapt and combine these examples to meet your needs.

1x 'Top story package' widget + 2x 'Big images' widgets

A larger section with big images for high visibility.

1x 'Top story' widget + 1x 'Thumbnails' widget + 1x 'Big images' widget

A larger section with a gray area to visually separate one content collection. This page also shows an introduction.

1x 'Big images' widget

A compact section with big images for high visibility.

1x 'Top story' widget + 1x 'Thumbnails' widget + 2x 'Big images' widgets

A larger section with top stories from the category and two dedicated widgets for child categories.