Story: Exponential Layouts, the page builder
This page is for journalists and creators who want to write about how editors build pages in Exponential without template work. It gives the story, the dates, facts with sources, the credit you owe Netgen, and the claims to avoid.
Contents
- The story in one paragraph
- What is new, and when
- Facts you can print
- Credit where it is due
- What not to claim
- Angles and headline ideas
- Who to ask
- Related pages
The story in one paragraph
"Exponential Layouts is a visual page builder for Exponential. It brings the concept of the upstream layouts packages to the
Exponential kernel: a layout is a saved arrangement of blocks in zones, and a rule decides which pages
get it, so editors rearrange pages without touching templates" (README, Exponential Layouts).
Layouts have drafts like content does, a header or footer can be built once in a shared layout and linked from every
other layout, and layouts move between installations by export and import. The suite is required by the kernel's
composer.json in the 6.0.15 line, so every new installation has it
(Exponential Layouts).
What is new, and when
| What | When | Source |
|---|---|---|
The repository explayouts is created | 31 July 2026 | Who is 7x?, timeline |
| A Layouts tab in the admin node view | July and August 2026 | 6.0.15 changelog |
| Copy and duplicate blocks with their collections; the Layouts tab and breadcrumbs | 10 to 12 October 2026 | 6.0.15 changelog |
| Export and import of layouts | 17 October 2026 | 6.0.15 changelog |
| The layout editor page meets WCAG 2 AA (as the changelog states it) | 17 October 2026 | 6.0.15 changelog |
The 6.0.15 line is the current release line of Exponential 6.0; the dates are dates of the changes, not a release date.
Facts you can print
| Fact | Source |
|---|---|
| A layout is a saved arrangement of blocks in zones; a rule decides which pages get it. | README |
| Layouts are stored as drafts and published versions, "so unfinished work is never visible to visitors". | same |
| Block types include text, title, HTML, Markdown, image, button, card, list, grid, gallery, carousel, tabs, accordion, map and video. | same |
| Rules map layouts by node, subtree or path, with conditions such as siteaccess, content class, query parameter and time. | same |
| A header, footer or prefooter can be built once in a shared layout and linked from every page layout. | same |
| Editors drag blocks into zones and configure each block. | The layouts editor |
The suite is about a dozen Composer packages, se7enxweb/explayouts and the explayouts-* family. | Who is 7x?, extension ecosystem |
| Exponential Platform Nexus ships a layouts editor on the Symfony side; Exponential Platform DXP does not. | Knowing the product family |
Credit where it is due
Exponential Layouts ports the concept of the upstream layouts packages to the Exponential kernel. Credit the upstream packages when you describe it: "It brings the concept of the upstream layouts packages to Exponential." Do not call the product "Netgen Layouts for Exponential"; it has its own name (Talking points: Exponential Layouts). Netgen is a separate company; the sources do not describe any endorsement by Netgen, so do not imply one.
What not to claim
- "Editors never need a developer again." Developers still build designs and block templates.
- "It works the same on every distribution." DXP ships no layouts editor.
- "Revolutionary" as your own judgment: it is the README's own heading. Quote it as theirs if you use it.
- "Anyone can change any page." Roles decide who may edit layouts.
Angles and headline ideas
- Editors take over the page: arranging without code.
- Build once, used everywhere: shared headers and footers.
- Open source credit: how one project ports another's concept and names it.
"Drag, drop, publish: Exponential Layouts gives editors the page"
"One footer, every page: shared layouts in Exponential"
"From Netgen's concept to Exponential's kernel: a page builder with credits"Who to ask
| Question | Ask | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A demonstration, the roadmap of the suite | 7x | [email protected], or https://exponential.earth/about/contact-us |
| Questions about the upstream layouts packages themselves | Netgen, not 7x | their own channels |
| How sites use it | the community, in public | https://share.exponential.earth/forums |
Related pages
- Talking points: Exponential Layouts
- The layouts editor
- Story: editing content
- Feature stories: index
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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