- List the block types you will need Compare the page designs with the block types the editor offers; plan new block types only for what is missing.
- Plan which cache each change needs Write down per kind of change which cache to clear, so launches and updates do not end in "it does not show".
- Plan how layouts are kept and versioned Layouts live in the database; plan regular exports (exp:layouts export) so they can be compared, restored and moved.
- Inventory layouts and settings from the console exp:layouts list and exp:ini where give a complete, scriptable picture of an installation's layouts and menu settings.
- Collect the node IDs the menus will use Menus and manual collections refer to node IDs; collect them (and their remote IDs) when the tree is built.
- Plan campaigns with start and end dates A mapping can have a Time condition (from, to); plan campaign layouts with it: since explayouts 1.4.42 the layout switches at the start and the end, without lag.
- Plan A/B variants of a page A Query parameter condition gives one address a second layout: since explayouts 1.4.42 /showcase and /showcase?variant=b each get their own layout on every request.
- Plan accessibility into the blocks Use the fields the blocks have for it - Image alt text, Heading level, link texts - and keep one h1 per page.
- Plan image sizes Galleries take a thumbnail size alias, templates an image class; plan which sizes the design needs.
- Plan the forms Forms on Fit & Healthy are content (Contact form, Feedback form, Lead form classes), shown by their full views; layouts place them.
- Plan a blog section Blog posts (class NG Blog post) already share the article mapping on Fit & Healthy; plan the listing page and its lists.
- Plan a recipes section Recipes have their own layout (Full / Recipe, layout_4 with a sidebar) and their own mapping; plan the category page and its lists.
- Plan topic pages Topics (class Topic: Running, Workout, Health, HIIT) have the layout Full / Topic; plan what a topic page lists.
- Plan a video section Video content (NG Video) lives below Video (node 164) and gets Full / Video; plan the landing page's lists.
- Plan where galleries come from Gallery blocks read images from a folder; gallery content items (NG Gallery) are stories of their own. Plan which is which.
- Plan moving layouts from staging to production Build on a staging installation, then export and import the layouts; content is matched by remote ID and path.
- Plan a sandbox for risky changes Try changes that must be published to be seen on a copy of the installation, never on the live site.
- Plan to measure the work Count the steps and time the waiting parts of typical changes, as on these pages, to compare the two ways on your own site.
- Plan the footer links folder The footer's second line is the children of one folder (remote ID in menu.ini [SiteInfo] FooterLinksRemoteID); plan its items and their order.
- Plan who publishes layouts A layout is changed in a draft and published as a whole; plan who may publish shared layouts, as they change many pages at once.
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