Blocks: your own design for any collection

Your design, your data

Collections hold your data: team members, products, testimonials, events. The built-in displays (table, cards, list, accordion, timeline, carousel and list group) cover most pages. When you want a design of your own, use a block.

A block is a small piece of HTML you write once, with a placeholder for each field. Put it on a page with a collection, and every entry is drawn through it:

[collection slug="team" display="block" block="team-card" cols="3" /]

Inside the block, a field's name in double curly braces is filled in from each entry. Add :D MMMM YYYY to format a date. That is the whole template language. There is no build step, and the data stays where anyone can edit it. Add a person to the collection and a new card appears on the page. Change the block and every card changes with it.

Where you can use a block

• Every entry of a collection, as above, with cols for a grid. Filters, sorting, limits, scope="mine" and per-entry buttons all still work.
• Every row of a View, so a block can show joined, filtered or calculated data.
• Each slide of a carousel or each row of a list group: add block="…" to those displays.
• On its own, with values you type into the shortcode. Every block can also be written with its own name as the shortcode.

Visitors can still right-click any card to filter, sort, group or export, just as on the built-in displays.

Styled on its own

Each block can carry its own CSS. The CMS scopes it to that block, so .photo { … } in your team card can never restyle a photo anywhere else. Use the theme's colours (var(--dm-primary)) and the block follows your theme and dark mode.

Built in the admin

Data > Blocks lists every block, with what it is for and where it is used. The editor shows a live preview inside your own site's page, with your theme, fonts and CSS. You can view it at mobile width, three to a grid, or in another theme, using sample values you type in. Blocks export to a file and import on another site.

Read the guide

There is a full Blocks chapter in the admin under Documentation > Usage > Blocks, with a worked team page from start to finish. The Blocks screen has a book button that opens it.

Writing your own Tools

The plugin tutorial is now Writing a Tool. Anything you build appears in the sidebar beside the built-in Tools, with the same banner. This release adds a section on giving yours the same finish: a place in the sidebar, a hotkey, a count badge with its popover, buttons in the banner, help on each control, and a block that site owners can restyle. Open it from the book button on the Marketplace screen.

Domma CMS 1.6.48.