Replacing placeholder content and template text on your website

This article covers the new Website Builder, which is continuously evolving based on customer feedback. Some details seen here may differ from what you see in-app while we update the KB.

Placeholder content and template text help you visualize how your site will look before your actual content is added. You can easily toggle placeholder content on or off to display your own content or update template text when you are ready to publish your finalized website.

Placeholder content can be managed from the Settings icon in the icons menu on the left (shown below).

The icons menu in the left sidebar is collapsed by default, but you can pin it open whenever you need quick access.

How to replace placeholder content

1. Toggle placeholder content on or off.
   In the left icon menu, under Settings, you'll find the option to display example Placeholder Data on your canvas.
   
   

• Turn this toggle on to view example content in each block.
• Turn it off to see white placeholder boxes where your real posts will appear.
   

2. Add your data
   When your data is not connected, you’ll see an unconnected icon in the corner of the section. Click on this to choose your posts to display in step 3. 
   
   
   Alternatively, you can click on the section you wish to update, and click on the connection icon to continue to step 3. 
   
   
3. Choose the posts to display.
   In the popup, use the dropdown menus and toggles to configure what content appears in the block:

• Post type: Select from Free Selection, Latest, Recommended Posts, or Archive.
• Post count: Choose how many posts to display.
• Start from post: Pick the starting post (e.g., 1st, 2nd).
• Filter by category: Show only posts with a specific content tag.
  
  

3. Save your changes.
Once you’ve selected the posts to display, click Save to apply your changes.

How to replace template text on your site

Template text is different from placeholder data. When you select a template during Website Builder onboarding, it includes sample copy baked into the layout itself, such as a publication name, tagline, or description. This text is not connected to the placeholder data toggle and will not update automatically when you turn placeholder data off.

If your published site is showing default copy from your template (for example, the name 'The Atlas Collective,' a generic tagline like 'We are a community of wanderers, storytellers and culture-seekers,' or any other text that doesn't belong to your publication), that text needs to be replaced manually in the builder.

To replace template text:

1. Go to Website > Builder from the left panel of your dashboard.
2. Click directly on the text you want to replace on the canvas.
3. Type your own copy to replace the default text.
4. When finished, click Publish in the top right corner to make your changes live.

Template text replacements apply only to the page you edit. If the same default copy appears on multiple pages (for example, on both your homepage and your Subscribe page), you'll need to update each page separately and publish.