---
title: "Layouts"
permalink: /docs/layouts/
excerpt:
sidebar:
title: "v3.0"
nav: docs
single_layout_gallery:
- image_path: mm-layout-single-header.png
alt: "single layout with header example"
- image_path: mm-layout-single-meta.png
alt: "single layout with comments and related posts"
---
{% include base_path %}
{% include toc icon="columns" title="Included Layouts" %}
The bread and butter of any theme. Below you'll find the layouts included with Minimal Mistakes, what they look like and the type of content they've been built for.
## Default Layout
The base layout all other layouts inherit from. There's not much to this layout apart from pulling in several `_includes`:
* `` elements
* masthead navigation links
* {% raw %}`{{ content }}`{% endraw %}
* page footer
* scripts
**Note:** You won't ever assign this layout directly to a post or page. Instead all other layouts will build off of it by setting `layout: default` in their YAML Front Matter.
{: .notice--warning}
## Compress Layout
A Jekyll layout that compresses HTML in pure Liquid.
* [Documentation](http://jch.penibelst.de/)
## Single Layout
The layout you'll likely use the most --- sidebar and main content combo.
**Includes:**
* Optional header image with caption
* Optional header overlay (solid color/image) + text and optional "call to action" button
* Optional social sharing links module
* Optional comments module
* Optional related posts module
{% include gallery id="single_layout_gallery" caption="Image header and meta info examples for `single` layout" %}
Assign with `layout: single`, or better yet apply as a [Front Matter default]({{ base_path }}/docs/configuration/#front-matter-defaults) in `_config.yml`.
## Archive Layout
Essentially the same as `single` with markup adjustments and some modules removed.
**Includes:**
* Optional header image with caption
* Optional header overlay (solid color/image) + text and optional "call to action" button
* List and grid views
List view example.
Below are sample archive pages you can easily drop into your project, taking care to rename `permalink`, `title`, or the filename to fit your site. Each is 100% compatible with GitHub Pages.
* [All Posts Grouped by Category -- List View][posts-categories]
* [All Posts Grouped by Tags -- List View][posts-tags]
* [All Posts Grouped by Year -- List View][posts-year]
* [All Posts Grouped by Collection -- List View][posts-collection]
* [Portfolio Collection -- Grid View][portfolio-collection]
[posts-categories]: {{ site.gh_repo }}/gh-pages/_pages/category-archive.html
[posts-tags]: {{ site.gh_repo }}/gh-pages/_pages/tag-archive.html
[posts-year]: {{ site.gh_repo }}/gh-pages/_pages/year-archive.html
[posts-collection]: {{ site.gh_repo }}/gh-pages/_pages/collection-archive.html
[portfolio-collection]: {{ site.gh_repo }}/gh-pages/_pages/portfolio-archive.html
Post and page excerpts are auto-generated by Jekyll which grabs the first paragraph of text. To override this text with something more specific use the following YAML Front Matter:
```yaml
excerpt: "A unique line of text to describe this post that will display in an archive listing and meta description with SEO benefits."
```
### Grid View
Adding `type=grid` to the `archive-single` helper will display archive posts in a 4 column grid. For example to create an archive displaying all documents in the portfolio collection:
**Step 1:** Create a portfolio archive page (eg. `_pages/portfolio-archive.html`) with the following YAML Front Matter:
```yaml
---
layout: archive
title: "Portfolio"
permalink: /portfolio/
author_profile: false
---
```
**Step 2:** Loop over all documents in the portfolio collection and output in a grid:
```html
{% raw %}{% include base_path %}
{% for post in site.portfolio %}
{% include archive-single.html type="grid" %}
{% endfor %}{% endraw %}
```
To produce something like this:
Grid view example.
**Note:** More information on using this `_include` can be found under [**Helpers and Shortcodes**]({{ base_path }}/docs/helpers-and-shortcodes/).
{: .notice--info}
### Taxonomy Archive
If you have the luxury of using Jekyll plugins the creation of category and tag archives is greatly simplified. Enable support for the [`jekyll-archives`](https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll-archives) plugin with a few `_config.yml` settings as noted in the [**Configuration**]({{ base_path }}/docs/configuration/#archive-settings) section.
### Home Page
Minimal Mistakes ships with an [`index.html`]({{ site.gh_repo }}/blob/master/index.html) in the root of the project for displaying recent posts.
**Includes:**
* Optional header image with caption
* Optional header overlay (solid color/image) + text and optional "call to action" button
* Paginated posts
Post pagination is achieved by assigning `layout: archive` in the YAML Front Matter and including the following Liquid in the body:
```html
{% raw %}
{% include base_path %}
Recent Posts
{% for post in paginator.posts %}
{% include archive-single.html %}
{% endfor %}
{% include paginator.html %}
{% endraw %}
```
Home page post pagination example.
**Note:** For more pagination related settings check the [**Configuration**]({{ base_path }}/docs/configuration/#paginate) section.
{: .notice--info}
## Splash Page Layout
For full-width landing pages that need a little something extra add `layout: splash` to the YAML Front Matter.
**Includes:**
* Optional header image with caption
* Optional header overlay (solid color/image) + text and optional "call to action" button
* Feature blocks (`left`, `center`, and `right` alignment options)
Feature blocks can be assigned and aligned to the `left`, `right`, or `center` with a sprinkling of YAML. For full details on how to use the `feature_row` helper check the [**Content**]({{ base_path }}/docs/helpers-and-shortcodes/) section or review a [sample splash page]({{ site.gh_repo }}/gh-pages/_pages/splash-page.md).
---
## Headers
To add some visual punch to a post or page, a large full-width header image can be included.
**Note:** Be sure to resize your header images. `~1280px` is a good medium if you aren't [responsively serving up images](http://alistapart.com/article/responsive-images-in-practice). Through the magic of CSS they will scale up or down to fill the container. If you go with something too small it will look like garbage when upscaled, and something too large will hurt performance.
{: .notice--warning}
Place your images in the `/images/` folder and add the following YAML Front Matter:
```yaml
header:
image: image-filename.jpg
```
For externally hosted images include the full image path instead of just the filename:
```yaml
header:
image: http://some-site.com/image.jpg
```
To include a caption or attribution for the image:
```yaml
header:
image: unsplash-image-1.jpg
caption: "Photo credit: [**Unsplash**](https://unsplash.com)"
```
**ProTip:** Captions written in Markdown are supported, so feel free to add links, or style text. Just be sure to wrap it in quotes.
{: .notice--info}
### Header Overlay
To overlay text on top of a header image you have a few more options:
| Front Matter variable | Description |
| --------------------- | ----------- |
| `overlay_image` | Header image you'd like to overlay. Same rules as `header.image` from above. |
| `excerpt` | Auto-generated page excerpt is added to the overlay text or can be overridden. |
| `cta_label` | Call to action button text label (default is `more_label` in UI Text data file). |
| `cta_url` | Call to action button URL. |
With this YAML Front Matter:
```yaml
excerpt: "This post should display a **header with an overlay image**, if the theme supports it."
header:
overlay_image: unsplash-image-1.jpg
caption: "Photo credit: [**Unsplash**](https://unsplash.com)"
cta_label: "More Info"
cta_url: "https://unsplash.com"
```
You should get an header image overlaid with text and a call to action button.
You also have the option of specifying a solid background-color to use instead of an image.
```yaml
excerpt: "This post should display a **header with a solid background color**, if the theme supports it."
header:
overlay_color: "#333"
```
---
## Sidebars
The space to the left of a page's main content is blank by default, but has the option to show an author profile (name, short biography, social media links), custom content, or both.
### Author Profile
Add `author_profile: true` to a post or page's YAML Front Matter.
Better yet, enable it with Front Matter Defaults set in `_config.yml`.
```yaml
defaults:
# _posts
- scope:
path: ""
type: posts
values:
author_profile: true
```
**Note:** To disable the author sidebar profile for a specific post or page, add `author_profile: false` to the YAML Front Matter instead.
{: .notice--warning}
### Custom Sidebar Content
Blocks of content can be added by using the following under `sidebar`:
| Front Matter variable | Description |
| --------------------- | ----------- |
| `title` | Title or heading. |
| `image` | Image path placed in `/images/` folder or an external URL. |
| `image_alt` | Alternate description for image. |
| `text` | Markdown supported text. |
Multiple blocks can also be added by following the example below:
```yaml
sidebar:
- title: "Title"
image: http://placehold.it/350x250
image_alt: "image"
text: "Some text here."
- title: "Another Title"
text: "More text here."
```
Example of custom sidebar content added as YAML Front Matter.
**ProTip:** Custom sidebar content added to a post or page's YAML Front Matter will appear above the author profile if enabled with `author_profile: true`.
{: .notice--info}
