TopNews

Not every story arrives with a photo

A press release late in the evening, a breaking brief, an opinion column: not everything a small outlet publishes comes with an image of its own. And a front page built with photo cards forces you to choose between leaving a gap, repeating a stock image or holding the story until you find something to put on top.

TopNews is a WordPress theme for news, newspapers, magazines, blogs and video publishing, and its options include a no-image layout aimed at exactly that situation. What makes it useful is something else: every category can have its own layout, so the opinion section can run without photos and the sports section with them, with neither constraining the other.

It is worth deciding that when you plan the site. Ask which sections usually go out without an image, start there and try it with real stories.

The pieces for building the outlet

• Home pages and headers: several home layouts and three header types.
• Navigation: six menu styles and a mega menu.
• Listings: more than six blog layout types, a different layout per category and a no-image layout.
• Recent news blocks: several, with the option of choosing multiple categories and tags.
• Sliders: three types.
• Sidebars: five layouts, unlimited creation and a different sidebar for each page.
• Look: boxed or full-width design, Google Fonts, colors and title and menu fonts from the theme panel.
• Per page: a settings box controls the header style, footer visibility and logo.

If your newsroom also publishes video

Each post accepts its own YouTube or Vimeo link, and there is a playlist shortcode for those two platforms. This lets you keep video on the platform where you already upload it and bring it into the story, without hosting it on your server.

The playlist fits on a section page or a themed front page. Since categories accept their own layout, you can treat the video section differently from the rest of the paper.

What it is built with and what stays with you

Pages are put together with WPBakery Page Builder, the drag-and-drop builder used to create the home pages. If you prefer another builder, bear in mind that your home designs will start from that tool. It is also compatible with bbPress, in case your outlet wants a forum.

A theme does not solve the running of the newsroom. Stories do not arrive on their own, photos are still your work and the front page has to be composed. If the no-image layout becomes the norm for every section, consider whether you need a more text-based front-page theme.

Setting up the paper from the package

Before importing, raise your host's PHP limits, such as max_execution_time to 180 and memory_limit to 128M, to avoid blank screens and demos that fail halfway. Then:

1. Unzip the package and upload TopNews.zip under Appearance, Themes, Add New.
2. Activate the theme and follow the notice to install the required plugins.
3. Under Appearance, Import, run the demo import, with or without the listed plugins.
4. Choose your home page under Settings, Reading.
5. Upload the logo in the Customizer, with a Retina version at twice the size.
6. Create your menu and assign it to the Main Menu location.
7. Set the layout for each category, starting with those that go out without a photo.

Newspapers with a different focus in the catalog

If your outlet publishes at high volume and lives on several income sources, JNews takes a scale and monetization approach, with AMP support. For those who think of the front page as a composition of blocks that can be reordered, ColorMag Pro works that way, and Herald is built for portals covering several areas.

Since TopNews home pages are put together with that builder, you can review WPBakery Page Builder if you want to get to know it first.

How it fits a small newsroom

Can I publish without a featured image?

It has a no-image layout. Try it with your real stories, especially on the front page and recent blocks.

Does it include a demo to import?

Yes, imported from Appearance, Import, and you can decide whether to install the listed plugins.

Is it suitable for a personal blog?

Yes, blogs are among its uses, along with news, magazines and video.