Create a carousel

Carousels are dynamic slideshows you can add to your homepage or a group page to welcome learners, showcase training content, link to helpful resources (both inside and outside our platform), and share important messages with clear calls to action.

Here's how carousels work:

• Carousels are made up of individual slides. Each slide can include an image, a title, a long description, and a link that's either embedded in the slide or attached to a button.
• Only one carousel can be displayed per homepage or group page.
• Carousel content is specific to the group and doesn't carry over to subgroups.
• Slides auto-advance, but learners can use the arrows to navigate or pause the carousel.
• You can change the placement of the carousel on the homepage and group pages along with other widgets.
  • See Configure the layout of a group page for a full list of widgets available on the group page and how to arrange them.
  • See Configure the layout of the homepage for a full list of widgets available on the homepage and how to arrange them.

While the basic functionality of a carousel is the same on both the homepage and group pages, there are key differences in how they are implemented on mobile:

• Homepage: The homepage carousel is not displayed on mobile apps.
• Group pages: Group page carousels are displayed on mobile apps (under the Discover tab). Please note that the carousel display on mobile differs from the web app due to screen size:
  • Slides in postcard layout are not displayed on mobile.
  • Slides in poster layout only display the image and title on mobile. The description is not displayed on mobile.

Create a carousel

1. Navigate to where you want to add the carousel:
   • For the homepage: In the left sidebar, click Home.
   • For a group page: In the left sidebar, click on a group.
2. At the top right of the main section, click Page Layout.
3. In the Page layout panel, either:
   • Click Add widget → Carousel → Next (if the Carousel widget isn't already there).
   • Click Carousel (if the Carousel widget is already listed).
4. Click Add slide.
   
   • The carousel is only displayed if an admin has added slides. If a carousel widget is added to the page layout but doesn't have content, then the carousel section is hidden.
5. Click to add an image.
   The Select an image dialog box opens. 
6. Import or Reuse an image. For more details on the recommended image dimensions and format, see Carousel image recommendations.
7. Select the Layout:
   • The poster layout (selected by default) displays a full image slide with the text on top of the image.
     • Slides in poster layout are displayed on the web and mobile apps.
     • If you later add a link to the poster layout, learners can click anywhere on the slide to be redirected to the specified URL.
   • The postcard layout displays the image on the left side of the slide and the accompanying text on the right side.
     • Slides in postcard layout are only displayed on the web app.
     • If you later add a link to the postcard layout, learners can click on the image and the button to be redirected to the specified URL.
8. Enter a Title (80 characters maximum) and a Description (150 characters maximum).
   • The description for slides in the poster layout is not displayed on mobile apps.
9. Optional: If you selected the postcard layout, enter the Button text (50 characters maximum). If you do not add a button text, the slide won’t display any button.
10. In the Link field, enter either of the following:
    
    • A URL address to redirect learners to a web page (inside or outside the platform).
    • A mailto link to allow learners to easily send an email from their own address to any recipient you specify. When a learner clicks on the mailto link in the carousel, the default email client of the learner's browser opens a new email with the recipient pre-filled.
      • To enter a mailto link, type mailto: and add the recipient email address. For example, mailto:grace.hopper@domain.com.
      • You can use a free mailto generator like this one to generate a mailto link with multiple recipients, or with the subject line and the body pre-filled.
11. Click Apply.
    The group page displays the carousel slide.
12. To continue editing the carousel, click to the left of the slide title.
13. To close the Page Layout panel, click Close.

The amount of text displayed in the carousel depends on the users' browser window size, the zoom settings, and the newsfeed display status (right-panel expanded or hidden).

Edit a carousel

You can edit the image, title, description, link, and button text of existing carousel slide, and add new slides to the carousel.

1. Go to the homepage (click Home in the left sidebar) or the group page (click the group name in the left sidebar) containing the carousel.
2. At the top right of the main section, click Page Layout.
3. In the Page layout panel, select Carousel. 
4. To edit an existing slide: Click the slide you wish to edit. Then:
   1. At the top right of the image, click  Edit to select a new image.
   2. Click on a field to edit it.
5. To add a new slide: Click Add slide. This will add a new blank slide to your carousel, which you can then populate with content (refer back to the Create a carousel section for details on adding content to a new slide).
6. Click Apply.

Schedule the display of a carousel slide

You can schedule when each slide in a carousel appears on the group page for all members:

1. Go to the homepage (click Home in the left sidebar) or the group page (click the group name in the left sidebar) containing the carousel.
2. At the top right of the main section, click Page Layout.
3. In the right-side panel, click Carousel.
4. Select the carousel slide you wish to schedule.
5. On the right side of Schedule display, switch the toggle to the on position.
6. Select a Start and/or an End date and time.
   • If you select only a Start date, the slide will be displayed starting from the selected date.
   • If you select only an End date, the slide appears immediately on the group page and will be removed on the selected date.
   • If you select both a Start and an End date, the slide will be shown on the group page between the selected dates.
7. Click Apply.

You can edit these dates at any time.

To deactivate the display schedule, switch the toggle to the off position in step 5. The slide will then remain on the group page until you either delete it or set a new display schedule.

Reorder carousel slides

1. Go to the homepage (click Home in the left sidebar) or the group page (click the group name in the left sidebar) containing the carousel.
2. At the top right of the main section, click Page Layout.
3. In the Page layout panel, select Carousel.
4. On the left of a slide, click  to drag and drop it up or down. 
5. Click Apply.

Delete a carousel slide

1. Go to the homepage (click Home in the left sidebar) or the group page (click the group name in the left sidebar) containing the carousel.
2. At the top right of the main section, click Page Layout.
3. In the Page layout panel, select Carousel.
4. Select the slide you wish to delete.
5. At the bottom of the right panel, click DELETE SLIDE.
6. Click Apply.

If you delete all the carousel slides, the carousel section is hidden from the group page.

Carousel image recommendations

Format

Carousel images can be in JPEG, PNG, or GIF format.

Image dimensions

We recommend the following image dimensions for each layout:

•  Poster layout: 1600x400 pixels
•  Postcard layout: 800x400 pixels

Smaller images may appear blurry or pixelated. Bigger images may be cropped.

No matter which image size you use, try to keep the main focus of the image near the center, with ample space above, below, and to the sides of that focus, whenever possible.

Please note: The carousel display on mobile differs from the web app due to screen size constraints. On mobile, only slides using the poster layout are shown, with a recommended image size of 1600 x 600 pixels.

Additional information

• We recommend using an image that does not contain any text to avoid an overlap between your visuals and the slide description.
• In the poster layout, the image is darkened with a dark gradient with the following CSS characteristics:

  linear-gradient(rgba(255, 255, 255, 0), rgb(24, 25, 29))

Carousel vs gallery

Carousels and galleries allow you to showcase specific content on group pages and redirect learners to internal or external URLs. Here are the basic differences between them:

• A carousel is a slideshow consisting of multiple slides.
  • Each slide can have an image, a title, a long description, and a hidden link or a button with a link.
  • The group page displays 1 slide at a time. Learners can navigate the carousel using the arrows below each slide or pause the carousel to view content at their own pace. The carousel will also automatically switch to the next slide if not paused.
  • Carousels are ideal for conveying a message with a call to action.
• A gallery displays up to 3 blocks in a row.
  • Each block can have an image, a brief caption, and a hidden link.
  • The group page displays all the blocks at the same time.
  • Galleries are ideal for categorizing content and improving the navigation experience inside and outside the platform.
  • Note: If your platform has early access to the homepage gallery, more than 3 image blocks can be displayed on all galleries, including those on group pages. Each row will still support up to 3 blocks, and the gallery will automatically arrange any additional blocks into new rows.