Posting Protocol

Wellington Advertiser Website Publication Standards

Document Version: 1.0
Last Updated: January 21, 2026
For: Editorial & Publishing Staff

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Theme Architecture Overview
2. Homepage Structure
3. Featured Post System
4. Tag-Based Sections
5. Posting Protocol
6. Daily Publishing Workflow
7. Featured Image Requirements
8. Best Practices
9. Troubleshooting
10. Quick Reference Guide

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THEME ARCHITECTURE OVERVIEW

How The Theme Works

The Reporter theme uses a reverse chronological + featured post system:

1. Featured Posts (marked with ⭐ in Ghost) display in the Hero Section
2. Latest Posts display in the sidebar (tagged with "news", NOT featured)
3. Tag-Based Sections pull the most recent posts with specific tags
4. Footer Sections display recent posts from specific categories

Critical Concepts

MOST RECENT = TOP POSITION

• Ghost displays posts in reverse chronological order
• The LAST post published appears FIRST
• This is why you post least important stories first, top stories last

Featured vs. Non-Featured

• Featured Posts: ⭐ Marked as featured in Ghost → Appear in Hero Section
• Non-Featured Posts: Regular posts → Appear in sidebar "Latest Posts" and tag sections

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HOMEPAGE STRUCTURE

Your homepage displays in this order (top to bottom):

1. HERO SECTION (Above the Fold)

Current Layout: Featured Type 5 (10-position layout)
What Shows: 10 featured posts + Latest Posts sidebar widget
Filter: featured:true
Display Order: Most recently published featured post = Position 1 (top left)

Hero Section Layout:

• Center Column (Positions 1-4): PRIME REAL ESTATE - Largest images

  • Position 1: Top center - Large featured story with prominent image (NEWEST POST)
  • Position 2: Left side below hero - Featured story with image
  • Position 3: Right side below hero - Featured story with image
  • Position 4: Full-width below - Featured story with image

• Left Column (Positions 5-10): Vertical stack of 6 posts

  • Position 5 has large image
  • Positions 6-10 are text-only (no images)

• Right Sidebar: Latest Posts Widget

  • Shows 7 most recent posts with news tag (NOT featured)
  • First post has image
  • Remaining posts are text-only

CRITICAL POSITIONING:

• Position 1 (top center) = Most important story = NEWEST featured post published
• Positions 2-4 (center column) = Important stories with images
• Publish featured stories in NATURAL order (1, 2, 3, 4...) - newest automatically becomes Position 1

2. POLICE SECTION

What Shows: 10 most recent posts tagged "police"
Layout: Type 16 (numbered list, no images)
Filter: tag:police

3. WEEKLY POLL BANNER

Static banner linking to weekly poll page

4. ARTS SECTION

What Shows: 10 most recent posts tagged "arts"
Layout: Type 2 (image-heavy grid)
Filter: tag:arts

5. SPORTS SECTION

What Shows: 5 most recent posts tagged "sports"
Layout: Type 3 (action-focused)
Filter: tag:sports

6. E-EDITION BANNER

Static banner linking to current week's edition

7. RURAL SECTION

What Shows: 7 most recent posts tagged "rural"
Layout: Type 1 (large featured + grid)
Filter: tag:rural

8. BUSINESS SECTION

What Shows: 7 most recent posts tagged "business"
Layout: Type 1 (large featured + grid)
Filter: tag:business

9. SPONSORED SECTION

What Shows: 10 most recent posts tagged "sponsored"
Layout: Type 2 (image-heavy grid)
Filter: tag:sponsored

10. SUBSCRIPTION BANNER

Email signup form

11. FOOTER SECTIONS

• News: 5 most recent posts tagged "news"
• Community News: 5 most recent posts tagged "community-news"
• Editorials: 5 most recent posts tagged "editorials"
• Letters: 5 most recent posts tagged "letters"
• Columns: 5 most recent posts tagged "columns"

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FEATURED POST SYSTEM

How Featured Posts Display

Current Configuration: Featured Type 5 (10-position layout)

• Total Slots: 10 featured posts required
• Center Column: Positions 1-4 (LARGEST IMAGES - prime positions)
• Left Column: Positions 5-10 (Position 5 has image, 6-10 text-only)
• Right Sidebar: Latest Posts widget (7 non-featured news posts)

Featured Post Requirements

Minimum Featured Posts: 10

• If you have fewer than 10 featured posts, the hero section shows "not enough posts"
• Always maintain at least 10 featured posts on the site

Maximum Featured Posts: No limit, but only 10 display in hero section

• Extra featured posts won't show in hero section
• They'll display in tag sections if appropriately tagged

Position Control

CRITICAL: The MOST RECENTLY PUBLISHED featured post appears in Position 1 (top center/main story)

THE CENTER COLUMN (Positions 1-4) IS YOUR FRONT PAGE

• These four positions have the largest images
• Position 1 = Your lead story (most recent featured post)
• Position 2 = Your second story (second most recent)
• Position 3 = Your third story (third most recent)
• Position 4 = Your fourth story (fourth most recent)

Example Timeline for Top 4 Stories:

9:10 AM - Publish & Feature: "Feature Story #4" → Position 1 (lead story, top center)
9:15 AM - Publish & Feature: "Feature Story #3" → Position 1 (Story #4 moves to Position 2)
9:20 AM - Publish & Feature: "Feature Story #2" → Position 1 (Story #3 moves to 2, #4 moves to 3)
9:25 AM - Publish & Feature: "TOP STORY #1" → Position 1 (Story #2 moves to 2, #3 to 3, #4 to 4)

Result: Your most important story is Position 1 (top center with largest image)

To Keep a Story in Position 1:

• Don't feature any newer posts
• Update the existing post to bump its timestamp (edit and re-save)

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TAG-BASED SECTIONS

Required Tags for Homepage Display

Section	Tag Slug	Posts Displayed
Police	police	10
Arts	arts	10
Sports	sports	5
Rural	rural	7
Business	business	7
Sponsored	sponsored	10

Latest Posts Sidebar Widget

Requirements:

• Tag: news
• Featured: NO (uncheck the featured checkbox)
• Display: 7 most recent posts (first with image, rest text-only)

How It Works:

• Only shows non-featured posts with "news" tag
• Updates automatically as you publish
• Most recent = Top position
• First post displays with image, posts 2-7 are text-only

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POSTING PROTOCOL

Standard Publishing Sequence

RULE: Post stories in NATURAL order

• Most important → Least important (OR schedule all at once)
• The newest featured post automatically appears in Position 1 (center top)
• Position 1 (top center, largest image) = Your lead story = Newest featured post

Daily Morning Edition Workflow

All posts scheduled the day before for 7:00 AM publication

PHASE 1: BACKGROUND STORIES (Scheduled for 7:15 AM - 7:40 AM)

Schedule these posts FIRST (they'll be oldest featured posts = Positions 5-10):

1. Feature Story #10 (Scheduled: 7:15 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 10 (bottom left, text-only)
   • Purpose: Fills background position

2. Feature Story #9 (Scheduled: 7:18 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 9 (left column, text-only)
   • Purpose: Community/regional interest

3. Feature Story #8 (Scheduled: 7:21 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 8 (left column, text-only)
   • Purpose: Business content

4. Feature Story #7 (Scheduled: 7:24 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 7 (left column, text-only)
   • Purpose: Arts/culture

5. Feature Story #6 (Scheduled: 7:27 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 6 (left column, text-only)
   • Purpose: Sports/recreation

6. Feature Story #5 (Scheduled: 7:30 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 5 (top left, with image)
   • Purpose: Local government/council

PHASE 2: NON-FEATURED CONTENT (Scheduled for 7:00 AM - 7:40 AM)

Background content that fills sections but NOT hero:

8. Sponsored Content (if any) (Scheduled: 7:00 AM)

   • Tags: sponsored, relevant section tag
   • Featured: No
   • Purpose: Fills sponsored section, does NOT go in hero

9. Community Briefs (Multiple posts) (Scheduled: 7:05 AM - 7:20 AM)

   • Tags: community-news, news
   • Featured: No
   • Purpose: Fills Latest Posts sidebar and community section

10. Section Content (Business, Rural, Arts posts) (Scheduled: 7:10 AM - 7:40 AM)

    • Tags: Appropriate section tags + news
    • Featured: No
    • Purpose: Fills tag sections throughout homepage

PHASE 3: TOP 4 STORIES - CENTER POSITIONS (Scheduled for 7:35 AM - 7:55 AM)

THE FRONT PAGE - Schedule these LAST in NATURAL order (or all at same time):

7. Feature Story #4 (Scheduled: 7:35 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 4 (center full-width, LARGE IMAGE)
   • Featured Image Required: High quality, 1200x800px minimum
   • Purpose: Fourth most important story

8. Feature Story #3 (Scheduled: 7:45 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 3 (center right side, LARGE IMAGE)
   • Featured Image Required: High quality, 1200x800px minimum
   • Purpose: Third most important story

9. Feature Story #2 (Scheduled: 7:50 AM)

   • Tags: Primary section tag + news
   • Featured: YES ⭐
   • Position: Will be Position 2 (center left side, LARGE IMAGE)
   • Featured Image Required: High quality, 1200x800px minimum
   • Purpose: Second most important story

10. TOP STORY - Feature Story #1 (Scheduled: 7:55 AM)

    • Tags: Primary section tag + news
    • Featured: YES ⭐
    • Position: Position 1 (top center, LARGEST IMAGE - LEAD STORY)
    • Featured Image Required: Highest quality, 1200x800px minimum
    • Purpose: YOUR FRONT PAGE HEADLINE

PHASE 4: NON-FEATURED CONTENT (Scheduled for 7:00 AM - 7:40 AM)

11. Latest Posts Content (7+ posts)

    • Tags: news (and other section tags as appropriate)
    • Featured: NO
    • Purpose: Fills "Latest Posts" sidebar widget
    • Note: First post will display with image, rest are text-only

12. Sports Updates (Scheduled: 7:10 AM)

    • Tags: sports, news
    • Featured: No
    • Purpose: Fills sports section

13. Police/Crime Reports (Scheduled: 7:15 AM)

    • Tags: police, news
    • Featured: No
    • Purpose: Fills police section

14. Opinion/Letters (Scheduled: 7:20 AM)

    • Tags: letters or editorials, news
    • Featured: No
    • Purpose: Fills footer opinion sections

PHASE 5: VERIFICATION (Day of publication - 6:45 AM)

15. Pre-Publication Check

    • Verify all 10 featured posts are scheduled correctly
    • Confirm Position 1 is your lead story (scheduled last = 7:55 AM)
    • Check all non-featured content is scheduled
    • Review all featured images are uploaded

16. At 7:00 AM - Homepage Goes Live

    • Monitor that all posts publish correctly
    • Verify hero section shows all 10 featured posts
    • Confirm center positions (1-4) display with large images
    • Check "Latest Posts" sidebar shows recent non-featured news

17. Post-Publication Verification (7:05 AM)

    • Police: 10 posts showing
    • Arts: 10 posts showing
    • Sports: 5 posts showing
    • Rural: 7 posts showing
    • Business: 7 posts showing
    • Sponsored: 10 posts showing
    • Footer sections: All displaying correctly

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FEATURED IMAGE REQUIREMENTS

Hero Section (Featured Posts)

Position 1 (Lead Story - Top Center):

• Dimensions: 1200 x 800 px minimum (3:2 ratio)
• Format: JPG or WebP
• Size: Under 500 KB
• Quality: Highest - this is your front page lead
• Content: Clear, compelling, tells the story at a glance

Positions 2-4 (Center Column):

• Dimensions: 1200 x 800 px minimum (3:2 ratio)
• Format: JPG or WebP
• Size: Under 500 KB
• Quality: High - prominent center display
• Content: Strong visual storytelling

Position 5 (Top Left - Left Column):

• Dimensions: 800 x 600 px minimum (4:3 ratio)
• Format: JPG or WebP
• Size: Under 300 KB
• Quality: Good - smaller but visible

Positions 6-10 (Left Column):

• No images displayed (text-only layout)
• Featured images not required for these positions
• Focus on strong headlines

Tag Sections

Arts, Sports, Business, Rural:

• Dimensions: 600 x 400 px minimum
• Format: JPG or WebP
• Size: Under 200 KB
• Quality: Standard newspaper photography

Police Section:

• No images displayed (text-only layout)
• Featured images not required for police posts

Latest Posts Sidebar

• Dimensions: 400 x 300 px minimum
• Format: JPG or WebP
• Size: Under 150 KB
• Quality: Thumbnail-appropriate
• Note: Only first post displays image, remaining 6 are text-only

General Image Guidelines

✅ DO:

• Use high-contrast images
• Ensure faces are clearly visible
• Use landscape orientation (horizontal)
• Compress images before upload
• Include alt text for accessibility

❌ DON'T:

• Use portrait orientation for featured posts
• Upload raw camera files (too large)
• Use heavily filtered/edited images
• Rely on small details (may not show at smaller sizes)

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BEST PRACTICES

Publishing Best Practices

1. Maintain Minimum Post Counts

Always Keep:

• At least 10 featured posts live (for hero section)
• At least 7 posts with "news" tag (not featured) for Latest Posts widget
• At least 5 posts per section tag

Why: Prevents "not enough posts" messages

2. Use Consistent Tagging

Primary Tag Rules:

• Every post must have at least ONE section tag
• Section tags: news,police, arts, sports, rural, business, sponsored etc.
• All posts should have one primary tag.

Secondary Tags:

• Use specific location tags by municipality: centre-wellington, erin, wellington-county, etc.
• Maximum 2 tags per post
• Use topic # tags for internal search of posts: council, education, health,mayor, etc.
• If you don't require internal search function to recall previous stories, do not add additional #tags.
• Use the search function on the live site.

3. Featured Post Management

Daily Maintenance:

• Review featured posts each morning
• Un-feature posts older than 48 hours (unless evergreen)
• Maintain 10-12 active featured posts
• Rotate featured posts for fresh homepage

Featured Post Lifespan:

• Breaking news: 6-12 hours
• Major stories (Positions 1-4): 24-48 hours
• Background stories (Positions 5-10): 48-72 hours
• Evergreen content: Up to 1 week

4. Posting Cadence

Optimal Schedule:

• Morning (Scheduled Day Before): 20+ posts scheduled for 7:00 AM-7:55 AM
  • 10 featured posts (hero section) - scheduled in natural order
  • 10+ non-featured posts (Latest Posts, sections, footer)
• Afternoon: 3-5 posts (updates, new stories)
• Evening: 1-2 posts (columns, late-breaking)

Avoid:

• Publishing additional featured stories after 7:55 AM without planning (disrupts Position 1)
• Long gaps (6+ hours) without new content in Latest Posts
• Featuring more than 12 posts simultaneously

5. Quality Control Checklist

Before Publishing:

• [ ] Featured image uploaded (if required)
• [ ] All tags applied correctly
• [ ] Featured checkbox status confirmed
• [ ] Post scheduled or published
• [ ] Preview checked on mobile
• [ ] Links tested

After Publishing:

• [ ] Post appears in correct section
• [ ] Featured posts display correctly
• [ ] Images load properly
• [ ] Tags link correctly

SEO Best Practices

Title Optimization:

• 50-60 characters ideal
• Include location (Fergus, Elora, etc.) when relevant
• Front-load important keywords
• Avoid clickbait

Excerpt/Meta Description:

• 150-160 characters
• Summarize key points
• Include call-to-action when appropriate

URL Structure:

• Clean, readable slugs
• Include primary keyword
• Remove unnecessary words
• Example: /business/new-brewery-opens-fergus/

Editorial Workflow

Story Prioritization:

Tier 1 - Featured Stories (Position 1 - Lead Story):

• Breaking news
• Major announcements
• Exclusive investigations
• Community impact stories

Tier 2 - Featured Stories (Positions 2-4 - Center Column):

• Important local news
• Significant events
• Major feature stories
• Top sports coverage

Tier 3 - Featured Stories (Positions 5-10 - Supporting Content):

• Secondary local news
• Feature stories
• Community interest
• Business/lifestyle updates

Tier 4 - Latest Posts (Sidebar, Non-Featured):

• General news updates
• Smaller events
• Routine reports
• Follow-up stories

Tier 5 - Section Stories (Non-Featured):

• Briefs
• Announcements
• Community calendar
• Routine updates

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TROUBLESHOOTING

Common Issues & Solutions

Issue: "Not enough posts" in Hero Section

Cause: Fewer than 10 posts marked as featured

Solution:

1. Go to Ghost Admin → Posts
2. Filter: "Featured posts"
3. Count displayed posts
4. If fewer than 10, mark additional posts as featured
5. Refresh homepage

Issue: Wrong story in Position 1 (Lead Story)

Cause: A newer post was featured after your intended lead story

Solution:

1. Find the story that should be Position 1
2. Edit the post
3. Change publish date to current time
4. Save/Update
5. Post moves to Position 1

Alternative:

1. Un-feature all other posts temporarily
2. Re-feature them in desired order (oldest to newest)
3. Feature your intended lead story LAST

Issue: Latest Posts sidebar empty

Cause: Not enough non-featured posts with "news" tag

Solution:

1. Check you have at least 7 posts with "news" tag
2. Ensure those posts are NOT featured
3. Un-feature some posts if necessary

Issue: Tag section empty (Police, Arts, etc.)

Cause: No recent posts with that tag

Solution:

1. Check posts have correct tag slug (exact match required)
2. Verify tag exists in Ghost Admin → Tags
3. Publish more posts with that tag

Issue: Footer sections empty

Cause: No posts with specific footer tags

Solution:

1. Verify these tags exist and are used:
   • news
   • community-news
   • editorials
   • letters
   • columns
2. Tag recent posts appropriately
3. Publish at least 5 posts per tag

Issue: Images not displaying

Cause: Various - file size, format, upload error

Solution:

1. Check image file size (under 500 KB)
2. Verify format (JPG, PNG, or WebP)
3. Re-upload image
4. Clear browser cache
5. Check Ghost media library for upload

Issue: Posts in wrong order

Cause: Publish dates/times out of sequence

Solution:

1. Edit posts to correct publish dates
2. Ensure time stamps are correct
3. Remember: Most recent = Top position

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QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

Featured Post Position Control

To place a story in Position 1 (Lead Story):

1. Schedule/Publish it LAST (7:55 AM = most recent)
2. It will have the largest image in top center

To place stories in Positions 2-4 (Center Column):

1. Schedule them just before Position 1
2. Position 2: Third-to-last featured (7:50 AM)
3. Position 3: Fourth-to-last featured (7:45 AM)
4. Position 4: Fifth-to-last featured (7:35 AM)

To maintain Position 1:

1. Don't feature any newer posts
2. Or: Edit post, update timestamp to current time, re-save

To replace Position 1:

1. Publish new story
2. Mark as Featured
3. Previous Position 1 becomes Position 2
4. Previous Position 2 becomes Position 3
5. Previous Position 3 becomes Position 4
6. Previous Position 4 becomes Position 5

Emergency Contacts

Technical Issues:

• Theme developer: HighFiveThemes
• Ghost Support: https://ghost.org/help/

Publishing Questions:

• Editor-in-Chief: editor@wellingtonadvertiser.com
• Site Admin: dmochrie@wellingtonadvertiser.com
• Site Dev: pmerlihan@woolwichobserver.com

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APPENDIX A: LAYOUT TYPES REFERENCE

Featured Types (Hero Section)

Featured Type 5 (CURRENT)

• 10 posts required
• Center column: 4 posts with LARGEST IMAGES (Positions 1-4)
  • Position 1: Main hero (top center)
  • Positions 2-3: Side-by-side below hero
  • Position 4: Full-width below
• Left column: 6 posts (Position 5 with image, 6-10 text-only)
• Right sidebar: Latest Posts widget (7 posts)
• Best for: Newspaper-style front page with prominent center stories
• NEWEST post automatically displays in Position 1 (top center)

Featured Type 1

• 4 posts required
• 1 large + 3 grid cards
• Best for: Balanced news coverage

Featured Type 2

• 3 posts required
• 1 large + 2 medium cards
• Best for: Focus on fewer top stories

Featured Type 3

• 5 posts required
• 1 large + 4 smaller cards
• Best for: More story coverage

Featured Type 4

• 6 posts required
• Complex grid layout
• Best for: Magazine-style

Other Featured Types

• Various layouts from 3-10 posts
• Contact theme developer for layout details

Content Section Types

Type 1: Large featured + grid (7 posts)
Type 2: Image-heavy grid (10 posts)
Type 3: Action-focused (5 posts)
Type 16: Text-only numbered list (10 posts)

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APPENDIX B: GHOST ADMIN SHORTCUTS

Quick Actions

Publish New Post:

1. Admin → Posts → New Post
2. Write content
3. Add featured image (top right)
4. Add tags (right sidebar)
5. Check/uncheck Featured (right sidebar)
6. Publish

Feature Existing Post:

1. Admin → Posts
2. Find post
3. Click to edit
4. Right sidebar → Check "Feature this post"
5. Update

Change Post Date:

1. Edit post
2. Settings gear (top right)
3. Publication Date → Edit
4. Change date/time
5. Update

Bulk Feature Posts:

1. Admin → Posts
2. Select multiple posts (checkboxes)
3. Actions → Feature

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END OF DOCUMENT