Build a blog index in SGEN

In short. Your blog index is the listing page where all published posts appear. SGEN configures it in two places: Blog → Categories (create the filters) and Settings → Reading (designate the index page and set posts-per-page). Once both are done, the category filter and pagination appear automatically — no extra setup. Six steps, one session.

On this page: Before you start · Steps · What success looks like · Troubleshooting · Tips

What is this for?

This guide is for anyone who has blog posts publishing in SGEN and wants the blog index to be genuinely useful — not just a default list of posts. It covers the settings that govern how the index works, not how to write posts.

If you have not published your first post yet, start with Publish your first blog post, then come back once you have a few posts live.

This guide covers: setting the blog index page, configuring posts per page, enabling category filtering, setting the featured image display, and verifying the result.

How this connects to other features

• Blog posts — The blog index shows only Published posts. Draft posts do not appear. Every post on the index needs a category, a featured image, and a status of Published. See Publish your first blog post.
• Categories — Category setup is in Blog → Categories. Create your category structure before configuring the index. Full detail: Manage blog categories.
• Pages — The blog index is a page on your site. Its URL slug, SEO title, and meta description are set on the page record in Pages, not in the blog settings.
• Settings (Reading) — Posts-per-page and the blog index page designation live here, not in the Blog area.
• SG-Builder — The post card grid is system-rendered and is not editable in the builder. You can add an introductory banner above the listing via the blog index page settings, but the cards and pagination are not builder components.

Before you start

Have at least 3-5 published posts across at least two categories. An index with one post tells you nothing about whether filtering and pagination work.

Decide your category structure first. Categories are easier to set up before you have dozens of posts. Base them on audiences or purposes — not one per topic. Five to seven focused categories is more useful than twenty narrow ones.

Know your blog URL slug — /blog, /news, /updates. Confirm it before creating the page record.

Where to go: Blog index configuration spans two areas. Go to Blog in the left sidebar for posts and categories. Go to Settings for the index page designation and posts-per-page count.

Steps — Configure the blog listing, pagination, and category filters

1. Create your blog categories

Categories screen (Add New Category form with Name, Slug, Parent Category)" loading="lazy" style="width:100%;max-width:900px;height:auto;border-radius:8px;border:1px solid #e5e7eb;display:block;margin:12px 0">

Go to Blog in the left sidebar → click Categories. The list shows any existing categories, including Uncategorized.

For each category you want:

• Click Add New Category.
• Enter the Name — e.g., "Product Updates."
• The Slug auto-generates from the name. Edit it if the result is too long or unclear.
• Leave Parent Category empty unless this is a subcategory of another.
• Click Add Category.

Create all your categories in one session. Going back and forth between categories and posts to add new ones mid-build interrupts the workflow.

2. Assign categories to existing posts

If any published posts are sitting in Uncategorized, assign them now.

Go to Blog → Posts. For each uncategorized post: click the title → find the Category panel in the right sidebar → check the correct category → uncheck Uncategorized → click Update.

The change takes effect immediately — you do not need to re-publish the post.

3. Set the blog index page in Settings

Go to Settings in the left sidebar → find Reading (sometimes labeled "Blog" or "Content").

• Blog index page — select the page that will serve as your listing. If no Blog page exists yet, go to Pages → Add New Page, give it the title "Blog" and slug blog, save it, then return here to assign it.
• Posts per page — enter your chosen number. 12 is standard.
• Show featured images in feed — set to Yes. Posts without featured images look incomplete in the listing.
• Show post excerpt in feed — set to Yes. Visitors decide whether to click based on the excerpt.
• Click Save settings.

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4. Configure category filtering on the index

No extra setup needed. SGEN displays the category filter automatically once at least one published post exists in each category. The filter row appears above the post cards when the conditions are met.

To verify the filter is working:

• Open a private browser window.
• Navigate to yoursite.com/blog.
• The category filter should appear above the post cards as a row of links — All · Category A · Category B...
• Click one category link and confirm only posts in that category are shown.
• Click "All" and confirm all posts return.

If the filter is not appearing:

• Confirm each visible category has at least one published post assigned to it.
• Confirm the categories were saved in Blog → Categories.
• Confirm the blog index page setting in Settings points to the correct page.

Categories with zero published posts do not appear in the filter. If you added a category but have not yet published a post in it, the category will be absent until the first post is published.

5. Set post excerpts for the feed

Each post card in the blog index shows an excerpt below the title and featured image. SGEN auto-generates an excerpt from the first sentences of the post body — usually adequate, but not always ideal.

To set a custom excerpt for a post:

• Open the post in the blog post editor.
• Find the Excerpt field in the right sidebar (below the Category and Featured Image panels).
• Write one to two sentences that describe the post clearly.
• Click Update to save.

Custom excerpts appear in the blog index feed and in social media previews. They are worth writing for your most important posts.

6. Verify pagination is working

Open a private browser window and navigate to your blog index. Scroll to the bottom. If your post count exceeds the per-page limit, pagination controls appear at the bottom — "Older posts" or numbered page links depending on your theme.

Click through to page two and confirm:

• The correct posts appear (reverse chronological, beyond the per-page limit).
• Pagination controls are visible and functional.
• The URL updates to indicate the page number (e.g., /blog/page/2/).
• The category filter is still accessible on paginated pages.

If pagination is not appearing and you have more posts than the per-page limit, confirm the posts-per-page setting is saved in Settings and refresh the page.

What success looks like

When the blog index is configured correctly, all of these are true:

• The blog index is live at the correct URL (e.g., yoursite.com/blog) in a private browser.
• All published posts appear in reverse chronological order — most recent first.
• Pagination controls appear at the bottom when post count exceeds the per-page limit.
• Category filter links appear above the post listing once each category has at least one published post.
• Clicking a category shows only posts in that category; clicking All returns the full listing.
• Each post card shows the title, featured image thumbnail, excerpt, and category label.
• Draft posts do not appear in the listing.

What to do if it does not work

• The blog index URL is returning a page not found. Go to Pages, confirm the blog index page is Published, and check the URL Slug field on the page record.

• Posts are not in reverse chronological order. Posts sort by their published date, not by when they were created or last edited. Open the out-of-order post, find the date field in the sidebar, and correct it.

• Category filter is not appearing. Confirm each category in Blog → Categories has at least one published post. Also confirm you are checking in a private browser window — your admin session may show a different view than a visitor would see.

• Posts-per-page count is not changing after saving. Hard-refresh the blog index or open it in a private browser. The setting takes effect immediately, but the browser may be serving a cached version.

• Post excerpts are showing the wrong text. If you set a custom excerpt and it is not appearing, confirm the post was saved after adding the excerpt. The excerpt does not auto-save — you must click Update or Save.

• Pagination controls are not appearing. Confirm your total published post count exceeds the per-page limit. If you set 12 per page and have 12 or fewer published posts, pagination will not appear.

Tips for a strong blog index

• Assign every post a category before publishing. Uncategorized posts accumulate silently. By the time you notice, dozens of posts are in the bucket and need manual recategorization. Make category assignment a required step in your publish checklist.

• Write a custom excerpt for your highest-traffic posts. The auto-generated excerpt pulls from the first two sentences of the post body, which are often contextual rather than descriptive. A custom excerpt tells the visitor exactly what the post is about in the two seconds they spend deciding whether to click.

• Keep your category count to 5-7. More than eight categories and the filter becomes a list that visitors ignore. If you have more categories than that, consolidate similar ones.

• Set a featured image on every post. A post card without a featured image is visually hollow in the listing. Visitors use the image to orient to the content before they read the title. Set a featured image on every post before publishing.

• Always test pagination in a private browser after configuration. Pagination behavior can be affected by theme settings that are not visible in the dashboard. Verify in a private browser window before sending traffic to the blog index.