Your site includes two elements to choose from that can display scrolling content: The News Ticker and the Marquee. If you have not yet converted your website to FLEX Pro, only the News Ticker will appear as an option. Converting to FLEX Pro is necessary to use the Marquee.
Using the Marquee if you Have Converted to FLEX Pro
If you have already updated your website to FLEX Pro, one of the elements you can incorporate into your header and footer is called the Marquee.
The Marquee is meant as a replacement for the News Ticker, and for that reason, there are some notable differences between the two. First, the Marquee will cycle through entries horizontally, as opposed to vertically like the News Ticker did. Second, the Marquee utilizes continuous scroll, it does not have an option for showing just a single entry at a time.
Finally, the Marquee has a lot more content options that can be displayed. These include breaking news entries, all headlines, recent scores, upcoming games (if you have the Site Booster add-on), and custom text.
Adding the Marquee to your header or footer
- Click on the SNO Design Options link under Appearance on the left navigation bar in the WordPress dashboard.
- Click into the Site Designer tab.
- Within the header or footer designer portions of this page, click Add Row and position as desired.
- Click on Add Content and select Marquee.
- Configure the content and design settings as needed.
- Click Save All Design Options in the top right corner of the page.
Using the Marquee Element to Display Breaking News
- Click on the Breaking News on the left navigation bar in the WordPress dashboard.
- Create a Breaking News headline
- Click Publish
- When you are done with the headline you can delete it in the Breaking News tab.
Using the News Ticker if you Haven’t Converted to FLEX Pro
Your site includes a scrolling news ticker that can be set to display in four different locations at the top of your site. This news ticker is designed for short, one-sentence updates, which can be linked to full stories on your site. You can choose to manually enter the headlines that will show on the news ticker or choose to have it automatically scroll through any number of your recent headlines.
To set it up go to the News Ticker section from the SNO Design Options page under Appearance on the WordPress dashboard. There you can change the settings and design of the News Ticker, as well as click the quick links to add actual entries or manage your entries.
You can choose whether to display the ticker, how many headlines to display, whether to display the date, and which colors to use. You can also choose whether to display All Recent Headlines or Only Breaking News Entries. If you choose to display Only Breaking News Entries you will need to manually enter breaking news headlines.
Activating the News Ticker
- Click on the SNO Design Options link under Appearance on the left navigation bar in the WordPress dashboard.
- Scroll down to the News Ticker options.
- Configure the options as needed.
- Click Save All Settings.
Adding a Breaking News Headline (if needed)
- Click on Add New under the Breaking News section on the left navigation bar in the WordPress dashboard or from the News Ticker Content section in the SNO Design Options.
- Enter your Breaking News headline (this is what your readers will see scroll).
- If you want your headline to link to a story or something else, add that link in the Link URL box. Make sure your link starts with “http://”.
- Click Publish.
IMPORTANT: You only need to complete this process if you chose to display Only Breaking News Entries in the News Ticker options on the SNO Design Options page.