A guide to using Buffer's Start Page

Buffer’s Start Page gives you a blank canvas to showcase your most prized content, keeping your audience engaged for longer.

We think that you’ll find your new Start Page simple to navigate, customizable, and might we add… easy on the eyes! 👀

So, what is a Start Page anyway? It’s a microsite - a hand-crafted landing page - that you can put together in minutes and update in mere seconds. Craft one for a campaign, a cause, to showcase testimonials, to share cookie recipes - the ideas are endless, and we share oodles of examples here: https://buffer.com/start-page

When you’re ready to make your Start Page live, share its link across all of your social profiles, in your posts, on your blog, and on your business cards (wait, do those still exist? 😉).

Alright, let’s get into the how-to!

1. How to build your Start Page
2. How to use content blocks with your Start Page
3. How to schedule posts to your Start Page
4. How to manage multiple Start Pages
5. How to unpublish your Start Page
6. How to delete your Start Page

How to build your Start Page

1. To access Start Page click on the Start Page button in the navigation menu. You’ll see some default content populated to give you an idea of what you can create using Start Page, however you will be able to customize all of the content.

   

2. Click on Appearance to make your page stand out. You can choose your preferred Theme, Button Color and Font. The preview is automatically updated as you make changes within the Appearance tab.

   

   

3. Start Page is comprised of content blocks that allow you to customize the page by editing, adding, moving or removing elements of the page. You can access the content blocks that are active on your Start Page by clicking the Layout button on the right hand side of the screen.

   

4. Blocks can be edited by clicking directly on the block you’d like to edit. You can also click on the pencil icon that appears when hovering over a block within the Layout area.

   

   📝 Note that clicking on a block within the preview section doesn’t take you to editing that block in the Layout section. You must click on the block under the Layout section.

5. When you are done editing a content block, your edits will be reflected in the preview panel on the left side of the page once you click outside the area of the text composer. 

   

6. If you want to remove a content block, click on the trashcan icon that appears when hovering over a block in the Layout area. You can also click on the trashcan icon that appears when editing a specific content block.

   

   

7. If you want to hide a block without deleting it, click on the hide icon. This could come in handy when you don't need a block presently but would need it again later.

   

8. If you want to add a new content block, click on Add Block, then select the type of content block you wish to use.

   

9. Blocks can be repositioned by dragging and dropping them to your preferred spot.

   

10. Once you are done making all of your desired edits, click on Publish Changes.

    

1. From there, you will be asked to Choose your Start Page domain. Enter the name of your business or brand, then click Publish Start Page.

   

2. If you need to edit the domain of your Start Page, click on the settings icon at the bottom right of the page.

   

3. Click on Copy Link to easily copy the link to your Start Page.

   

4. Once you have copied your link, you will be shown quick links to the settings page of your social media channels so you can easily add the link to your Start Page to your socials.

   

5. Click on Statistics to view your daily, weekly and all time traffic as well as how many clicks all your links, including your social links are getting. NB. Please republish your Start Page to get the statistics on the clicks on your links. 

   

How to use content blocks with your Start Page

Let’s learn more about each content block and how to customize them for your specific business or brand.

1. Header
2. Link
3. Text
4. Image
5. Video
6. Social links

Header

Click on the Header block on the right hand side to edit the header information. The Header is the first thing people will see when they land on your Start Page, and should represent your brand or the content you are sharing. You can customize the Header with your brand name, a background image, a logo, and a few words about your brand or the purpose of the Start Page.

1. Under Logo or personal photo, click on Upload Image to upload your logo or image.

2. Enter the name of your business or brand in the text box under Your business or personal name

3. Share more about your business within the section A few words about you or your business. This has a 150 character limit. 

4. Under Header Format  select your preferred option. If an option With banner is selected, you would be able to upload a background image. The recommended size for your background image is 640 x 200 with the main elements in the safe zone. 

Link

Click on the Link content block. You can add a link to another page, blog or any other URL that you want to direct your audience towards.

1. Edit the text in the Label section.

2. Now, add the full URL under the Link section.

Text

Text blocks can be used to add extra details about your business or brand.

1. Enter your desired text under the Text section.

2. Click outside the area of the text composer to see the changes reflected in the Preview. 

Image

You can add images to your Start Page by using the Image content block.

1. Click Upload Image to upload your image.

2. Under the Image caption section, add the caption that should appear below your uploaded image.

3. If you would like your image to be hyperlinked, update the Link section to include the full URL of the link you wish to include.

Image Grid

You can also add a grid of images to your Start Page using the Image Grid content block. You may upload up to 18 images to the Image Grid block. Each image will be uploaded individually.

1. Click Image Links Grid under Advanced to upload your images.

2. Click Add New Image to add a new image to the grid.

3. If you would like your image to be hyperlinked, update the Link section to include the full URL of the link you wish to include.

4. Use the Alt Text section to add alternative text to your uploaded image.

Video

This is where you can add a link to a video that you would like to share with your audience.

1. Under the YouTube Video URL section, add the link to the video you wish to add to your Start Page.

2. Click outside the area of the text composer to see the changes reflected in the Preview. 

Social links

Here, you can add links to all of your social media sites.

1. Click on the Add Icon Link drop down, then select the desired social icon from the list below.

2. Add your desired URL to the Link section for each social link.

How to schedule posts to your Start Page

To set up Start Page scheduling*:

1. Navigate to your Start Page tool in the Buffer dashboard.
2. Click “+ Add Block”
3. Scroll down and select Updates Feed.
4. Click Publish Changes. You’ve now enabled Start Page scheduling!

*If you forget to take this step, a feed block will be created automatically for you. However, doing it yourself ensures that you get to choose the placement of it.

To create a Start Page post to be scheduled:

1. Head to your calendar or queue, select your Start Page, and create a post.
2. Add your post caption, image, and/or link. A preview will populate in the right side of your screen as you add and edit to the post draft. Once your post is ready, click Add to Queue or publish the post as you'd like.
3. Your Start Page post will go live at the scheduled day and time.

To remove a previously published scheduled post:

1. Go to the Start Page editor from your publishing dashboard.
2. Find the "Updates feed" block and click on it.
3. Find the post you want to delete and click on the trashcan icon.
4. Click "Publish Changes" and this update will no longer be shown on your feed.

How to manage multiple Start Pages

To create more than one Start Page, click on the name of your current Start Page in the upper-left corner and then click the + Create new Start Page button.

You can publish or unpublish any of your Start Pages at any time by following these steps. The published Start Pages would have a green tick next to their name.

Any unpublished Start Pages would have a grey X on the logo and a clear indication that the Page is not published.

How to unpublish your Start Page

1. From your Start Page dashboard, click on the Settings wheel in the lower right corner of the page.
2. Click Unpublish my page.
3. Click the Confirm and unpublish button.

How to delete your Start Page

1. From your dashboard, select Manage Channels.
2. Navigate to the Start Page you want to delete and click the 3 dots to open the options menu.
3. Select Delete Channel and click the "Confirm and Delete" pop-up button.