{"id":39853,"date":"2026-09-18T21:12:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T01:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/?page_id=39853"},"modified":"2026-09-29T22:53:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T02:53:55","slug":"dynamic-content","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/get-support\/on-demand-workshops\/dynamic-content\/","title":{"rendered":"Dynamic Content Feature Pack Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<nav class=\"wp-block-ncst-table-of-contents\" aria-label=\"In This Training\">\n      <h2 class=\"eyebrow\">In This Training<\/h2>\n    <ul role=\"list\">\n                  <li role=\"listitem\">\n          <a href=\"#dynamic-content\">1. The Case for Dynamic Content<\/a>\n        <\/li>\n                        <li role=\"listitem\">\n          <a href=\"#news-feeds\">2. News Feeds: Choosing the Right One<\/a>\n        <\/li>\n                        <li role=\"listitem\">\n          <a href=\"#social-feeds\">3. Social Feeds<\/a>\n        <\/li>\n                        <li role=\"listitem\">\n          <a href=\"#course-catalog\">4. Course and Academic Content<\/a>\n        <\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The best-maintained sites aren&#8217;t always the ones with the most active editors. They might be the ones that pull fresh content automatically. This training covers the blocks that make this possible: news feeds, social feeds, and course and academic content that stays current without constant manual attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watch the videos below in order and complete the practice tasks as you go. When you&#8217;re ready, take the quiz at the bottom of this page. Your site administrator chooses which <a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/products-and-tools\/nc-state-web-platform\/feature-packs\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"40397\">Feature Packs<\/a> are turned on. Starting with version 4.19, sites that require training will let you add the Dynamic Content blocks after you pass the quiz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Two short practice tasks<\/strong> are included, with hands-on steps in <a href=\"https:\/\/go.ncsu.edu\/wp-playground\">WP Playground<\/a>, a private practice site that runs in your browser. Playground doesn&#8217;t save your work between sessions, so finish each task in one sitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Estimated time to complete:<\/strong>&nbsp;about 12 minutes of video, plus about 15 minutes of practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"dynamic-content\">The Case for Dynamic Content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Completion Time:<\/strong> 2 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every website has a freshness problem. This video makes the case for dynamic content, and introduces the blocks that can keep your site current without adding to your daily workload.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 70.40417209908736%; height: 0;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.loom.com\/embed\/b800949827b245779ecbcbc71b1f78a8\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking for help keeping your existing pages current? The <a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/enhance-your-site\/content-audit-tools\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2839\">content audit tools<\/a> covered in the <a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/get-support\/on-demand-workshops\/advanced\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"39850\">Advanced training<\/a> are a good complement to the dynamic blocks covered here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upcoming events can update automatically too. Because they&#8217;re closely tied to registration and promotion, they&#8217;re covered in the <a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/get-support\/on-demand-workshops\/engagement-and-events\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"39852\">Engagement and Events training<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"news-feeds\">News Feeds: Choosing the Right One<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Completion Time:<\/strong> 3 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are three blocks for displaying news content automatically on the NC State Web Platform, and they serve meaningfully different purposes. This video covers which to reach for depending on where your content is coming from.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 70.40417209908736%; height: 0;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.loom.com\/embed\/6e2044d955d64ffb8ab134bdc63b641c\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hands-on Task: Choose a news feed.<\/strong> For each of the following site types, identify which news feed block fits best and write one or two sentences explaining why. Then check your answers against the answer key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A college news site that publishes its own stories and wants to surface them on department subpages<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A department page that doesn&#8217;t publish its own news but wants to keep visitors informed with relevant campus stories<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A research center that wants to surface headlines from a national professional association&#8217;s website<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<div class=\"is-text wp-block-ncst-accordion\" >\n    <div class=\"accordion isLinked\" id=\"ncst-accordion-rl9ezo\">\n          \n<details class=\"wp-block-ncst-accordion-item\" name=\"rl9ezo\"  >\n      <summary class=\"accordion-item__header\">\n        <span class=\"accordion-item__expansion-indicator\">\n          <span class=\"ncst-plus-minus-toggle\"><\/span>\n        <\/span>\n                  <h2 class=\"accordion-item__label h6\">Check your answers<\/h2>\n              <\/summary>\n      <p>\n        \n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Posts Feed.<\/strong> The college publishes its own news, so the Posts Feed can pull those posts onto each department page, filtered by a category. It needs a Pro or Premium tier site.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Newswire Feed.<\/strong> The department doesn&#8217;t publish news, so it can show stories from a Newswire collection instead, without writing or managing any of them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>RSS Feed.<\/strong> The headlines come from an outside website, and the RSS Feed block can display entries from any site that publishes an RSS feed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In short: Newswire Feed for university news you don&#8217;t publish yourself, Posts Feed for news your site does publish, and RSS Feed for content from other sites.<\/p>\n\n\n      <\/p>\n  <\/details>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hands-on Task: Add a Posts Feed to a page.<\/strong> In <a href=\"https:\/\/go.ncsu.edu\/wp-playground\">WP Playground<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to <strong>Posts -&gt; Categories<\/strong> and add a category called <em>Research<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Publish two short posts in the Research category.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Create a new page and add a <strong>Posts Feed<\/strong> block. In its <strong>Feed Settings<\/strong>, set <strong>Source<\/strong> to <strong>Categories<\/strong> and choose <em>Research<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Preview the page. Then publish a third Research post and watch it appear in the feed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For configuration details on each block:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/newswire-feed-block\/\">Newswire Feed Block<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/rss-2\/\">RSS Feed Block<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/posts-feed\/\">Posts Feed<\/a>&nbsp;<em>(Pro and Premium tier only)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"social-feeds\">Social Feeds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Completion Time:<\/strong> 2 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your unit has an active Instagram presence, you can surface that content directly on your WordPress site. This video covers two ways to do it (one compact and quick to set up, one more flexible) and points you to the configuration documentation for each.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 70.40417209908736%; height: 0;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.loom.com\/embed\/aaa2e5fb463540b28b35dc24e2a84cba\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both approaches require the <a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/instagram-feed-pro-plugin\/\" data-type=\"reference-article\" data-id=\"298\">Smash Balloon plugin<\/a> to be installed on your site. If it isn&#8217;t already, submit a request at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/go.ncsu.edu\/ucomm-dev-request\">go.ncsu.edu\/ucomm-dev-request<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"course-catalog\">Course and Academic Content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Completion Time:<\/strong> 4 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For faculty sites, department pages, and academic program pages, keeping course listings current is a perennial challenge. This video covers the Course Catalog block, which connects directly to catalog.ncsu.edu, and when a Resources custom post type is the better fit for content that doesn&#8217;t live in the university catalog.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 70.40417209908736%; height: 0;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.loom.com\/embed\/a8e7376d6108412f95c7b33471ced06e\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hands-on Task: Catalog or custom post type?<\/strong> For each of these, decide whether you&#8217;d use the Course Catalog block, the Resources post type or the Noncredit Programs post type. Then check your answers against the answer key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The required courses for your department&#8217;s master&#8217;s degree<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A searchable list of lab equipment that students can reserve<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A series of continuing-education workshops for working professionals<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<div class=\"is-text wp-block-ncst-accordion\" >\n    <div class=\"accordion isLinked\" id=\"ncst-accordion-6lr8j7\">\n          \n<details class=\"wp-block-ncst-accordion-item\" name=\"6lr8j7\"  >\n      <summary class=\"accordion-item__header\">\n        <span class=\"accordion-item__expansion-indicator\">\n          <span class=\"ncst-plus-minus-toggle\"><\/span>\n        <\/span>\n                  <h2 class=\"accordion-item__label h6\">Check your answers<\/h2>\n              <\/summary>\n      <p>\n        \n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Course Catalog block<\/strong>, set to <strong>Degree\/Plan Requirements<\/strong>. The requirements already live in catalog.ncsu.edu, so the block keeps your page in sync when the catalog changes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Resources post type.<\/strong> Lab equipment isn&#8217;t in the university catalog. A Resources listing gives it a searchable, filterable home that you maintain yourself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Noncredit Programs post type.<\/strong> The workshops aren&#8217;t credit courses, so they aren&#8217;t in the catalog. This post type is built for programs like these.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n      <\/p>\n  <\/details>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Optional:<\/strong> In WP Playground, add a <strong>Course Catalog<\/strong> block to a page. Paste the address of a catalog.ncsu.edu page into <strong>Catalog URL<\/strong>, choose what to display, and check the live preview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For configuration details and setup steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/course-catalog\/\">Course Catalog Block<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/resources-post-type\/\">Resources Post Type<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/non-credit-programs-post-type\/\">Noncredit Programs Post Type<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"has-custombg-two-background-color wp-block-ncst-button-spotlight\">\n    <div class=\"button-spotlight__container\">\n          <div class=\"button-spotlight__icon-container ncst-icon\">\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M3.34541 10.8478H1.0415V11.7117H3.34541V10.8478Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><path d=\"M22.9585 10.8478H20.7024V11.7117H22.9585V10.8478Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><path d=\"M14.0061 19.3922H13.5599V18.0338H12.1344V19.7231H11.6877V18.0338H10.2669V19.3922H9.82066V18.0338H8.48145V19.9922L9.86379 20.6592V21.24H14.0497V20.6592L15.4321 19.9922V18.0338H14.0061V19.3922Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><path d=\"M9.86401 23.333H10.6656L11.064 24H12.85L13.2479 23.333H14.05V22.7522H9.86401V23.333Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><path d=\"M14.0495 21.6862H9.86401V22.3102H14.0495V21.6862Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><path d=\"M12.0239 4.22859C10.6225 4.22552 9.25662 4.66994 8.12531 5.49713C6.99399 6.32432 6.1563 7.49108 5.73424 8.82748C5.31217 10.1639 5.32777 11.6001 5.77876 12.927C6.22975 14.254 7.09258 15.4023 8.24159 16.2047H8.21768L8.48159 17.5781H15.4322L15.8306 16.2052C16.6962 15.5984 17.4032 14.7924 17.8918 13.8551C18.3805 12.9178 18.6366 11.8767 18.6385 10.8197C18.6172 9.07418 17.9127 7.40651 16.6762 6.17435C15.4397 4.94219 13.7695 4.24367 12.0239 4.22859Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><path d=\"M19.6524 2.61715L18.0139 4.23685L18.6213 4.85123L20.2597 3.23153L19.6524 2.61715Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><path d=\"M12.5277 0H11.6638V2.30391H12.5277V0Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><path d=\"M4.35442 2.61456L3.74707 3.22894L5.38553 4.84864L5.99288 4.23426L4.35442 2.61456Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg>\n\n      <\/div>\n        <div class='button-spotlight__content-container'>\n      <h2 class=\"button-spotlight__heading\">Training Feedback<\/h2>\n              <p class=\"button-spotlight__support\">As we launch our on demand trainings, we are looking for all feedback &#8212; positive, negative and everything in between. Please let us know what you like and how we can improve.<\/p>\n            \n<div class=\"is-style-secondary wp-block-ncst-button\">\n      <a\n        class=\"ncst-block__button-link btn\"\n        href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSf8nMCC4ov8MC7GlxdUEloEanhuACP61t4GxGi4XVJjJB-2eQ\/viewform?usp=publish-editor\"\n        data-ncst-lightbox=\"false\"\n         target=\"_blank\"          rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"       >\n                  <span class=\"text\">Submit Feedback<\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" role=\"img\"  aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\">\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n              <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  \n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ready for the Quiz?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You&#8217;ve covered the full dynamic content toolkit \u2014 from choosing the right news feed for your situation, to surfacing your Instagram content, to keeping course listings current without duplicating work that&#8217;s already being done in the university catalog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you&#8217;re confident in the material, take the quiz below. You&#8217;ll need a score of 80% or higher to pass.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"is-text wp-block-ncst-buttons\">\n    \n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-button\">\n      <a\n        class=\"ncst-block__button-link btn\"\n        href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/get-support\/on-demand-workshops\/dynamic-content\/dynamic-content-training-quiz\/\"\n        data-ncst-lightbox=\"false\"\n                      >\n                  <span class=\"text\">Complete the Dynamic Content Training Quiz<\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" role=\"img\"  aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\">\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n              <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What&#8217;s next?<\/strong>&nbsp;If you&#8217;re also interested in collecting leads, managing events, or building more visually rich pages, explore our other trainings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/get-support\/on-demand-workshops\/advanced\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"39850\">Advanced<\/a>: Going Beyond the Basics with Engaging Page Layouts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/get-support\/on-demand-workshops\/storytelling\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"40364\">Storytelling<\/a>: Creating News Content and Telling NC State&#8217;s Story<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/get-support\/on-demand-workshops\/engagement-and-events\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"39852\">Engagement and Events<\/a>: Lead Generation, Events and RSVP Management<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The best-maintained sites aren&#8217;t always the ones with the most active editors. They might be the ones that pull fresh content automatically. This training covers the blocks that make this possible: news feeds, social feeds, and course and academic content that stays current without constant manual attention. Watch the videos below in order and complete&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":39847,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"pageIntro\":\"Set Up Your Site to Update Content Automatically\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-39853","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39853"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40570,"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39853\/revisions\/40570"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}