{"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":"2026-09-22T21:03:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T01:03:55","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"},"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 \u2014 they&#8217;re the ones that pull fresh content automatically. This training covers the blocks that make that 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. When you&#8217;re ready, the quiz at the bottom of this page will unlock your Dynamic Content feature pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Estimated time to complete:<\/strong>&nbsp;~8 minutes of video, plus practice time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Before you start:<\/strong>&nbsp;This training assumes you&#8217;re comfortable with the basics of WordPress and the block editor. If you haven&#8217;t completed the Base training, we recommend starting there.<\/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>&nbsp;1.5 min<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every website has a freshness problem. This video makes the case for dynamic content \u2014 and introduces the blocks that can keep your site current without adding to your daily workload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>[VIDEO EMBED]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking for help keeping your existing pages current? The content audit tools covered in the Professional\/Advanced training are a good complement to the dynamic blocks covered here. See&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/enhance-your-site\/content-audit-tools\/\">Content Audit Tools<\/a>&nbsp;for more.<\/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>&nbsp;2.5 min<\/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 \u2014 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\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>[VIDEO EMBED]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Try it yourself:<\/strong>&nbsp;For each of the following site types, identify which news feed block fits best and write one or two sentences explaining why:<\/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\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Write your answers before moving on.<\/p>\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\/posts-feed\/\">Posts Feed<\/a>&nbsp;<em>(Pro and Premium tier only)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/rss-2\/\">RSS Feed Block<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note: The Posts Feed block is available on Pro and Premium tier sites. Free tier sites should use the Newswire Feed block to display university news content.<\/p>\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>&nbsp;2 min<\/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 \u2014 one compact and quick to set up, one more flexible \u2014 and points you to the configuration documentation for each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>[VIDEO EMBED]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both approaches require the Smash Balloon plugin to be installed on your site. If it isn&#8217;t already, submit a request at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/go.ncsu.edu\/ucomm-dev-request\">go.ncsu.edu\/ucomm-dev-request<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For configuration steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/instagram-feed-block\/\">Instagram Feed Block<\/a>&nbsp;<em>(Pro and Premium tier only)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/reference-article\/smashballoon\/\">Smash Balloon: Instagram Feed Pro<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\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>&nbsp;2 min<\/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 \u2014 which connects directly to catalog.ncsu.edu \u2014 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\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>[VIDEO EMBED]<\/em><\/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<\/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 to Unlock This Feature Pack?<\/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. A passing score of 80% or higher will automatically unlock the Dynamic Content feature pack on your site.<\/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\/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>Professional\/Advanced \u2014 Building Pages That Work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Storytelling \u2014 Creating News Content and Telling NC State&#8217;s Story<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Engagement and Events \u2014 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 \u2014 they&#8217;re the ones that pull fresh content automatically. This training covers the blocks that make that possible: news feeds, social feeds, and course and academic content that stays current without constant manual attention. Watch the videos below in order. When you&#8217;re ready,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":39847,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"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":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39853"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40425,"href":"https:\/\/university-communications.ncsu.edu\/documentation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39853\/revisions\/40425"}],"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}]}}