Newspack’s Lite Site feature allows you to create a text-only version of your website that loads faster and uses less data. This feature is especially valuable for readers experiencing connectivity issues, poor network coverage, or during natural disasters and emergencies when access to information is critical but bandwidth is limited.
Why and when to use Lite Site
Lite Site is designed to provide a fast, low-bandwidth version of your website, ensuring critical news remains accessible in various situations. Consider enabling Lite Site in the following scenarios:
- Reaching readers in low-connectivity areas – Ideal for audiences in rural regions, developing areas, or locations with unreliable internet access.
- Providing essential information during emergencies – Ensures fast, uninterrupted access to breaking news during natural disasters, power outages, or crises when full-site loading may be challenging.
- If you’re enabling Lite Site to ensure readers can access critical news during natural disasters, here’s a few ways you can let your readers know:
- Add a breaking news prompt – Enable a prompt using the “above header” placement with a notice linking to your Lite Site.
- On social media – Pin a post with the Lite Site URL across your various social channels.
- In email newsletters – If sending emergency alerts via email, add a section about Lite Site as a backup option.
- Domain redirect option – If needed, the Newspack team can temporarily redirect your primary domain to your Lite Site. Reach out in #newspack-help with an “Urgent” request.
- If you’re enabling Lite Site to ensure readers can access critical news during natural disasters, here’s a few ways you can let your readers know:
- Catering to data-conscious users – Useful for readers on limited mobile data plans who want to minimize bandwidth usage.
- Supporting accessibility goals – A simplified text-only version may benefit users relying on screen readers or those who prefer a distraction-free reading experience.
Limitations
Before enabling Lite Site, be aware of the following:
- Gated content (paywalled or subscriber-only content) will be accessible on your Lite Site if you choose to include all categories or specific categories that contain gated content.
- No ads will be displayed.
- No campaign prompts will be displayed.
How to enable Lite Site
To configure Lite Site, navigate to Newspack -> Settings -> Lite Site.
- Enable Lite Site
- Toggle this option to activate or deactivate the Lite Site feature.
- URL Base
- Define the URL path segment that will be used to access your Lite Site.
- Example: If you enter “text”, your Lite Site will be accessible at
https://yourwebsite.com/text/ - The default value is “text”.
- Number of posts to display
- Set how many posts will appear on the Lite Site homepage.
- Enter a number in the field provided (default is 7).
- Categories
- Select which content categories to include in your Lite Site.
- You can choose specific categories or select “All categories” to include everything.
- Footer HTML
- Add custom HTML that will appear in the footer of all Lite Site pages.
- This is useful for including essential links like Terms of Service.