Where can I find it?
Pages > Home
And all the home page sections can be customized in Appearance > Customize > Home Settings
What does it mean?
Your homepage is the first thing visitors see when they arrive at your website – it’s your digital shopfront. In WordPress, the homepage can be customised to showcase your most important content, highlight key messages, and guide users to different areas of your site.
We’ve already provided a ready-made homepage template to help you get started quickly. However, you can still customise several sections to suit your needs – whether that’s updating the content, adding or removing items, or even rearranging entire sections.
In this article, we’ll walk you through each section in detail, so you can tailor your homepage to best reflect your brand and engage your visitors.
What should I do?
Sale banner | Promo Code Advertisement
WordPress Template for Gray Line Licensees | Sale banner
Main Menu | Navigation Bar
WordPress Template for Gray Line Licensees - Main menu | Navigation bar
SEO Keywords | Discover Your Dream Tour
What are the most relevant search terms for your website, and how can you leverage them to drive organic traffic to your homepage while guiding users to the results they’re looking for? The answer lies in activating the keyword section on your homepage, titled ‘Discover Your Dream Tour’. While the title cannot be edited, you have full control over the keywords displayed in this section.
Please take a moment to read this article to learn how to configure it.
WordPress Template for Gray Line Licensees - SEO Keywords | Discover your dream tour
Hero image | Front page banner
The hero image is that large, striking picture you see right at the very top of your website's homepage. It's the first thing your visitors will clap eyes on, making it a critical element for making a cracking first impression. Crucially, this prominent image is always accompanied by a search field, making it a powerhouse for both visual appeal and practical navigation.
Think of it as your brand's grand welcome – it's the ideal spot to upload a high-quality image that truly captures the essence of what makes your brand special. The text overlaid directly onto this image will typically function as your main headings (your H1 and H2 tags). This isn't just for show; it's a prime opportunity to cleverly weave in some relevant keywords. Doing so can give your site a handy boost in organic search engine optimisation (SEO), so make sure you use them wisely!
The front page banner image is uploaded in Appearance > Customize > Widgets > Front banner image
Here you can change the image and the text:
Top tours list block
Directly beneath your impactful hero image banner, the Home Tours List widget provides an invaluable opportunity to immediately highlight your most popular and unmissable tour experiences. This dedicated section is designed to capture visitor interest from the moment they land on your homepage, effectively signposting your top-selling products and driving valuable traffic towards them.
It's about more than just listing tours; it's about creating an enticing visual pathway to your best offerings. Before the actual tour list appears.
On the homepage, you'll find the top tours list block positioned as follows:
There is a Pre Home tour list widget, where you can change the text and a tour list widget. Both can be found in Appearance > Customize > Widgets
Pre Home Tour List
You'll have the option within the Pre Home Tour List widget to add compelling introductory text. We highly recommend using a captivating phrase here, such as "Trending top experiences you can't miss," to pique curiosity and set the stage for the exceptional tours that follow. In our example, we use “Featured Tours”.
Home Tours List
The Home Tours List widget itself grants you precise control over which tours you wish to feature. You can meticulously configure exactly which experiences to showcase using a variety of methods, which are detailed further below. We generally recommend featuring a curated selection of approximately 5 to 10 tours to maintain visual appeal and prevent overwhelming your visitors. This strategic placement ensures your most sought-after adventures are front and centre, maximising engagement and conversions.
This section's output is a list of tours that can be displayed in various ways, depending on three distinct methods.
Method 1: The tours are listed according to their tour IDs. You need to enter these tour IDs in the corresponding field. In this example, tour IDs 1, 2, and 3 will be displayed.
Method 2: Tours are listed according to the category.
Method 3: Tours are listed according to the location.
Special offers: if you select this checkbox, it only shows tours that are on special offer.
Size of List: you can define here the size of list, which is 3 by default.
Trust icons
This area is uneditable and provided with the Gray Line template.
Directly below the tours list block on your homepage, you'll find a dedicated section titled "Trust in us, we've got you covered." This uneditable feature is a core component of our website, designed to instantly build confidence and assure you of the robust support and quality you can expect when booking with us. It highlights six key pillars of our service:
- Free Cancellation, ensuring flexibility in uncertain times.
- Secure Booking, guaranteeing your transactions are safe and private.
- Responsible Tourism, reflecting our long-standing ethical practices.
- Health & Safety measures, prioritising your well-being.
- Trusted & Loved, evidenced by extensive positive reviews.
- Local Service, providing authentic experiences delivered by local experts.
Special offers
If your website frequently runs special offers, we highly recommend consolidating them onto a dedicated "Special Offers" page. This provides a centralised hub for all your promotions, making it incredibly easy for your customers to discover them.
To set this up, please refer to our article on How to create a tour list page. When configuring that page, ensure you tick the "Only show tours that are on special offer" checkbox. Once your Special Offers page is established, you can then direct customers to it directly from your homepage using the dedicated widget.
Navigate to Appearance > Customize > Widgets in your WordPress dashboard.
Pre Special Offer Area
For any introductory text you wish to display before the special offers section, you can utilise the Pre Special Offer Area widget. We suggest adding an engaging H2 text block here, perhaps something like "Discover Our Latest Deals!"
Special Offer Area
In our specific implementation, we primarily use the 'Special Offer Area' widget itself. Any accompanying text is then overlaid directly onto the image through the widget's interface, as demonstrated in the screenshots provided below. This method allows for a clean and integrated presentation of your special offers.
Here you can upload an image, enter the text for the block and link to the corresponding URL:
Locations | Attractions | Highlights
Do you have essential pages on your website that you'd like to showcase prominently? Our dedicated widget allows you to spotlight specific locations, attractions, or special services, ensuring they capture your visitors' attention.
To manage this section, simply navigate to Appearance > Customise > Widgets. You'll find three distinct areas to customise:
Pre Location Area
This space is perfect for an introductory title. Just add an H2 text block within the 'Pre Location Area' widget and insert your desired text, such as "Discover the World." If you prefer, you can leave this section blank.
Locations Area
This is where you'll create your individual location, attraction, or highlight cards. Within the 'Locations Area' widget, add a 'Location Highlights' block for each entry.
For each block, you'll need to:
- Upload an image.
- Enter the location text.
- Link to the specific location URL.
For example:
If you're highlighting a location on your homepage, you may also need to create a corresponding page in your website's menu structure. For detailed instructions on adding new sections to your menu, please refer to this article.
Post Location Area
Use this section to provide additional information about your business, helpful tips, or important points of interest. It's an excellent opportunity to display your contact information or even embed a map to help customers find your office.
To add custom content, insert an HTML block into the 'Post Location Area' widget.
You can then write or paste your HTML code directly.
For assistance with HTML editing, consider using free online tools such as:
Video & Filmography
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the power of video in today's digital landscape is immeasurable. Video content is essential for engaging your audience, particularly when showcasing your incredible tours and destinations. This is your prime opportunity to present your offerings in a compelling, modern format. Even if you don't have your own video content, don't worry! Remember to check out Gray Line Bucket Life on YouTube for your specific location; there might already be a fantastic video available for you to use.
This article will guide you through the straightforward process of embedding YouTube videos directly onto your site. By "embedding," we mean displaying a video from an external platform like YouTube directly within your website's pages, without hosting the file yourself. This approach ensures your site remains fast and efficient by conserving server resources, while also leveraging YouTube's robust hosting and global reach to enhance user experience and potentially boost your search engine optimisation.
Embedding your video
To begin, navigate to Pages > All Pages > Home > Edit in your WordPress dashboard.
If you can't immediately see the 'Home' page, use the search box in the top right corner to quickly locate it.
Once you're on the 'Home' page edit screen, find the section titled 'Home Video Section Detail'.
This is where you'll add your YouTube video.
- Locate your desired video on YouTube.
- Click the 'Share' button beneath the video or from the 3 dots button.
- Crucially, select the 'Embed' option. The YouTube link you use must be an embed link, not a standard share link.
- Copy the embed link from the provided HTML code. It will typically look something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/szsG-gfuNZM?si=qWm-5iiGRJWaa8Gu
You'll only need the src URL within the <iframe> tag (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/embed/example).
Customising your video section
Within the 'Home Video Section Detail', you can now paste your YouTube embed link and add a title and some introductory text.
Once you've completed these steps, you'll see a sleek black box video section appear on your homepage, ready to inspire your customers to choose you for their next adventure!
Newsletter Signup | MailChimp
To set the MailChimp account:
Setting Mailchimp > Shortcode. If the shortcode is not there, then the Mailchimp section is not clear. That’s something to be improved, right now the Mailchimp section is always displayed.
Copy the short code and then go to the Homepage > Edit and then you have the Mailchimp Image URL.
For more information, please visit the following support article.
Magazine | Blog
Showcase your best and most popular blog posts. What key insights and insider tips are your customers eager to discover in your destination? The Magazine Feed section on your homepage is the perfect place to highlight these stories. Use it wisely to feature three must-read posts.
To get started, go to Appearance > Customize > Widgets.
If you'd like to add an introductory title for this section, simply insert an H2 text block with your preferred title in the Pre Magazine Feed widget (e.g. Gray Line MyLicenseeName Travel Blog). You can also leave this area blank if you prefer.
You can manually select the top three posts to display by using the Magazine Feed widget. Once inside, choose your three favourite posts to feature.
Finally, click 'Publish' to apply the changes to your homepage.
For more details about each blog post, click here:
WP Template for Gray Licensees | Blogs / Posts
5* Customer Reviews | Feefo Integration
What better way to showcase your products than by letting your happy customers do the talking? This is where the customer review panel comes in. Once you have a Feefo account set up, every sale made on your website is automatically posted into their system. After the tour takes place, Feefo sends a follow-up email to the customer, requesting their feedback on your product. This feedback is stored and made available via API. The website then collects this data and curates your top 5 most recent 5-star reviews, displaying them in the footer area of your homepage.
Ready to activate this powerful sales tool? Follow these steps:
- Confirm that you have a Feefo account. If you don’t, please contact the Gray Line Corporation head office for assistance in setting it up.
- Configure Feefo on your website. Refer to this article for more details.
- Make sure Feefo reviews are enabled for both your website and homepage. To do this, go to Dashboard > Settings > Gray Line Licensee TourCMS Plugin > Feefo Switch and tick both checkboxes to activate the feature.
- If you’d like, you can customise the intro text and background image by editing the homepage. To do this, go to Pages > All Pages > Home > Edit. If the Home page isn't visible in the list, simply search for "home" in the search box at the top right.
Once you click Edit on the Home page, scroll down to find the Feefo Review Setting section.
Make sure to save your changes when you're done.
This is how it will appear on your homepage.
Affiliates, Badges, Awards & Accreditation
Build consumer trust by displaying affiliate logos, badges, awards, and accreditations. Give your website the seal of approval and encourage customers to shop with confidence. Items like Trip Advisor Traveller’s Choice awards, certificates of excellence, and accreditation logos are great candidates for this section. You can add as many items as you like, and a horizontal scroller will allow users to cycle through them.
To add these elements, follow these steps:
- Go to Appearance > Customize > Widgets.
- If you'd like to include an introductory title for this section, simply add an H2 text block with your preferred text in the Affiliates Logo Title widget (e.g. "Our Affiliates"). You can also leave this area blank if you prefer.
- Next, use the Affiliate Logo widget to upload your logos. For each logo, you can add an image, URL, and alt (alternative) tags.
Footer
WordPress Template for Gray Line Licensees | Footer