Understanding the unique WordPress Content Types created for JEO is a great way to understand how to organize and create content. These content types are defined by the type of information they contain and how they are used throughout a JEO site.
There are two main categories of content types used in JEO; one group is used to organize the data and visualizations and the other group if for creating stories and landing pages.
Data Visualization Content Types
The dataset page on the geojournalism site InfoAmazonia. All the sources, files to download and descriptions are directly edited at the JEO WordPress theme
Layer
JEO’s layer content type provides the space to add a spatial data source into the JEO database for use in dataset pages and stacked to make maps. It is important to note that JEO does not have the ability to host map tiles but rather links to external tile servers using APIs, open source standards such as WMS and the javascript library leaflet.js (through the services of MapBox and CartoDB)
On the layer content type you define the topical categories, create a layer legend, and link to dataset pages.
Map
JEO’s maps are created by stacking one or more custom thematic layers on top of a basemap. The Maps Content Type is there location where layers are named and organized. This is done by configuring the “Maps Setup” section of the form.
The basic component of a map is its layers—an individually designed dataset—that are combined together to tell a story. These layers are organized and configured by adding layer content as previously described.
For more information on how to use the maps content type see the detailed tutorial: Making Maps with JEO:
Map Group
This content type bundles published maps content into the tabbed user-interface typical of the homepage or news section of a GeoJournalism site. This feature is useful for site that have many maps and want to provide the opportunity to create a narrative series of maps or a selection different topics.
For more information on how to use the map groups content type see also JEO, First Steps
Narrative Content Types
Post (Story)
The post content type is the section most familiar to regular users of a content management system (CMS). This is the section where you can add news items and geolocate them using JEO’s mapping tools.
When adding a new story to a JEO site it is important to add information about the publisher, the story category, the map(s) it should be displayed on, and its location. This metadata is quite important for maintaining the search features of the websites and the ability to syndicate stories using JEO’s Stories API.
There are a number of content editing and formatting details that are covered in the following tutorial: Jeo: First Steps
Markers Icons
Stories appear on JEO maps as point icons that can be interacted with upon rollover for pop-ups or as links to the full story. If you have many unique categories on posts it is possible to create custom icons to differentiate between post types.
Pages
The pages content type creates long-term content such as landing pages or thematic issue briefings that don’t change often but are important. In contrast with the posts content type, pages lack many of the modals (fields) for adding metadata.
