In content operation, images play a crucial role.They can not only catch the visitor's eye, enhance reading interest, but also effectively convey information and enhance the brand image.However, when updating articles on a daily basis, we may occasionally forget to upload thumbnails, or some content itself is not suitable for pictures.This is when a blank page appears on the article list or detail page, which seems unprofessional and affects user experience.

Fortunately, AnQiCMS (AnQiCMS) has considered this point and provided us with a very practical feature: setting a default thumbnail.With it, even if the article doesn't have an image, the system can automatically add a unified placeholder, keeping your website content visually complete and consistent.

Why is it so important to set a default thumbnail?

Maybe you are curious, does it make such a big difference just by missing a picture? In fact, a well-set default thumbnail can bring multiple benefits to your website:

  1. Maintain visual consistency:Imagine a beautifully typeset list of articles, and suddenly a few of them appear without any accompanying images, which would immediately break the overall beauty.The default thumbnail acts as a 'safety net', ensuring all content has visual elements to support it, making the website look more professional and organized.
  2. Enhance user experience:Users are often attracted to images when browsing web pages.Even unrelated images can make the content area seem less 'empty'.A suitable default thumbnail can reduce the bounce rate and encourage users to explore more content.
  3. Suggest brand image:You can choose the website's logo, brand color block, or a universally strong pattern as the default thumbnail.So, even in articles without images, you can continue to convey brand information and enhance users' recognition of your website.
  4. Improve operational efficiency:In a busy content publishing process, occasionally missing an uploaded thumbnail is inevitable.With default settings, you don't have to worry about blank pages caused by negligence, thus saving time on later checks and image supplementation.
  5. Indirect help to SEO:Although the default thumbnail itself does not directly improve SEO rankings, it can improve the click-through rate of users on the search results page (if it is captured and displayed by search engines), and enhance the overall aesthetics of the website. This indirectly encourages users to stay on your website longer, which are all important factors for search engines to measure the quality of a website.

How to set default thumbnail in AnQi CMS?

The process of setting a default thumbnail in AnQi CMS is very intuitive, requiring no complex technical operations, and can be easily handled in just a few steps:

  1. Enter background settings:First, log in to your AnQi CMS admin interface. In the left navigation menu, find and click the "Backend settings" option.
  2. Select content settings:In the sub-menu of "Background Settings", you will see "Content Settings, click to enter. Here are many global configurations related to content image processing.
  3. Find the default thumbnail option:)On the 'Content Settings' page, browse through the configurations, and you will find an item namedDefault Thumbnail.
  4. Upload or select an image:Next to the 'Default Thumbnail', there is usually an image upload area.You can click the 'Upload Image' button to upload a prepared image from your local computer; or, if your image has already been uploaded to the Anqi CMS image library, you can also select it from the image library.Suggest choosing a general image that represents the website style or brand, such as your website logo, a simple icon, or a brand color block.
  5. Adjust thumbnail size (optional but recommended):On the 'Content Settings' page, above 'Default Thumbnail', there are also settings for 'Thumbnail Size' and 'Thumbnail Processing Method'.To make the default thumbnail display more coordinated, you can configure the thumbnail size and cropping method of the website here.For example, you can set the width to 200 pixels and select 'Crop to shortest side' to ensure the image fills effectively.
  6. Save settings:After completing the image selection and size adjustment, remember to click the "SaveorOKButton, make your settings take effect.

After completing these steps, if your article does not have a thumbnail manually uploaded and there is no first image available for the system to automatically extract, the default thumbnail you just set will automatically display.This adds a layer of reliable visual assurance to your website content.

Some tips for use.

  • Choose an appropriate image:The default thumbnail should be universal, able to adapt to different themed articles.Avoid using overly specific or time-sensitive images.A simple, high-recognizability logo or an abstract pattern is usually a better choice.
  • Maintain consistent dimensions:If your website template has specific requirements for the thumbnail display size, try to keep the original size or cropped size of the default thumbnail consistent with it to avoid image distortion or blurring.
  • Image quality and size:Ensure that the default thumbnail image quality is clear, but the file size should not be too large to avoid affecting the page loading speed.The Anqi CMS itself supports Webp format conversion and automatic compression of large images, you can use these features to optimize images.
  • Priority:Understanding the display priority of thumbnails in Anqi CMS is very important.In most cases, the thumbnail uploaded separately during article editing has the highest priority;其次是system automatically extracts the first image from the article content; if neither of the first two exist, the global default thumbnail you set will be displayed.

By these simple settings and a few tricks, your security CMS website will bid farewell to the embarrassing situation of articles without images, always presenting itself to visitors in a professional and unified manner, adding luster to your content marketing and brand building.

Common Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Why do some articles still not display even though I have set the default thumbnail?A1: The display of thumbnails in AnQi CMS has priority.The system will first check if a dedicated thumbnail has been manually uploaded for the article.If not uploaded, it will try to automatically extract the first image from the article content as a thumbnail.Only when neither of the above two conditions is met will the global default thumbnail you set be displayed.So, if the article still does not display the default thumbnail, please check if the article has been manually uploaded with an image or if the content contains an image.

Q2: What are the specific requirements for the size of the default thumbnail?A2: There is no absolute size requirement for the default thumbnail, but it is strongly recommended that you set it according to the actual display requirements of the website template.You can find the 'Thumbnail Size' and 'Thumbnail Processing Method' options on the 'Content Settings' page under 'Background Settings'.Here, the configuration is unified, which ensures that all thumbnails (including default thumbnails) maintain consistent width and height when displayed on the front end, thus avoiding distortion or improper cropping and enhancing the overall aesthetics of the website.

Q3: Will the updated default thumbnail take effect immediately for already published old articles?A3: Yes, after updating and saving the new default thumbnail settings, all articles that do not have specific thumbnails (including manually uploaded and automatically extracted from content) will automatically display the new default thumbnail when accessed.However, to ensure that the cache is cleared and the effect is seen immediately, you may need to clear your browser cache or click on the "Update Cache" feature in the Safe CMS backend.