Overview
Your Site Manager offers multiple ways to display calendar information on your website. Each layout option presents the same liturgical calendar data—feasts, services, and fasting information—but with different visual styles suited to different purposes. You can add calendar displays to any page as a section component.
Accessing Calendar Display Options
- Navigate to the page where you want to add a calendar display
- Click "Edit" to open the page editor
- Add a new section or edit an existing one
- Select "Upcoming Calendar" as the section type
- Choose your preferred Layout from the dropdown
Available Display Layouts
Event Calendar
A modern, interactive calendar with full month, day, and list views. Best for parishes that want an app-like calendar experience with advanced features.
Features:
- Switch between Month, Day, and List views
- Search functionality
- Navigation controls (previous/next month, today button)
- Responsive design for mobile devices
- Color-coded feast days
- Optional Old Calendar dates
- Interactive tooltips
- Sync and print options
Best for:
- Main calendar page on your website
- Parishes with many events and services
- Sites emphasizing user interaction
- Mobile-friendly calendar displays
Configuration Options:
Default View:
- Day - Shows single day schedule
- List - Shows upcoming events in list format
- Month - Shows traditional month grid
- Responsive - Automatically switches (mobile: list, desktop: month)
Display Options:
- Show/hide search bar
- Show/hide navigation controls
- Show/hide "Today" button
- Enable/disable responsive design
- Show/hide Old Calendar dates
- Show month text on mobile
- Enable/disable tooltips
- Show/hide sync options
- Show/hide print button
Visual Customization:
- Calendar height (400-800 pixels)
- Font color (default, light, or dark)
- Primary color (accent color for buttons and highlights)
- Border color
- Corner radius (0-20 pixels for rounded corners)
- Background colors (calendar, header, today cell, highlights)
- Show feast day colors (full background, date border only, or none)
- Show fasting information (text, icons, or none)
Carousel Group
An animated slideshow that displays multiple upcoming days in a visually striking format. Days slide automatically or manually through groups showing dates, feasts, services, and fasting.
Features:
- Animated transitions between day groups
- Customizable number of days shown per slide (1-7)
- Auto-play with adjustable timing
- Date, feast/service, and fasting sections
- Theme options for each section
- Customizable heights and colors
- Optional day-of-week display
- Interactive tooltips
Best for:
- Homepage displays
- Eye-catching calendar previews
- Church lobby displays
- Digital signage
- Visual engagement
Configuration Options:
Basic Settings:
- Maximum days in advance to show (1-60)
- Maximum days to display (1-60)
- Start date (or leave blank for current date)
Carousel Behavior:
- Slide type: Days (one day at a time) or Group (multiple days)
- Days shown in group (1-7)
- Auto-advance interval (2-10 seconds)
- Transition speed (1-3 seconds)
- Loop continuously or stop at end
- Start paused or playing
Visual Appearance:
- Rounded corners (0-20 pixels)
- Date section: height, theme (default/light/dark), background color, alignment
- Feast & Services section: height, theme, background color, alignment
- Fasting section: height, theme, background color, alignment, show/hide
- Display day of week
- Enable/disable tooltips
Text
A simple, clean list of upcoming days with dates, feasts, services, and fasting. The most straightforward display option.
Features:
- Plain text listing
- Optional calendar icon for each day
- Optional day of week
- Chronological order
- Interactive tooltips
- No animation or special effects
Best for:
- Sidebar displays
- Simple upcoming events lists
- Pages where space is limited
- Minimalist website designs
- Quick reference displays
Configuration Options:
Basic Settings:
- Maximum days in advance to show (1-60)
- Maximum days to display (1-60)
- Start date (or leave blank for current date)
Display Options:
- Show/hide calendar icon
- Show/hide day of week
- Enable/disable tooltips
Timeline
Displays upcoming calendar days in a vertical timeline format with dates on one side and content on the other. Creates a flowing, storytelling presentation.
Features:
- Vertical timeline with connecting line
- Alternating left/right content (or all one side)
- Animated entrance effects
- Date badges on timeline
- Customizable timeline color
- Theme options
- Interactive tooltips
Best for:
- Narrative presentation of upcoming events
- Highlighting special feast day sequences
- Visual storytelling
- Modern, dynamic layouts
- Lenten or festal period displays
Configuration Options:
Basic Settings:
- Maximum days in advance to show (1-60)
- Maximum days to display (1-60)
- Start date (or leave blank for current date)
Timeline Appearance:
- Alignment: Alternate (left/right), All Left, or All Right
- Animation style (fade in, slide in, etc.)
- Timeline color
- Text theme (default, light, or dark)
- Text background color
- Show date opposite content or inline
Display Options:
- Enable/disable tooltips
Liturgical Calendar
Displays a traditional monthly liturgical calendar grid showing the full month with all feast days, services, and fasting information.
Features:
- Full month grid view
- Shows all feast days with liturgical colors
- Morning and evening services
- Fasting information
- Traditional calendar appearance
- Interactive tooltips
- Optional sync and print buttons
Best for:
- Traditional calendar displays
- Full monthly view on dedicated calendar page
- Parishes preferring classic calendar layout
- Printable monthly calendars
Configuration Options:
Display Options:
- Enable/disable tooltips
- Show/hide print button
- Show/hide sync button
Common Configuration Settings
All calendar layouts share these basic settings:
Start Date
- Leave blank to always show starting from today
- Or set a specific date (YYYY-MM-DD format) to always start from that date
- Useful for displaying a specific season or upcoming events
Maximum Days in Advance
- How far ahead to pull calendar information (1-60 days)
- Example: Set to 30 to only show feasts/services in the next month
- Limits the data pool
Maximum Days to Display
- How many days to actually show (1-60 days)
- May be less than "Maximum days in advance" if some days have no content
- Controls the length of your display
Choosing the Right Layout
Consider Your Audience
Tech-savvy parishioners:
- Event Calendar (full featured, interactive)
General audience:
- Carousel Group (visual, engaging)
- Text (simple, straightforward)
Traditional preferences:
- Liturgical Calendar (familiar format)
Visual storytellers:
- Timeline (narrative presentation)
Consider Your Page Location
Homepage:
- Carousel Group (eye-catching)
- Event Calendar (comprehensive)
Sidebar:
- Text (compact)
Dedicated Calendar Page:
- Event Calendar (full featured)
- Liturgical Calendar (traditional view)
Special Sections:
- Timeline (thematic displays)
Consider Your Content
Many daily services:
- Event Calendar (handles complexity well)
- Text (clear list format)
Major feasts focus:
- Carousel Group (highlights important days)
- Timeline (storytelling)
Simple schedule:
- Text (straightforward)
- Liturgical Calendar (traditional)
Adding a Calendar Display to Your Page
- Edit your page (Media → Pages → select page → Edit)
- Add a section or edit existing section
- Select "Upcoming Calendar" as section type
- Choose layout from the Layout dropdown
- Configure settings for your chosen layout
- Save the section
The calendar will immediately appear on your page with current data.
Testing Your Display
After adding a calendar display:
- View your page to see the calendar in action
- Check mobile display on your phone
- Test interactive features (tooltips, navigation, sync)
- Verify dates and information are displaying correctly
- Adjust settings as needed
Troubleshooting
Calendar showing no data:
- Verify you have feasts and services configured
- Check date range settings aren't too restrictive
- Ensure current date falls within your start date settings
Layout looks wrong:
- Clear your browser cache
- Check that colors have good contrast
- Verify height settings aren't too small
- Test on different screen sizes
Tooltips not appearing:
- Verify tooltips are enabled in the display settings
- Check that tooltips are active in Manage Tooltips
- Rebuild tooltip cache
- Ensure Calendar Properties has tooltips enabled
Calendar too long/short:
- Adjust "Maximum days to display" setting
- Modify "Maximum days in advance" to pull more/less data
- Consider filtering to only days with content
Best Practices
Keep it focused:
- Don't show too many days at once (7-14 is often ideal)
- Adjust for your parish's activity level
Match your site design:
- Choose colors that complement your website
- Use consistent styling across pages
Consider mobile users:
- Test all layouts on phones
- Event Calendar responsive mode works well
- Carousel may need adjustment for small screens
Update regularly:
- Calendar displays pull from your feasts and services
- Keep that data current and accurate
- Test major changes before feast days
Use tooltips:
- Help educate visitors about Orthodox services
- Explain liturgical terms
- Provide context for feast days