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Index Pages Explained

Learn what an index page is, why it matters and how to make one.

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The Bottom Line

The way Cascade is configured at Texas A&M University, all folders that contain pages of content must have an index page — that is to say, a page with the file name “index”.

If you don’t have an index page in every folder, automatically generated links (such as those in the breadcrumbs) will link to pages that don’t exist and result in 404 errors. Additionally, in order for people to be able to view a file, they would have to click on a link or type in the URL completely.

Why are index pages necessary?

Every request to view a page is like sending a letter through the postal service. Just like you have a mailing address, each file on the internet has a file address (called a URL).

When you write the address on a physical letter, there are expectations as to what each line on the “to address” means. In the same way, URLs have standards that tell an internet browser where to go to retrieve a file to display.

Let’s say you were to send a letter to someone at an apartment building. If you forget to add the second address line that specifies which apartment should receive the mail, the letter would likely be delivered to the apartment’s main office instead of to the mailbox of the specific resident to whom you were sending a letter.

Likewise, if you were to enter an incomplete URL in a web browser, the browser will use its best judgement to try to give you the page it thinks you are asking for. The way our Cascade instance is configured, browsers are instructed to display a file named “index.html” when given a partial address. It is very common for people to use an abbreviated version of a URL, so having an index page in every folder is very important.

In this analogy, a folder on a website is like an apartment building, and a specific apartment is like a page in that folder. If you were to send a request with an incomplete URL (meaning, it doesn’t end in a file name and extension), the browser would return the default page in the folder you asked for — the index.html page — which is analogous to the apartment building’s main office.

In practice, this means that if you were to type in “tamu.edu/admissions” into a web browser, you would end up seeing the page whose full URL is “https://tamu.edu/admissions/index.html”. The web browser knows that you are (more than likely) looking for a page on the world wide web, so it automatically adds the “https://” to the front of the address. It then returns the default page in the “admissions” folder on tamu.edu, which it assumes is named “index.html”. Because there is a page with that name in the admissions folder, it returns the page you are looking for without you having to type in the full URL. This example is just one reason out of many that index pages are important to have on your website.

Index Pages as Landing Pages

In our Cascade set up, index pages are almost always landing pages.

Think of a landing page as the table of contents for a section of your website. Landing pages are a very helpful way for some people to navigate through websites, leading them to the content they are interested in through a series of on-page choices.

Tips and content strategy recommendations for landing pages

Making an Index Page in Cascade

How to Make a New Index Page

  1. Open the folder in which you want to add an index page in the preview pane
  2. Click Add Content in the upper left corner of the Cascade navigation bar
  3. Click the page type you want to add: Homepage, Page With Sidebar, or Page Without Sidebar
  4. Fill out the required information:
    1. Page Name: The folder name will be what is reflected in your site’s URL.
      1. For an index page, the page name must be “index”
    2. Placement Folder: This is the folder in which your new page will be created. It should already be correct if you followed step 1.
    3. Display Name: The display name is shown at the top of the page. It will be the H1 heading.
    4. Title: The page title is displayed in search engine results and on browser tabs. In 60 characters or fewer, describe the page using terms your target audience may search for.
    5. Alternative Display Name for Menus (optional): A short display name for use in navigation, including sidebar menus and breadcrumbs.
  5. Click Preview Draft
  6. Click Submit
  7. Enter version comments that will be saved in the asset’s version history.
  8. Click Submit

How to Turn an Existing Page into an Index Page

  1. Open the page that needs to become an index page in the preview pane
  2. Click More > Rename
  3. Update the name in the name field to “index”
  4. Click Rename
  5. Republish all pages with relationships to this asset
    1. Go to relationships
  6. Click Publish All