News Item Classes and News Items control the news, announcements, offers, and updates displayed on your cinema’s public website.
They are used in combination with the Explore News widget to show curated updates in different sections of your site.
These are found in Settings > Website & Marketing > News Item Classes OR Settings > Website & Marketing > News Item Classes
This guide covers:
What News Item Classes and News Items are
How they work together
How to create and manage them
How to display them on your website
What Are News Item Classes?
A News Item Class is a category used to group news articles.
For example:
Offers – for discounts and special promotions
News – for general updates
Events – for upcoming screenings or activities
Every News Item must belong to a News Item Class to be published.
What Are News Items?
A News Item is the actual article or announcement you want to display on your website.
It can include:
A title
Subtitle (optional)
Description text
Start and end dates for display
An image thumbnail
A link to more details
Accessing News Item Settings
In IndyAdmin, go to Settings.
Scroll down to Website & Marketing.
Select either:
News Item Classes – to create/edit categories
News Items – to create/edit individual news articles
Creating a News Item Class
Open News Item Classes.
Click Create.
Enter the class name (e.g., Offers, News, Events).
Click Create to save.
Tip: News Item Classes & News Items can also be managed from a Circuit Library, allowing them to be shared across multiple sites.
Creating a News Item
Open News Items.
Click Create.
Enter a Title (e.g., “Special Summer Offer”).
Select a News Item Class.
If you just created the class, refresh your configuration data so it appears in the dropdown.
Optionally, enter:
Subtitle
Description (summary of the news item)
Start Date and End Date (controls when the item appears/disappears)
Toggle Published on if you want it live immediately.
Upload an Image.
A thumbnail preview will appear after upload.
Click Create to save.
Publishing News Items to Your Website
News items display on your website via the Explore News web widget.
To publish:
Open the page in your website editor where you want news to appear.
Add the Explore News widget.
In the widget settings, select the News Item Class you want to display.
Save and publish the page.
The news item(s) will now appear on the site, pulling directly from IndyAdmin.
Example Use Cases
Promotions: “Buy One Get One Free on Mondays”
Cinema Updates: “We’ve Installed New Recliner Seating”
Events: “Midnight Screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show”
Best Practices
Keep titles short and eye-catching.
Use classes to separate content types so widgets can filter effectively.
Add start/end dates to automate seasonal content removal.
Always check image quality to ensure it looks professional in the widget.