RocketTheme Blog

RokSprocket is a free Joomla extension and WordPress plugin built by RocketTheme that offers rich content presentation in a wide variety of styles.

Whether you want to highlight articles in your site's content library, or create a dynamic presentation filled with custom information, RokSprocket makes it easy.

With a recent update, RokSprocket has added four new layout modes, built-in themes, and more features that make it a virtual Swiss Army knife for content presentation.

In this article, we will highlight some of the ways RokSprocket for WordPress and Joomla makes content stand out. We will take a look at the different layout modes available in RokSprocket, and how they can be used to draw attention to the information you want visitors to notice most.

Features

The RokSprocket Features layout mode is a slideshow layout that enables you to present photos and/or text in multiple slides.

This layout mode is most often used near the top of a page to present either a highlight reel of information about products or services, or to list featured articles in a blog or news site.

There are three included themes: Slideshow, Slideshow2, and Showcase.

The Slideshow and Slideshow2 themes overlay text on a large background image that spans the width of the module/widget.

The Showcase theme puts written content at the forefront, allowing for more of a preview of the linked article while keeping the image off to one side.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Grids

The Grids layout mode offers you the ability to present images, as well as text-based content, in an artistic grid that fits a modern content approach.

The Default theme makes it easy to display images, text content and article links, and a mix of the two as you can mouse-over an image to bring up overlaid text.

This layout mode would be an excellent fit for photographers, bloggers, and virtually any situation where an artistic approach to visual content is needed.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Headlines

The Headlines layout mode presents content snippets or news ticker-styled headlines in a variety of ways.

This is a great feature to add to a news site or business page that has important information that they want to draw the reader's eyes to.

Like any RokSprocket layout, you can set autoplay on or off to change how the module/widget runs for the visitor. Setup is easy. You can choose your content provider, set the preview length to give it a consistent look during page turns, and more.

It's a simple layout that doesn't take up a lot of space, and can be used in a variety of ways.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Lists

The Lists layout mode is a very popular solution for content-heavy sites that want to present multiple categories of articles/posts in a way that stands out against common text lists.

There are three themes available: Default, Modern, and Portrait. Each theme can be further customized by toggling various features such as an included image, Read More link, and more.

Pagination makes it easy to present a lot of links and/or pieces of information in a small amount of space.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Mosaic

The Mosaic layout mode enables you to build a dynamic content grid consisting of images, text, or a mixture of the two that users can easily sort through on the frontend.

Mosaic ships with two themes: Default and Gallery. The Default theme is a classy, clean display that can be modified in a variety of ways, depending on the content being used.

The Gallery theme is be a great fit for visually-rich content. It's an excellent choice for artists, photographers, and other sites with a lot of visual media to share.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Quotes

The Quotes layout mode is an excellent choice for sites that share testimonials, customer comments, product reviews, and other information in the form of short quotes.

You can change some aspects of the Default theme that ships with the layout mode, including changing the direction of origin for the quote box.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Sliders

The Sliders layout mode presents visually rich content in a unique way. These sliders move and adjust as you click on them, or scroll using the optional navigation arrows.

This layout provides an interesting approach to sharing information that is both visually rich and and easy to use.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Strips

The Strips layout mode is a horizontal content block grid layout, split into defined rows with image and text support.

There are four themes included with Strips: Default, Separated, Cards, and Parallel.

This layout mode is typically used near the middle of a page to highlight specific articles, features of a product or service, and more.

It's one of the most versatile layout modes in RokSprocket, making it a popular choice for a wide variety of sites.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Tables

The Tables layout mode is a simplified version of what we created with RokFeatureTable. It is an excellent choice for any site that wants to provide a quick and easy comparison of products and/or services.

This can be an excellent fit on sites for companies that offer tiered services, or review sites that offer comparisons between similar products.

We recommend using the Simple content provider with this layout, enabling you to quickly assemble a table with minimal effort.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Tabs

The Tabs layout mode supports multiple tab positions, making it a versatile choice for sites that want to pack a lot of information into a single block.

This would be a great replacement for multiple Custom HTML (Joomla) or Text (WordPress) modules/widgets that keeps all of the information available with a single click in a fraction of the space.

See a demo of this layout mode here.

Conclusion

RokSprocket has proven to be a favorite among site developers searching for a way to present content in a dynamic fashion without having to put in an excessive amount of time in development.

In addition being able to pull information directly from WordPress or Joomla, it works well with a many of the top content providers out there. The Simple provider gives you the ability to create custom content exclusive to the RokSprocket module/widget, allowing for speedy development and deployment.

You also aren't limited by the default look of RokSprocket at all. A little creative CSS work on the backend can dramatically change the way RokSprocket appears, and make it a seamless part of virtually any site.

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