New section feature does not appear in build elements?

[weDebate]

On existing sites, the section feature does not appear with the rest of the build elements. I created a new site using the same theme to see if the feature was enabled on the theme, and it was.  Is there a reason the feature is not appearing in my site editor? Do I need to change the theme to "refresh" the builder?   I'm trying to find a solution that won't require me to redo a number of small modifications I made to the code of my existing site that will be wiped away when I change themes.

Thanks!

[JustImagine]

I don't have that element too.

What do we need to do to have it?

[Brodie]

Hi weDebate and JustImagine,

It's an option in different themes, so you may need to explore the theme gallery a bit. Most of them have those options now though!

[weDebate]

Good morning and thanks for the response.

I understand that.  What I'm wondering is if the new functionality will be added to themes for existing sites.   I have a site that is the same theme design as one with sections enabled while making a new site. However, the existing site that has the same theme does not have the sections in the site builder elements.  Will I need to change my website's theme to access this feature or will it be added for existing sites in the future?

[Brodie]

weDebate, my understanding is it in all our standard, responsive themes, we've just now implemented those tools for all the themes. They wouldn't be in our adaptive themes or previously created custom themes.

[citrine1]

If we use a new theme, will we have to copy over the entire contents/pages of the old theme?  How do we back this up in case we mess up?  Is there a way to play around with the themes to see which works best, before it goes "live"?   I'm sure we'll have to readjust all the elements on the screen and don't really want our users to see the pages while it is under construction.  Please advise.

[Adam7]

Your content will transfer over to the new theme, so you won't need to remake or re-add any of that. You can also switch back to a previously used theme on the Themes tab (as long as you're not currently using a very old theme that was retired).

[1Tim4_12]

I also do not have the section feature in my build elements.  How do I know if I am using a retired or custom theme?  I just starting using Weebly last August, and I can't remember the name.  I really like the theme I'm using, so is there a way to get this section feature to work on my website/blog without changing themes?

[Queso]

Hello 1Tim4_12! It looks like your theme has some customization. That would make it so that the theme doesn't recieve automatic updates (as those might break the custom code involved). If you don't recall any customizations you'd like to keep, or would be able to remake them, I'd highly recommend switching back to the base Weebly theme in use, which appears to be Haberdasher. That way, the theme will receive the standard Weebly updates, including the code for Sections.

[1Tim4_12]

Thanks!  So how would I go back to the base theme?  

[Queso]

You'll want to do that under the Theme tab, under Change Theme. It should be available under your Recently Used tab.

[1Tim4_12]

Okay.  So would I be able to go to a theme that has the section feature and then afterwards switch back to my custom theme?  Or is there a way to install the section feature to my custom theme?

[Adam7]

You'd need to make updates to your custom theme in order to support the element, @1Tim4_12:

https://dev.weebly.com/create-the-html-layout-templates.html

[1Tim4_12]

@Adam Thanks!  I was able to manuelly add the "section" feature to my theme.  However, is there a way to change the title and paragraph fonts for the "sections" so that they match my current theme?

[Adam7]

They should do that automatically if they're just standard paragraph and title elements. Do they have any pasted text within them? 

[danielpeter]

It turns out that if you have a custom theme, that the sections will likely not work. You may need to talk to your theme developer about getting an update.

[clerner]

I switched to a responsive theme, and the sections feature showed up momentarity, then disappeared. I had to switch back to my old theme to retain the header image from the original (for some reason that never transfers over to a new theme.). Shouldn't I be able just to switch over, say to Birdseye, and have the sections feature be there and stable, and not have to reload my header image? What am I missing?

[Adam7]

Yes, switching to a standard theme should give you the element like you'd expect. It's possible there's a browser issue with Microsoft Edge. Can you switch to Chrome or FireFox and see if it works?