Chapter 28. Using the Top Module
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| The Top module (usually displayed as Top 10 in the Modules block, which serves as your site's main menu) is more for fun and bragging than any useful purpose (not that fun and bragging aren't useful, of course). As shown in Figure 28.1, this module simply displays a bunch of top lists for your site, including these:
Figure 28.1. The Top module in action. The module provides a good way for your users to see what's hot on your Web site, and it contains links to each listed item. Unfortunately, this does have the effect of making listed items even more popular, at the expense of other items that aren't listed. Kind of like recess back in school, right? The good kids got picked first for teams, giving them more experience and making it more likely they'd be picked the next time. A vicious circle, but you can always disable the Top module if you don't approve. The Top module doesn't have a separate administration section; as shown in Figure 28.2, all you can do is configure it to be a Top 10, Top 8, or Top Some Other Number module by editing your site's preferences and modifying the Number of Items in Top Page value. Figure 28.2. Configuring the Top module. Here's one trick to using the Top module: If you're trying to get users to register for your site, consider making the Top module your home page module (do so by selecting Put in Home, under Modules Administration). Then restrict access to the News, Downloads, Sections, and Reviews modules to registered users only. Anonymous users will be able to see the Top 10 (or top whatever) list in the home page, but when they click on an item, it'll tell them they have to register to see the whole thing. So you'll have a kind of teaser on the home page, but you will still get folks to register to see anything. One advantage to registering users is that you'll have their e-mail addresses, which you can use to send newsletters (something I cover in Topic 49, "Sending an e-Newsletter"). |
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