An editorial Masthead theme for indie blogs and small journals: a photo-led grid of stories, tall condensed headlines in capitals, and an unhurried reading page. No JavaScript.
New page → Theme page → Journal, then set it as the site homepage. Every
post becomes a card: featured photo, tags, title and excerpt, centred. The
plain homepage (index) renders the same grid.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Show page title | Prints the page title above the grid. Off = photos first |
| Intro | A short line under the title. Empty = skipped |
| Show tag filter | A row of tag links above the grid (?tag=) |
| Show site navigation | Hide the nav bar on this page only |
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Featured image | The card photo in the grid and the photo at the top of the post |
| Featured image alt text | Describes the photo for screen readers |
| Caption | Small line under the photo — a credit or Shot on 35mm, Portra 400 |
| Featured image on the post | wide (default), full (edge to edge), column (text width), hidden (card only) |
| Search description | Overrides the excerpt in meta / social previews |
A post reads: tags → title → excerpt as a dek → date → photo → body. Blockquotes
become large pull quotes, ## headings are set in the headline face, and a
paragraph that is only bold text is treated as an interview question
(tight to its answer). Under the post, up to three more stories from its first
tag (or the latest posts) — toggle with Show "more stories". Posts without
a featured image render as text-only cards.
| Group | Tokens |
|---|---|
| Appearance | paper, ink, accent, favicon — muted and rule tones are mixed from paper + ink |
| Typography | heading_font (Oranienbaum, Bodoni Moda, Playfair Display, Cormorant Garamond), body_font (Newsreader, Hanken Grotesk) |
| Journal | columns (2 / 3), card_shape (natural / portrait / square), show_search, show_tags |
| Posts | drop_cap, show_more |
| Social | instagram_url, pinterest_url, behance_url, email — icons appear in the nav when set |
masthead preview # sample journal in preview/ + preview.json
masthead validate
masthead packagePins "render_version": "v1": page settings are read as
page.page_options.<key>, post settings as post.post_options.<key>.