What are content panels and how can I use them?

A content panel is a piece of information which you can create and share in various areas of multiple pages within your site. 

 

Content panels are created and managed in the Panels manager. 

 

Panels can be set to publish and expire independently of the other items around them which makes them a very versatile tool for managing your website’s content, especially the time-sensitive content.

 

Keeping your content updated by using content panels to manage when your content should be published and when it should expire is easy.  Simply set the expiration date on the panel for the day on which you want it to expire and the panel will be removed from the public view of your site at the end of the day on that date.

 

You can put virtually any type of content in a panel including images, tables, text, hyperlinks, audio, video, flash, etc.  The only limitation you'll find is that you'll have to think through the size (generally the width) of the content in the panel so that it is not too large for the areas of the site where you intend to place it.  A little bit of trial and error is the best way to figure this out.