Blog excerpts do not represent first paragraph of copy. They are random

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#1

Hi, on our overview blog page (/blog) I’m using the feature to show a 60 character excerpt of the article. Logically that excerpt should start with the first paragraph. It seems though that the selection for the excerpt is random. Sometimes it is the first paragraph but most of the time it is not.

Here’s an example:
The first blog article about arthritis starts with “that wear has to become…”"
https://www.shoulderandkneesurgery.com.au/blog/ When you open tha article you will see that this is the copy of the second section.
We want the copy to start with “there is no diagnosis”.
https://www.shoulderandkneesurgery.com.au/blog/my-work-injury-is-arthritis/

Same issue on this page:

But perfect on this page:

No idea how this happens. Thanks for your feedback!

#2

Hi There @digitalpractice

Thanks for writing in! I see that you have used Cornerstone to create those blog posts. Could you please try setting your excerpt content manually and see if that helps.

Manual Excerpts are optional hand-crafted summaries of your content that can be used in your theme.Learn more about manual excerpts here.

Let us know how it goes.
Thanks!

#3

Hi

Thanks for writing in. I’ll try that.

I’m confused about your remark: “I see you that you have used Cornerstone to create those blog posts.”
Do you then recommend to NOT use Cornerstone for creating blog posts?

However, if we are supposed to use CS for creating blog posts, is there another way to automate this, rather than having to use manual excerpts?
I’m sorry but it’s confusing to hear that from the people who have created Cornerstone so I’m asking this question just to double check.

#4

Hi,

Sorry for the confusion, the excerpt should be automatic. I checked all your blog post and it seems to be working well.
It might have been a cache issue.

Please clear your browser cache and check again.

Thanks

#5

Hi, no it wasn’t, we solved it ourselves and it’s probably a bug in Theme X. The solution is to edit the blog post using the visual editor, not the html editor <>. Simply make a change in paragraph 1 (the one you want the excerpt of) using the visual editor, eg adding a . and then removing the . again. Then save. Then the excerpt is correct.

#6

Hi @digitalpractice,

It’s not a bug, and let’s go back to your question.

Do you then recommend to NOT use Cornerstone for creating blog posts?

There is no official recommendation, but I personally don’t recommend if its main purpose is blogging. For design, then I recommend it. But I’ll explain about the excerpt.

Wordpress can generate excerpt automatically or you’ll have to add it manually. It’s there for some reason, and Wordpress allows that. When Wordpress automatically generate excerpts, it removes HTML, scripts, shortcodes or any codes just to pull a plain text excerpt. And with the builder, that is where shortcodes are coming from so if you build your post in it (cornerstone or any builder) then it will generate shortcodes. It will then only use the usable texts after the removable of all codes (some texts belongs to shortcode blocks and they will be removed too), hence, you may see different text than what you really built.

And because of that, there is a manually added excerpt which is recommended if you create your post in a builder.

Thanks!

#7

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