The 2026 conference page now supports automatic state switching based on the conference date. Instead of manually changing the Hero State and Overview State in the CMS, you can select “Use Conference Date” and the page will automatically show the appropriate content (pre/during/post) based on the current date.
How to Use
In the CMS
Go to the CMS admin panel
Navigate to Conferences → UX Brighton 2026 - (homepage)
Find the Hero content states dropdown
Select “Use Conference Date” instead of manually choosing Pre/During/Post
Do the same for Overview content states
Make sure the Date & time (numerical) field is set correctly (e.g., 2026-11-06T09:00)
Save your changes
How It Works
When “Use Conference Date” is selected, the system compares the current date/time with the conference date:
Before the conference date → Shows “Pre-conference” content
On the conference day (within 24 hours of start time) → Shows “During conference” content
After the conference day → Shows “Post-conference” content
Example Timeline
If the conference date is set to 2026-11-06T09:00:
November 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM → Pre-conference content
November 6, 2026 at 9:00 AM → During conference content
November 7, 2026 at 9:01 AM → Post-conference content
Benefits
✅ No manual updates needed - Set it once and forget it
✅ Prevents errors - No risk of showing outdated content
✅ Consistent - Hero and Overview states stay synchronized
✅ Reusable - Can be applied to future conference years
Manual Override
You can still manually control the state by selecting:
Pre-conference
During conference
Post-conference
This is useful for testing or if you need to show specific content regardless of the date.
Technical Details
The feature uses Liquid templating to:
Check if the state is set to “auto”
Convert the conference date and current date to Unix timestamps
Calculate the difference in seconds
Determine which state to display based on the time difference
The logic is implemented in:
/2026/conf-page-partials/hero.html
/2026/conf-page-partials/overview.html
Important Notes
The conference date must be in the format YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM (e.g., 2026-11-06T09:00)
The “during” state lasts for 24 hours from the conference start time
Times are based on the server’s timezone (typically UTC)
Both Hero State and Overview State can be set independently
For Future Years
To add this feature to future conference years (2027, 2028, etc.):
Update the CMS config (/admin/config.yml) to add the “Use Conference Date” option
Copy the date calculation logic from the 2026 templates
Update the year-specific references (e.g., data-buy-ticket="conference-2027")