Verify Page Designer: Design Your Public Verification Page
Time to read: 7 minutes
Overview
Your organization has a public verify page where anyone can look up a credential and confirm it's genuine. By default it uses CertLister's standard layout. On the Pro plan, the Verify Page Designer lets you replace the landing area with a fully custom design — hero sections in your colors, your logos, stats, an FAQ, links to your website — built with a drag-and-drop editor, no code.
One thing never changes: the credential lookup — the search box visitors use to verify a credential — is part of every design. You decide where it sits and what surrounds it, but it can't be removed.
| Plan | Pro only |
| Designs per organization | Up to 5 (one active at a time) |
| Where | Portal Settings → Designer tab |
| Applies to | Your public verify page — on certlister.com and on your custom domain |
Create a Design
- Log in to CertLister
- Go to Portal Settings in the left navigation
- Open the Designer tab
- Click New design
The template gallery opens with live previews:
| Template | Look | Made for |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional | Navy and gold, formal registry style, with an "Accredited by" logo row | Universities & licensing bodies |
| Minimal Elegant | White, ink and sand, whitespace-led | Design schools & professional associations |
| Vibrant Friendly | Light teal hero with a pre-filled FAQ | Course creators & training teams |
| Blank page | Just the credential lookup | Starting from scratch |
Pick one and the design is created immediately — auto-named ("Institutional 1", "Institutional 2", …) — and the editor opens with the exact layout you previewed. To rename a design later, open its ⋯ menu in the Designer tab and choose Rename.
Templates are personalized when inserted: the footer copyright is pre-filled with your organization name and the current year, and all text is inserted in your account's interface language (English or French).
Make the Template Yours
Every template publishes successfully as-is, but before going live you'll want to:
- Replace the sample links. Template headers ship with placeholder links (Home, About, Contact, …) that point to
https://example.com. Swap in your real URLs. - Edit the headings and text. The template copy is generic on purpose.
- Add logos (Institutional). The "Accredited by" logo row ships empty and simply doesn't appear on the public page until you add logos to it.
The Editor
The editor has three areas:
- Left — the list of blocks. Drag a block onto the canvas to add it.
- Center — the canvas, a live rendering of your page. Click any block to select it; drag blocks to reorder them.
- Right — the settings for the selected block (text, colors, spacing, alignment, …). When nothing is selected, it shows the page-level settings (header, footer, and content spacing).
The top bar has Save draft and Publish buttons and shows whether you have unsaved changes. Back to Portal Settings returns to the design list — you'll be warned if unsaved changes would be lost.
The editor needs room to work: on a phone you'll see a "switch to a larger screen" notice. Use a tablet or desktop.
Blocks
| Block | What it does |
|---|---|
| Container | A wrapper with its own background color and padding — the building block for colored hero sections |
| Columns | Places blocks side by side |
| Spacer | Adds vertical space |
| Divider | A horizontal line (solid, dashed, or dotted) |
| Heading | A title (three sizes) with alignment, size, and color controls |
| Text | A paragraph with alignment, size, and color controls |
| Image | An image from your uploaded files |
| Button | A link button with shape, size, and color options |
| LogoRow | A row of logos with an optional title — partner or accreditation logos |
| StatsBar | A row of headline numbers ("12,000 credentials issued") |
| FAQ | An expandable question-and-answer list |
| LookupWidget | The credential lookup — required, exactly one per design |
Images
The Image block (and the header logo) use your organization's image library. Click Choose image to pick a previously uploaded file or Upload new image to add one. Only images uploaded to your organization can be published in a design.
Header and Footer
With no block selected, the right panel shows the page settings:
- Custom header — toggle on to add a header bar with a logo, up to 5 links, and background/text colors. Leave the logo empty and your organization logo is used automatically.
- Custom footer — toggle on to add a footer with text (the © line, pre-filled by templates) and up to 8 links.
- Content spacing — the gap between the top of the page (or the header) and your first block.
Header and footer links must be full URLs starting with https://.
Show or Hide Blocks per Device
Every block except the credential lookup has Hide on mobile and Hide on desktop settings. Use them to serve a compact layout to phones — for example, hide a wide three-column section on mobile and show a single stacked alternative instead.
Save, Preview, Publish, Activate
A design moves through three states, shown next to its name in the Designer tab:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft saved, not published | Your edits are stored, nothing is public |
| Published | A snapshot of the design is ready to serve |
| Active | This design is what visitors currently see |
- Save draft stores your work. Saving never changes your public page.
- Preview live page opens your real verify page rendering the current draft through a private, time-limited preview link — you see exactly what visitors would get, while actual visitors keep seeing your current page. Preview any design this way, not just the active one.
- Publish validates the design and takes a snapshot. You can keep editing afterwards — further changes stay in the draft until you publish again.
- Activate makes a published design the one visitors see. Only one design is active at a time; activating one replaces the previous active design.
- Deactivate or Unpublish returns your verify page to the standard layout. Unpublishing keeps your draft, so you can pick the work back up later.
Troubleshooting
Publish fails with a validation message
Publishing checks the design first. The common causes:
- The credential lookup is missing or duplicated. Every design needs exactly one LookupWidget block. If you deleted it, drag it back in; if you added a second one, remove it.
- A link isn't a full URL. Header, footer, and Button links must start with
https://—www.example.comor/aboutwon't pass. - An image isn't from your library. Image URLs must point to files uploaded to your organization. Re-add the image through Choose image.
My changes aren't on the public page
Saving a draft doesn't update the public page — click Publish. If the page still shows the standard layout, check the design's status: it must be Active, not just Published.
"Can't delete the active design"
Deactivate the design first (⋯ menu → Deactivate), then delete it.
The Activate button is disabled
The design has no published version yet. Publish it first.
"You've reached the limit of 5 designs"
Delete a design you no longer need from its ⋯ menu.
The Designer tab shows an upgrade prompt
The Verify Page Designer is a Pro feature. See Plans & Billing.
FAQ
Q: Does my design work on my custom domain?
A: Yes. The design applies to your verify page wherever it's served — certlister.com or your custom domain.
Q: Does the design change my embedded verification widget?
A: No. The embedded widget on your own website is unaffected — the design applies to your full verify page.
Q: Does the design change how credential results look?
A: No. The designer covers the landing area around the credential search. The result card that appears after a search is configured separately in Portal Settings.
Q: Can I change the fonts?
A: No — designs use the verify page's standard typeface. Identity comes from your colors, text sizes, weights, and spacing.
Q: Can visitors see my drafts?
A: No. Drafts are only visible through your Preview live page link, which is private and expires. Visitors always see the active published design.
Q: What happens if I downgrade from Pro?
A: Your verify page returns to the standard layout automatically. Your designs aren't deleted — upgrade again and the active design resumes serving.
Q: Can several team members edit designs?
A: Yes — any team member with the Admin role can use the designer.