- Where to find it
- Labelled Open by Default in the "Selected Component" section of the Modify drawer.
- Offered by
- The Accordion component. Other components do not have this setting.
- Per device
- Yes — you can set one value for every screen, or separate values for phone, tablet, and desktop.
In plain English
An accordion starts closed. Set this to true and this one starts open instead, its detail showing the moment the page appears. The reader can still close it — this decides the state on arrival, not a permanent one.
The usual reason is a first item that doubles as an example. Opening the top entry of an FAQ shows a reader what these rows do, rather than leaving them to work out that the arrow is clickable.
It is per device, which is where it earns its keep: a set of sections can sit open on a wide screen, where there is room for them, and closed on a phone, where the same content is a very long scroll.
What each option does
| Option | What you will see |
|---|---|
false | Closed until the reader opens it. The default. |
true | Expanded when the page loads. The reader can still close it. |
When you would use it
- The first of several, so the pattern explains itself.
- The one section nearly everybody reads, with the rest closed.
- Open on desktop and closed on phones, for content that is a comfortable read on one and a marathon on the other.
How to change it
- Click the accordion on the canvas.
- In the Modify drawer, open "Selected Component", then "Open by Default".
- Choose true to start expanded, false to start closed.
- Uncheck "Same value for all resolutions" to differ per device.
One value, or one per device? Every input in this setting sits under a “Same value for all resolutions” checkbox. Leave it checked for a single value everywhere, or uncheck it to give phones, tablets, and desktops their own. How per-device values work.
Watch out for
- Opening every accordion on the page defeats the point of having them. If they should all be open, the content wants to be plain sections instead.
- Nothing is remembered between visits. What a reader opens or closes is forgotten as soon as they navigate away.
- One that starts open takes its full height in the layout from the start, so everything below it begins further down the page.
Related settings
Where to go next
- Back to the Accordion component — everything else it can do.
- The Composer — the editing surface these settings live in.
- Publishing — how a change like this reaches your live site.