A two-column archive index for the Modern theme

Lay your Modern archive out as a grid instead of a single tall column.

Mary
Mary
June 16, 2026
A two-column archive index for the Modern theme

The Modern theme builds its archive index out of the same 600px reading column it uses for posts. That's the right width for reading an email, but on a wide desktop it left a tall single column of posts marooned in the middle of the screen with a few hundred pixels of empty space on either side.

You can now hand that space back to your posts. Head to your archive settings and you'll find a new Archive layout option on the Modern theme:

  • Single column — exactly what you have today. This is the default, so nothing changes unless you ask it to.
  • Two-column grid — on screens wider than about 900px, the index lays out as a two-column grid so more posts fit above the fold. On phones and narrow windows it stays a single column, so your mobile readers get the same experience either way.

It's purely a layout choice for the index page — your post pages, cards, and everything else look exactly as they did. If you've been wishing your archive felt a little less like an endless scroll, give the grid a try.

Two columns not enough? The Arbus theme goes all the way to an image-first grid if your newsletter leans visual.

Buttondown is the last email platform you’ll switch to.