How to Customize a Rise Cover Page with Layered Blocks

A polished cover page can make a Rise course stand out from the first click. But Rise doesn’t natively let one background image span across multiple blocks. Here’s how Maestro senior LXD Brianna Hayes created that effect by combining a few standard Rise blocks with a pair of Mighty code snippets.

Behind the Build: Let's Customize a Rise Course Cover Page

One cover page, built from multiple Rise blocks#

At first glance, the finished course cover looks like one designed layout: a background image, a foreground image element, and a Begin button working together as a single intro screen.

But that’s not technically what’s happening in Rise.

Here’s what’s going on under the hood:

• An Image Centered block that stores the foreground image
• A Transition block that appears at the top of the cover page
• A Button block that contains the background image and the learner’s Begin button

The “magic” comes from a pair of Mighty snippets that let the image from one block appear inside another block. Brianna’s inspiration came from a popular snippet pattern for adding a GIF to a Continue button: store an image in the course, hide the original block, then populate that image somewhere else.

That same logic can be adapted to make two blocks behave visually like one composed cover page.

Why not just use a Continue block?#

Brianna used a Button block instead of a Continue block because a Continue block can disappear after the learner clicks it. For this layout, that would create a problem: if the button vanishes, what happens to the block that is holding part of the cover page together?

Her concern was that the lesson could effectively collapse into just the Transition block, which is not the experience you want if a learner returns to the page later.

A Button block is more persistent. Even after the learner clicks it, the block remains in place, which makes the custom cover more foolproof.

What you need before you start#

Before applying the snippets, set up your assets and blocks in Rise.

You’ll need:

• A foreground image created outside Rise
• That same foreground image exported with a transparent background
• A background image to upload to the Button block
• The Mighty snippets Brianna created for this build

The transparent background is important. The foreground image needs to sit cleanly over the background image, so any unwanted fill behind it will make the composition look boxed-in instead of layered.

Brianna noted that the snippet’s image sizing appears to display the image at its actual size. Her practical recommendation: upload the image at the size you want it to appear rather than relying on the snippet to resize it after the fact.

Step-by-step: build a custom cover page#

1. Create your foreground image

Start by designing the image that will sit on top of the cover page background. In Brianna’s example, this was created in Figma.

The key requirement is that the image has a transparent background. This lets it appear naturally over the larger cover page image once the snippets are applied.

Export the image at the size you want it to display in Rise. Since the snippet is set up to show the image at actual size, your exported dimensions matter.

2. Add an Image Centered block

In your Rise lesson, add an Image Centered block.

Upload your foreground image into this block. This block is essentially acting as the storage location for the image that will later be placed into the Button block.

When you look at the lesson structure before the snippets are applied, this may feel a little strange. Brianna described her lesson as looking “kind of wild” under the hood—and that’s fair. The block order is doing more than the visual result suggests.

3. Add a Transition block above the button area

Next, add a Transition block.

In Brianna’s build, this block appears first in the lesson and becomes the very top of the cover page. It helps create the opening visual area before the button section.

This is also where the technique starts to feel less like stacking normal content blocks and more like composing a single designed screen.

4. Add a Button block

Now add a Button block.

This block is doing two jobs:

• It holds the background image for the cover page composition
• It provides the button the learner clicks to move into the rest of the course

Upload your background image into this Button block. In Brianna’s example, adding the background image is what allows you to see the full composition come together based on the height and sizing of the image.

Again, the Button block is intentional here. Don’t swap it for a Continue block unless you’re comfortable with the button potentially disappearing after it’s clicked.

5. Import the Mighty snippets

Open your custom code area in Mighty and import the two snippets used for this layout:

• Image plus button block part A
• Image plus button block part B

Part A applies to the image block. Part B applies to the button block.

After you click Import snippet, the snippets will show up in your library. Brianna points out an important detail: imported snippets appear as disabled at first.

Enable both snippets before testing the page.

If you’re newer to snippets in Mighty, the idea is that you can add targeted custom behavior to Rise without manually writing the code yourself. You still need to apply the right snippet to the right block, but you’re not starting from a blank code editor. You can explore more about Mighty’s no-code workflow on the features page.

6. Apply each snippet to the correct block

Apply Image plus button block part A to the Image Centered block.

Apply Image plus button block part B to the Button block.

That pairing is what lets the image stored in the Image Centered block appear inside the Button block area, creating the visual effect of a layered cover page.

This is the same general logic Brianna adapted from the GIF-in-Continue-button snippet pattern: hide or repurpose one block’s media, then place it somewhere more useful.

7. Preview and adjust your image sizes

Preview the lesson and check the composition.

If the foreground image is too large, too small, or not sitting the way you expected, start by adjusting the source image itself and re-uploading it at the intended size.

Brianna also notes that if you want the snippet’s sizing logic to behave differently, you can take the snippet back to your AI partner of choice and ask for an adjusted version. That was part of her own process with Claude: lots of back and forth, a few messy-looking attempts, and finally a pair of snippets that produced the intended result.

That’s a helpful reminder: custom snippets are powerful, but they often take iteration. The clean final effect may come after a very unglamorous testing phase.

The small detail that makes it feel finished#

One of Brianna’s favorite parts of the snippet pair is the button hover state.

When the learner hovers over the Begin button, the button’s opacity lowers slightly. It’s a small cue, but it helps the interaction feel more intentional.

Why this matters for Rise designers#

Rise is excellent for building clean, responsive courses quickly. But when you’re working with brand-heavy programs, high-visibility launches, or courses that need a stronger editorial feel, the default cover page options can start to feel limiting.

This technique gives you more control over the first screen without abandoning the Rise workflow your team already uses.

A few practical notes:

• Keep the button visible and easy to identify.
• Make sure any text baked into images meets your accessibility and readability standards.
• Test the page after publishing, especially if your LMS has its own launch frame or scaling behavior.
• Document the block setup for future editors, because the lesson structure will not be obvious at a glance.

That last point is especially important. If another designer opens the course later and sees an Image Centered block, a Transition block, and a Button block doing unexpected things, a short note can save them from accidentally breaking the layout.

Keep pushing the boundaries of Rise#

Creating a custom cover page is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pushing the boundaries of Rise. If you’re ready to explore what else Rise + Mighty can do, check out our Really Good Rise Courses space in Maestro Community (MC). It’s full of curated highlights of Rise courses along with annotated snapshots that explain the why and the how of the design.