Rails: How to change the title of a page?

Question

What is the best way to create a custom title for pages in a Rails app without using a plug-in?

Answer 1

Best practice is to use content_for.

First, add a couple of helper methods (ie. stick in app/helpers/application_helper.rb):

def page_title(separator = " – ")
  [content_for(:title), 'My Cool Site'].compact.join(separator)
end

def page_heading(title)
  content_for(:title){ title }
  content_tag(:h1, title)
end

Then in your layout view you can simply use:

...and in the view itself:

<%= page_heading "Awesome" %>

This way has the advantage of allowing you to shuffle where you stick the h1 tag for your title, and keeps your controller nice and free of pesky @title variables.