diff --git a/config/config.example.yml b/config/config.example.yml
index 8d71dc9b1ad..66bb41c946c 100644
--- a/config/config.example.yml
+++ b/config/config.example.yml
@@ -408,6 +408,8 @@ homePage:
     pageSize: 5
   # Enable or disable the Discover filters on the homepage
   showDiscoverFilters: false
+  # Enable or disable the dynamic layout configuration on the homepage
+  enableDynamicLayout: false
 
 # Item Config
 item:
@@ -714,6 +716,9 @@ accessibility:
 # Configuration for layout customization of metadata rendering in Item page
 # Currently only the authority reference config is available, more will follow with the integration of the so called CRIS layout.
 layout:
+  # Enable or disable the explore pages feature (/explore/:id routes and their navbar menu entries).
+  # When false, explore routes redirect to 404 and the explore menu is hidden.
+  enableExplorePages: false
   # Configuration of icons and styles to be used for each authority controlled link
   authorityRef:
     - entityType: DEFAULT
@@ -761,6 +766,11 @@ layout:
         type: attribute
       - name: checksum
         type: attribute
+  # Navbar layout configuration
+  navbar:
+    # If true, show the "Community and Collections" link in the navbar; otherwise, show it in the admin sidebar
+    showCommunityCollection: true
+
 
 # Configuration for customization of search results
 searchResults:
diff --git a/src/app/app-routes.ts b/src/app/app-routes.ts
index 6190ed263a3..a5cc4c6e614 100644
--- a/src/app/app-routes.ts
+++ b/src/app/app-routes.ts
@@ -302,6 +302,10 @@ export const APP_ROUTES: Route[] = [
           .then((m) => m.ROUTES),
         canActivate: [notAuthenticatedGuard],
       },
+      {
+        path: 'explore',
+        loadChildren: () => import('./explore-page/explore-routes').then((m) => m.ROUTES),
+      },
       { path: '**', pathMatch: 'full', component: ThemedPageNotFoundComponent, data: { title: '404.page-not-found' } },
     ],
   },
diff --git a/src/app/app.menus.ts b/src/app/app.menus.ts
index 73190c57caf..e9ade14318c 100644
--- a/src/app/app.menus.ts
+++ b/src/app/app.menus.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { buildMenuStructure } from './shared/menu/menu.structure';
 import { MenuID } from './shared/menu/menu-id.model';
 import { MenuRoute } from './shared/menu/menu-route.model';
 import { AccessControlMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/access-control.menu';
+import { AdminCommunityListMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/admin-community-list.menu';
 import { AdminSearchMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/admin-search.menu';
 import { AuditLogsMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/audit-item.menu';
 import { AuditOverviewMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/audit-overview.menu';
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ import { EditMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/edit.menu';
 import { EditCMSMetadataMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/edit-cms-metadata.menu';
 import { EditItemMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/edit-item-details.menu';
 import { EditUserAgreementMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/edit-user-agreement.menu';
+import { ExploreMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/explore.menu';
 import { ExportMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/export.menu';
 import { HealthMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/health.menu';
 import { ImportMenuProvider } from './shared/menu/providers/import.menu';
@@ -61,8 +63,10 @@ export const MENUS = buildMenuStructure({
     CommunityListMenuProvider,
     BrowseMenuProvider,
     StatisticsMenuProvider,
+    ExploreMenuProvider,
   ],
   [MenuID.ADMIN]: [
+    AdminCommunityListMenuProvider,
     NewMenuProvider,
     EditMenuProvider,
     ImportMenuProvider,
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services-map.ts b/src/app/core/data-services-map.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e69de29bb2d
diff --git a/src/app/core/data/section-data.service.ts b/src/app/core/data/section-data.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6417ca43c69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/data/section-data.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
+import { NotificationsService } from '@dspace/core/notification-system/notifications.service';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+
+import { DSONameService } from '../breadcrumbs/dso-name.service';
+import { RemoteDataBuildService } from '../cache/builders/remote-data-build.service';
+import { ObjectCacheService } from '../cache/object-cache.service';
+import { Section } from '../layout/models/section.model';
+import { HALEndpointService } from '../shared/hal-endpoint.service';
+import { IdentifiableDataService } from './base/identifiable-data.service';
+import { SearchDataImpl } from './base/search-data';
+import { PaginatedList } from './paginated-list.model';
+import { RemoteData } from './remote-data';
+import { RequestService } from './request.service';
+
+/**
+ * A service responsible for fetching data from the REST API on the sections endpoint.
+ */
+@Injectable({ providedIn: 'root' })
+export class SectionDataService extends IdentifiableDataService<Section> {
+
+  protected linkPath = 'sections';
+  private searchData: SearchDataImpl<Section>;
+
+  constructor(
+    protected requestService: RequestService,
+    protected rdbService: RemoteDataBuildService,
+    protected objectCache: ObjectCacheService,
+    protected halService: HALEndpointService,
+    protected notificationsService: NotificationsService,
+    protected dsoNameService: DSONameService,
+  ) {
+    super('sections', requestService, rdbService, objectCache, halService);
+
+    this.searchData = new SearchDataImpl(this.linkPath, requestService, rdbService, objectCache, halService, this.responseMsToLive);
+  }
+
+
+  /**
+   * Finds all sections configured to be visible in the top navigation bar.
+   * Uses the 'visibleTopBarSections' search endpoint on the backend.
+   */
+  findVisibleSections(): Observable<RemoteData<PaginatedList<Section>>> {
+    return this.searchData.searchBy('visibleTopBarSections');
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/core/layout/models/section.model.ts b/src/app/core/layout/models/section.model.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6f6a4f6f97c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/layout/models/section.model.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+import {
+  autoserialize,
+  deserialize,
+} from 'cerialize';
+
+import { typedObject } from '../../cache/builders/build-decorators';
+import { CacheableObject } from '../../cache/cacheable-object.model';
+import { HALLink } from '../../shared/hal-link.model';
+import { ResourceType } from '../../shared/resource-type';
+import { excludeFromEquals } from '../../utilities/equals.decorators';
+import { SECTION } from './section.resource-type';
+
+/**
+ * Describes a type of Section.
+ */
+@typedObject
+export class Section extends CacheableObject {
+  static type = SECTION;
+
+  /**
+   * The object type
+   */
+  @excludeFromEquals
+  @autoserialize
+    type: ResourceType;
+
+  /**
+   * The identifier of this Section.
+   */
+  @autoserialize
+    id: string;
+
+  @autoserialize
+    componentRows: SectionComponent[][];
+
+  @autoserialize
+    nestedSections: Section[];
+
+  /**
+   * The {@link HALLink}s for this section
+   */
+  @deserialize
+    _links: {
+    self: HALLink,
+  };
+
+}
+
+/**
+ * Base interface for all section component configurations returned by the REST API.
+ */
+export interface SectionComponent {
+  /** The type discriminator identifying which component to render. */
+  componentType: string;
+  /** CSS classes applied to the section container (e.g., Bootstrap grid classes). */
+  style: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Configuration for a browse section that displays links to browse indices.
+ */
+export interface BrowseSection extends SectionComponent {
+  /** List of browse index names to render as navigation links. */
+  browseNames: string[];
+  componentType: 'browse';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Configuration for a top section that displays the most recent/popular items
+ * from a discovery configuration.
+ */
+export interface TopSection extends SectionComponent {
+  /** Name of the discovery configuration to query. */
+  discoveryConfigurationName: string;
+  /** Metadata field to sort results by. */
+  sortField: string;
+  /** Sort direction ('ASC' or 'DESC'). */
+  order: string;
+  /** i18n key for the section title. */
+  titleKey: string;
+  componentType: 'top';
+  /** Maximum number of items to display. */
+  numberOfItems: number;
+  /** Whether to show item thumbnails. */
+  showThumbnails: boolean;
+  /** Template type to use for rendering the items. */
+  template: TopSectionTemplateType;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Configuration for an advanced search section with multiple query statements and filter fields.
+ */
+export interface SearchSection extends SectionComponent {
+  /** Name of the discovery configuration providing available filters. */
+  discoveryConfigurationName: string;
+  componentType: 'search';
+  /** Type of search interface to render. */
+  searchType: string;
+  /** Number of query statement rows to display initially. */
+  initialStatements: number;
+  /** Whether to display the section title. */
+  displayTitle: boolean;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Configuration for a section displaying search facets from a discovery configuration.
+ */
+export interface FacetSection extends SectionComponent {
+  /** Name of the discovery configuration to fetch facet values from. */
+  discoveryConfigurationName: string;
+  componentType: 'facet';
+  /** Number of facet boxes to display per row in the grid. */
+  facetsPerRow: number;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Configuration for a text content section that renders static or metadata-based content.
+ */
+export interface TextRowSection extends SectionComponent {
+  /** The content string (can be a metadata key or raw content depending on contentType). */
+  content: string;
+  /** The type of content: e.g., 'text-metadata' for metadata lookups or 'text-raw' for static content. */
+  contentType: string;
+  componentType: 'text-row';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Configuration for a table-like section showing top items with multiple metadata columns.
+ */
+export interface MultiColumnTopSection extends SectionComponent {
+  /** Name of the discovery configuration to query. */
+  discoveryConfigurationName: string;
+  /** Metadata field to sort results by. */
+  sortField: string;
+  /** Sort direction ('ASC' or 'DESC'). */
+  order: string;
+  /** i18n key for the section title. */
+  titleKey: string;
+  /** List of column definitions specifying which metadata fields to display. */
+  columnList: TopSectionColumn[];
+  componentType: 'multi-column-top';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Column configuration for {@link MultiColumnTopSection} defining which metadata to display.
+ */
+export interface TopSectionColumn {
+  /** CSS classes for column width styling. */
+  style: string;
+  /** Metadata field to extract the column value from. */
+  metadataField: string;
+  /** i18n key for the column header. */
+  titleKey: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Represents the type of template to use for the section
+ */
+export enum TopSectionTemplateType {
+  DEFAULT = 'default', // CRIS default template
+}
diff --git a/src/app/core/layout/models/section.resource-type.ts b/src/app/core/layout/models/section.resource-type.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bed97d5a9cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/layout/models/section.resource-type.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+import { ResourceType } from '../../shared/resource-type';
+
+/**
+ * The resource type for Section
+ *
+ * Needs to be in a separate file to prevent circular
+ * dependencies in webpack.
+ */
+export const SECTION = new ResourceType('section');
diff --git a/src/app/core/provide-core.ts b/src/app/core/provide-core.ts
index 2b83615c0c1..97acb2d846e 100644
--- a/src/app/core/provide-core.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/provide-core.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import {
 import { EPerson } from './eperson/models/eperson.model';
 import { Group } from './eperson/models/group.model';
 import { Feedback } from './feedback/models/feedback.model';
+import { Section } from './layout/models/section.model';
 import { MetadataField } from './metadata/metadata-field.model';
 import { MetadataSchema } from './metadata/metadata-schema.model';
 import { QualityAssuranceEventObject } from './notifications/qa/models/quality-assurance-event.model';
@@ -232,4 +233,5 @@ export const models =
     CorrectionType,
     SupervisionOrder,
     SubmissionCustomUrl,
+    Section,
   ];
diff --git a/src/app/core/services/internal-link.service.spec.ts b/src/app/core/services/internal-link.service.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4acb476e30e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/services/internal-link.service.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import {
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+
+import { InternalLinkService } from './internal-link.service';
+import { NativeWindowService } from './window.service';
+
+describe('InternalLinkService', () => {
+  let service: InternalLinkService;
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+    return TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      providers: [
+        InternalLinkService,
+        { provide: NativeWindowService, useValue: { nativeWindow: { location: { origin: 'https://currentdomain' } } } },
+      ],
+    }).compileComponents();
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    service = TestBed.inject(InternalLinkService);
+  });
+
+  describe('isLinkInternal', () => {
+    it('should return true for internal link starting with "/"', () => {
+      const result = service.isLinkInternal('/my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should return true for internal link starting with currentURL', () => {
+      const result = service.isLinkInternal('https://currentdomain/my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should return true for internal link starting with "currentdomain"', () => {
+      const result = service.isLinkInternal('currentdomain/my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should return false for external link', () => {
+      const result = service.isLinkInternal('https://externaldomain/my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('should return true for internal link without leading "/"', () => {
+      const result = service.isLinkInternal('my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe(true);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('transformInternalLink', () => {
+    it('should transform internal link by removing currentURL', () => {
+      const result = service.getRelativePath('https://currentdomain/my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe('/my-link');
+    });
+
+    it('should transform internal link by adding leading "/" if missing', () => {
+      const result = service.getRelativePath('currentdomain/my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe('/my-link');
+    });
+
+    it('should return unchanged link for external link', () => {
+      const result = service.getRelativePath('https://externalDomain/my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe('/https://externalDomain/my-link');
+    });
+
+    it('should return unchanged link for internal link with leading "/"', () => {
+      const result = service.getRelativePath('/my-link');
+      expect(result).toBe('/my-link');
+    });
+  });
+
+});
diff --git a/src/app/core/services/internal-link.service.ts b/src/app/core/services/internal-link.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e08ca2bc11e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/services/internal-link.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+import {
+  Inject,
+  Injectable,
+} from '@angular/core';
+
+import {
+  NativeWindowRef,
+  NativeWindowService,
+} from './window.service';
+
+/**
+ * LinkService provides utility functions for working with links, such as checking if a link is internal
+ * and transforming internal links based on the current URL.
+ */
+@Injectable({ providedIn: 'root' })
+export class InternalLinkService {
+  currentURL = this._window.nativeWindow?.location?.origin;
+
+  constructor(
+    @Inject(NativeWindowService) protected _window: NativeWindowRef,
+  ) {
+
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Check if the provided link is internal, i.e., it starts with a '/' or matches the current URL.
+   *
+   * @param link The link to be checked.
+   * @returns A boolean indicating whether the link is internal.
+   */
+  public isLinkInternal(link: string): boolean {
+    // Create a Domain object for the provided link
+    const currentDomain = new URL(this.currentURL).hostname;
+
+    return link.startsWith('/')
+      || link.startsWith(this.currentURL)
+      || link.startsWith(currentDomain)
+      || link === currentDomain
+      || !link.includes('://');
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Get the relative path for an internal link based on the current URL.
+   *
+   * @param link The internal link to be transformed.
+   * @returns The relative path for the given internal link.
+   */
+  public getRelativePath(link: string): string {
+    // Obtaining the base URL, disregarding query parameters
+    const baseUrl = link.split('?')[0];
+    const currentDomain = new URL(this.currentURL).hostname;
+
+    if (baseUrl.startsWith(this.currentURL) || baseUrl.startsWith(currentDomain)) {
+      const base = baseUrl.startsWith(this.currentURL) ? this.currentURL : currentDomain;
+      const currentSegments = baseUrl.substring(base.length);
+      return currentSegments.startsWith('/') ? currentSegments : `/${currentSegments}`;
+    }
+
+    return baseUrl.startsWith('/') ? baseUrl : `/${baseUrl}`;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Parse the query parameters from a given URL link.
+   *
+   * @param link The URL link containing query parameters.
+   * @returns An object containing the parsed query parameters.
+   */
+  public getQueryParams(link: string): Record<string, string> {
+    const queryParams: Record<string, string> = {};
+
+    const queryStringStartIndex = link.indexOf('?');
+    if (queryStringStartIndex !== -1) {
+      const paramsString = link.substring(queryStringStartIndex + 1);
+      const paramsArray = paramsString.split('&');
+
+      paramsArray.forEach(param => {
+        const [key, value] = param.split('=');
+        if (key && value) {
+          queryParams[key] = decodeURIComponent(value.replace(/\+/g, ' '));
+        }
+      });
+    }
+
+    return queryParams;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/core/shared/context.model.ts b/src/app/core/shared/context.model.ts
index 850df2513fd..d97d3de3473 100644
--- a/src/app/core/shared/context.model.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/shared/context.model.ts
@@ -50,4 +50,6 @@ export enum Context {
    */
   AddMetadata = 'addMetadata',
   EditMetadata = 'editMetadata',
+
+  BrowseMostElements = 'browseMostElements'
 }
diff --git a/src/app/core/shared/search/models/search-filter-config.model.ts b/src/app/core/shared/search/models/search-filter-config.model.ts
index 82c1fe00ba2..bd298d2cedb 100644
--- a/src/app/core/shared/search/models/search-filter-config.model.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/shared/search/models/search-filter-config.model.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { FacetValue } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/facet-value.model';
 import {
   autoserialize,
   autoserializeAs,
@@ -55,6 +56,13 @@ export class SearchFilterConfig implements CacheableObject {
     @autoserializeAs(Boolean, 'openByDefault')
       isOpenByDefault: boolean;
 
+    /**
+     * Defines the list of available operators
+     */
+    @autoserialize
+     operators: OperatorConfig[];
+
+
     /**
      * Minimum value possible for this facet in the repository
      */
@@ -67,6 +75,12 @@ export class SearchFilterConfig implements CacheableObject {
     @autoserialize
       minValue: string;
 
+    /**
+     * The embedded facet values.
+     */
+    @autoserialize
+    _embedded: { values: FacetValue[] };
+
     /**
      * The {@link HALLink}s for this SearchFilterConfig
      */
@@ -83,3 +97,17 @@ export class SearchFilterConfig implements CacheableObject {
       return 'f.' + this.name;
     }
 }
+
+/**
+ * Interface to model sort option's configuration.
+ */
+export interface SortOption {
+  name: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Interface to model operator's configuration.
+ */
+export interface OperatorConfig {
+  operator: string;
+}
diff --git a/src/app/explore-page/explore-i18n-breadcrumb.resolver.ts b/src/app/explore-page/explore-i18n-breadcrumb.resolver.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b4c248ad2e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/explore-page/explore-i18n-breadcrumb.resolver.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import { inject } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ActivatedRouteSnapshot,
+  ResolveFn,
+  RouterStateSnapshot,
+} from '@angular/router';
+import { BreadcrumbConfig } from '@dspace/core/breadcrumbs/models/breadcrumb-config.model';
+import { currentPathFromSnapshot } from '@dspace/core/router/utils/route.utils';
+
+import { I18nBreadcrumbsService } from '../core/breadcrumbs/i18n-breadcrumbs.service';
+import { hasNoValue } from '../utils/empty.util';
+
+
+/**
+ * Resolves a BreadcrumbConfig object with an i18n key string for an explore route.
+ * Extends the base breadcrumb key with the explore page's ID route parameter
+ * (e.g., 'explore' becomes 'explore.publications') to provide page-specific breadcrumb labels.
+ */
+export const exploreI18nBreadcrumbResolver: ResolveFn<BreadcrumbConfig<string>> = (
+  route: ActivatedRouteSnapshot,
+  state: RouterStateSnapshot,
+  breadcrumbService: I18nBreadcrumbsService = inject(I18nBreadcrumbsService),
+): BreadcrumbConfig<string> => {
+  const extendedBreadcrumbKey = route.data.breadcrumbKey + '.' + route.params.id;
+  route.data = Object.assign({}, route.data, { breadcrumbKey: extendedBreadcrumbKey });
+
+  const key = route.data.breadcrumbKey;
+  if (hasNoValue(key)) {
+    throw new Error('You provided an i18nBreadcrumbResolver for url \"' + route.url + '\" but no breadcrumbKey in the route\'s data');
+  }
+  const fullPath = currentPathFromSnapshot(route);
+  return { provider: breadcrumbService, key: key, url: fullPath };
+};
diff --git a/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.html b/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..69ae899ec39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+<div class="container">
+  @for (sectionComponents of ( sectionComponentRows | async ); track sectionComponents) {
+    <div class="row">
+      @for (sectionComponent of sectionComponents; track sectionComponent) {
+        <div
+          [ngClass]="sectionComponent.style" [class.col]="!hasColClass(sectionComponent.style)" class="pb-4">
+          @switch (sectionComponent.componentType) {
+            @case ('top') {
+              <ds-top-section
+                [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                [topSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-top-section>
+            }
+            @case ('multi-column-top') {
+              <ds-multi-column-top-section
+                [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                [topSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-multi-column-top-section>
+            }
+            @case ('browse') {
+              <ds-browse-section
+                [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                [browseSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-browse-section>
+            }
+            @case ('search') {
+              <ds-search-section
+                [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                [searchSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-search-section>
+            }
+            @case ('facet') {
+              <ds-facet-section
+                [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                [facetSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-facet-section>
+            }
+            @case ('text-row') {
+              <ds-text-section
+                [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                [textRowSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-text-section>
+            }
+            @case ('counters') {
+              <ds-counters-section
+                [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                [countersSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-counters-section>
+            }
+          }
+        </div>
+      }
+    </div>
+  }
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.spec.ts b/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5854499f5ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
+import { NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  inject,
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import {
+  FormsModule,
+  ReactiveFormsModule,
+} from '@angular/forms';
+import {
+  BrowserModule,
+  By,
+} from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { ActivatedRoute } from '@angular/router';
+import { RouterTestingModule } from '@angular/router/testing';
+import { SectionDataService } from '@dspace/core/data/section-data.service';
+import { TranslateLoaderMock } from '@dspace/core/testing/translate-loader.mock';
+import { createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$ } from '@dspace/core/utilities/remote-data.utils';
+import { NgbModule } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
+import {
+  TranslateLoader,
+  TranslateModule,
+} from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import {
+  Observable,
+  of,
+} from 'rxjs';
+
+import { RemoteData } from '../core/data/remote-data';
+import {
+  BrowseSection,
+  FacetSection,
+  MultiColumnTopSection,
+  SearchSection,
+  Section,
+  TopSection,
+  TopSectionTemplateType,
+} from '../core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { ThemedBrowseSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/themed-browse-section.component';
+import { ThemedCountersSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/themed-counters-section.component';
+import { ThemedFacetSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/themed-facet-section.component';
+import { ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/themed-multi-column-top-section.component';
+import { ThemedSearchSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/search-section/themed-search-section.component';
+import { ThemedTextSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/text-section/themed-text-section.component';
+import { ThemedTopSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/top-section/themed-top-section.component';
+import { ExplorePageComponent } from './explore-page.component';
+
+describe('ExploreComponent', () => {
+  let component: ExplorePageComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<ExplorePageComponent>;
+
+  let sectionDataServiceStub: any;
+  let route: any;
+
+  const browseComponent: BrowseSection = {
+    browseNames: ['rodept', 'author', 'title', 'type'],
+    componentType: 'browse',
+    style: 'col-md-4',
+  };
+
+  const topComponent: TopSection = {
+    discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+    componentType: 'top',
+    style: 'col-md-6',
+    order: 'desc',
+    sortField: 'dc.date.accessioned',
+    numberOfItems: 5,
+    titleKey: 'lastPublications',
+    showThumbnails: false,
+    template: TopSectionTemplateType.DEFAULT,
+  };
+
+  const searchComponent: SearchSection = {
+    discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+    componentType: 'search',
+    style: 'col-md-8',
+    searchType: 'advanced',
+    initialStatements: 3,
+    displayTitle: true,
+  };
+
+  const facetComponent: FacetSection = {
+    discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+    componentType: 'facet',
+    style: 'col-md-12',
+    facetsPerRow: 4,
+  };
+
+  const multiColumnTopComponent: MultiColumnTopSection = {
+    discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+    componentType: 'multi-column-top',
+    style: 'col-md-12',
+    order: 'desc',
+    sortField: 'dc.date.accessioned',
+    titleKey: 'lastPublications',
+    columnList: [],
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+
+    sectionDataServiceStub = {
+      findById(id: string): Observable<RemoteData<Section>> {
+        if (id === 'publications') {
+          const section = new Section();
+          section.id = 'publications';
+          section.componentRows = [[browseComponent, searchComponent], [topComponent], [facetComponent], [multiColumnTopComponent]];
+          return createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$(section);
+        } else {
+          return of(null);
+        }
+      },
+    };
+
+    route = {
+      params: of({ id: 'publications' }),
+    };
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [CommonModule, NgbModule, FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule, ExplorePageComponent, BrowserModule, RouterTestingModule,
+        TranslateModule.forRoot({
+          loader: {
+            provide: TranslateLoader,
+            useClass: TranslateLoaderMock,
+          },
+        }),
+      ],
+      providers: [ExplorePageComponent,
+        { provide: SectionDataService, useValue: sectionDataServiceStub },
+        { provide: ActivatedRoute, useValue: route }],
+      schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA],
+    }).overrideComponent(ExplorePageComponent, { remove: { imports: [ThemedTopSectionComponent, ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent, ThemedBrowseSectionComponent, ThemedSearchSectionComponent, ThemedFacetSectionComponent, ThemedTextSectionComponent, ThemedCountersSectionComponent] } }).compileComponents();
+
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(ExplorePageComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create ExploreComponent', inject([ExplorePageComponent], (comp: ExplorePageComponent) => {
+    expect(comp).toBeDefined();
+  }));
+
+  it('should place the sections on four rows', () => {
+    const container = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('.container'));
+    expect(container.children.length).toEqual(4);
+
+    const firstRow = container.children[0];
+    expect(firstRow.children.length).toEqual(2);
+    expect(firstRow.children[0].children[0].name).toEqual('ds-browse-section');
+    expect(firstRow.children[1].children[0].name).toEqual('ds-search-section');
+
+    const secondRow = container.children[1];
+    expect(secondRow.children.length).toEqual(1);
+    expect(secondRow.children[0].children[0].name).toEqual('ds-top-section');
+
+    const thirdRow = container.children[2];
+    expect(thirdRow.children.length).toEqual(1);
+    expect(thirdRow.children[0].children[0].name).toEqual('ds-facet-section');
+
+    const fourthRow = container.children[3];
+    expect(fourthRow.children.length).toEqual(1);
+    expect(fourthRow.children[0].children[0].name).toEqual('ds-multi-column-top-section');
+
+    expect(component.sectionId).toEqual('publications');
+  });
+
+});
diff --git a/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.ts b/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3804a0dcd71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/explore-page/explore-page.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+import {
+  AsyncPipe,
+  NgClass,
+} from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  OnInit,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ActivatedRoute,
+  Params,
+} from '@angular/router';
+import { SectionDataService } from '@dspace/core/data/section-data.service';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
+
+import { SectionComponent } from '../core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload } from '../core/shared/operators';
+import { ThemedBrowseSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/themed-browse-section.component';
+import { ThemedCountersSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/themed-counters-section.component';
+import { ThemedFacetSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/themed-facet-section.component';
+import { ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/themed-multi-column-top-section.component';
+import { ThemedSearchSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/search-section/themed-search-section.component';
+import { ThemedTextSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/text-section/themed-text-section.component';
+import { ThemedTopSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/top-section/themed-top-section.component';
+
+/**
+ * Main container component for dynamic explore pages.
+ *
+ * Fetches section configuration from the backend based on the current route parameter
+ * and renders the configured sections as a responsive grid of section components.
+ * Supported section types include: top, multi-column-top, browse, search, facet, text-row, and counters.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-explore',
+  templateUrl: './explore-page.component.html',
+  imports: [
+    AsyncPipe,
+    NgClass,
+    ThemedBrowseSectionComponent,
+    ThemedCountersSectionComponent,
+    ThemedFacetSectionComponent,
+    ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent,
+    ThemedSearchSectionComponent,
+    ThemedTextSectionComponent,
+    ThemedTopSectionComponent,
+  ],
+})
+export class ExplorePageComponent implements OnInit {
+
+  /**
+   * Identifier for the current explore section, derived from the ':id' route parameter.
+   */
+  sectionId: string;
+
+  /**
+   * Observable emitting a 2D array of section components organized in rows for grid layout.
+   * Each inner array represents a row of components to be rendered side-by-side.
+   */
+  sectionComponentRows: Observable<SectionComponent[][]>;
+
+  constructor(
+        private route: ActivatedRoute,
+        private sectionDataService: SectionDataService ) {}
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+    this.route.params.subscribe((params) => this.setupSectionComponents(params));
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Fetches the section configuration from the backend and resolves
+   * the section's component rows into the {@link sectionComponentRows} observable.
+   *
+   * @param params the route params containing the explore section 'id'
+   */
+  setupSectionComponents( params: Params ) {
+    this.sectionId = params.id;
+    this.sectionComponentRows = this.sectionDataService.findById(params.id ).pipe(
+      getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload(),
+      map ( (section) => section.componentRows),
+    );
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks if a style string already contains a Bootstrap column class (e.g. 'col' or 'col-*').
+   * Used to determine whether a default column class should be applied to a grid cell.
+   *
+   * @param style the style of the cell (a space-separated list of CSS classes)
+   * @returns true if the style contains a Bootstrap column class
+   */
+  hasColClass(style) {
+    return style?.split(' ').filter((c) => (c === 'col' || c.startsWith('col-'))).length > 0;
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/explore-page/explore-pages-enabled.guard.ts b/src/app/explore-page/explore-pages-enabled.guard.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..45c58dda080
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/explore-page/explore-pages-enabled.guard.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import { inject } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ActivatedRouteSnapshot,
+  CanActivateFn,
+  Router,
+  RouterStateSnapshot,
+  UrlTree,
+} from '@angular/router';
+import {
+  APP_CONFIG,
+  AppConfig,
+} from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
+
+import { getPageNotFoundRoute } from '../core/router/core-routing-paths';
+
+/**
+ * Route guard that checks whether explore pages are enabled in the application config.
+ * When `layout.enableExplorePages` is false, navigating to any explore route
+ * will redirect to the 404 page.
+ */
+export const explorePagesEnabledGuard: CanActivateFn = (
+  route: ActivatedRouteSnapshot,
+  state: RouterStateSnapshot,
+  appConfig: AppConfig = inject(APP_CONFIG),
+  router: Router = inject(Router),
+): boolean | UrlTree => {
+  if (appConfig.layout.enableExplorePages) {
+    return true;
+  }
+  return router.parseUrl(getPageNotFoundRoute());
+};
diff --git a/src/app/explore-page/explore-routes.ts b/src/app/explore-page/explore-routes.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..896c2d11c5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/explore-page/explore-routes.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/**
+ * Route definitions for the explore module.
+ * Maps ':id' paths to the {@link ExplorePageComponent}, resolving breadcrumbs
+ * via {@link exploreI18nBreadcrumbResolver} and guarding access with the end-user agreement.
+ */
+import { Route } from '@angular/router';
+
+import { endUserAgreementCurrentUserGuard } from '../core/end-user-agreement/end-user-agreement-current-user.guard';
+import { exploreI18nBreadcrumbResolver } from './explore-i18n-breadcrumb.resolver';
+import { ExplorePageComponent } from './explore-page.component';
+import { explorePagesEnabledGuard } from './explore-pages-enabled.guard';
+
+export const ROUTES: Route[] = [
+  {
+    path: ':id',
+    component: ExplorePageComponent,
+    resolve: { breadcrumb: exploreI18nBreadcrumbResolver },
+    data: { title: 'explore.title', breadcrumbKey: 'explore', showSocialButtons: true },
+    canActivate: [explorePagesEnabledGuard, endUserAgreementCurrentUserGuard],
+  },
+];
diff --git a/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.html b/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.html
index ac53ab33a7f..042a64f659d 100644
--- a/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.html
+++ b/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.html
@@ -1,35 +1,113 @@
-@if (homeHeaderMetadataValue$ | async; as homeHeaderMetadataValue) {
-  <div class="container home-header">
-    <ds-markdown-viewer [value]="homeHeaderMetadataValue"></ds-markdown-viewer>
-  </div>
-}
+@if (!isDynamicHomePageEnabled) {
+  <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="staticHomePage"></ng-container>
+} @else if (hasConfiguredSections$ | async) {
+  @if ((site$.value && hasHomeHeaderMetadata)) {
+    <div id="home-header-wrapper">
+      <ds-text-section [sectionId]="'site'"
+                       [textRowSection]="homeHeaderSection"
+                       [site]="site$.value"></ds-text-section>
+    </div>
+  } @else {
+    <ds-home-coar></ds-home-coar>
+    <ds-home-news></ds-home-news>
+  }
 
-<ds-home-coar></ds-home-coar>
-<ds-home-news></ds-home-news>
-
-@if (showDiscoverFilters) {
-  <ds-configuration-search-page
-    [sideBarWidth]="3"
-    [showViewModes]="false"
-    [searchEnabled]="false"
-    [inPlaceSearch]="false"
-    [showScopeSelector]="false">
-    <ng-container searchContentTop *ngTemplateOutlet="homeContent"></ng-container>
-  </ds-configuration-search-page>
-}
-@if (!showDiscoverFilters) {
-  <div class="container">
-    <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="homeContent"></ng-container>
-  </div>
+
+  @if (site$.value) {
+    @for (sectionComponentRow of ( sectionComponents | async ); track sectionComponentRow) {
+      <div>
+        <div class="container">
+          <div class="row">
+            @for (sectionComponent of sectionComponentRow; track sectionComponent) {
+              <div [class]="componentClass(sectionComponent)"
+              >
+                @switch (sectionComponent.componentType) {
+                  @case ('top') {
+                    <ds-top-section
+                      [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                      [topSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-top-section>
+                  }
+                  @case ('multi-column-top') {
+                    <ds-multi-column-top-section
+                      [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                      [topSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-multi-column-top-section>
+                  }
+                  @case ('browse') {
+                    <ds-browse-section
+                      [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                      [browseSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-browse-section>
+                  }
+                  @case ('search') {
+                    <ds-search-section
+                      [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                      [searchSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-search-section>
+                  }
+                  @case ('facet') {
+                    <ds-facet-section
+                      [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                      [facetSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-facet-section>
+                  }
+                  @case ('counters') {
+                    <ds-counters-section
+                      [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                      [countersSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"></ds-counters-section>
+                  }
+                  @case ('text-row') {
+                    <ds-text-section
+                      [sectionId]="sectionId"
+                      [textRowSection]="$any(sectionComponent)"
+                      [site]="$any(sectionComponent).contentType === 'text-metadata' ? site$.value : null"></ds-text-section>
+                  }
+                }
+              </div>
+            }
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    }
+  }
+
+  <ds-suggestions-popup></ds-suggestions-popup>
+
+} @else {
+  <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="staticHomePage"></ng-container>
 }
-<ds-suggestions-popup></ds-suggestions-popup>
-
-<ng-template #homeContent>
-  <ds-search-form [inPlaceSearch]="false"
-    [searchPlaceholder]="'home.search-form.placeholder' | translate">
-  </ds-search-form>
-  <ds-top-level-community-list></ds-top-level-community-list>
-  @if (recentSubmissionspageSize>0) {
-    <ds-recent-item-list></ds-recent-item-list>
+
+
+<ng-template #staticHomePage>
+  @if (homeHeaderMetadataValue$ | async; as homeHeaderMetadataValue) {
+    <div class="container home-header">
+      <ds-markdown-viewer [value]="homeHeaderMetadataValue"></ds-markdown-viewer>
+    </div>
   }
+
+  <ds-home-coar></ds-home-coar>
+  <ds-home-news></ds-home-news>
+
+  @if (showDiscoverFilters) {
+    <ds-configuration-search-page
+      [sideBarWidth]="3"
+      [showViewModes]="false"
+      [searchEnabled]="false"
+      [inPlaceSearch]="false"
+      [showScopeSelector]="false">
+      <ng-container searchContentTop *ngTemplateOutlet="homeContent"></ng-container>
+    </ds-configuration-search-page>
+  }
+  @if (!showDiscoverFilters) {
+    <div class="container">
+      <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="homeContent"></ng-container>
+    </div>
+  }
+  <ds-suggestions-popup></ds-suggestions-popup>
+
+  <ng-template #homeContent>
+    <ds-search-form [inPlaceSearch]="false"
+                    [searchPlaceholder]="'home.search-form.placeholder' | translate">
+    </ds-search-form>
+    <ds-top-level-community-list></ds-top-level-community-list>
+    @if (recentSubmissionspageSize>0) {
+      <ds-recent-item-list></ds-recent-item-list>
+    }
+  </ng-template>
 </ng-template>
diff --git a/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.spec.ts b/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..be420469e5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+import {
+  AsyncPipe,
+  NgTemplateOutlet,
+} from '@angular/common';
+import { NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  TestBed,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { ActivatedRoute } from '@angular/router';
+import { APP_CONFIG } from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
+import { SectionDataService } from '@dspace/core/data/section-data.service';
+import { SiteDataService } from '@dspace/core/data/site-data.service';
+import { Section } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { LocaleService } from '@dspace/core/locale/locale.service';
+import { Site } from '@dspace/core/shared/site.model';
+import {
+  createFailedRemoteDataObject$,
+  createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$,
+} from '@dspace/core/utilities/remote-data.utils';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { of } from 'rxjs';
+
+import { HomePageComponent } from './home-page.component';
+
+describe('HomePageComponent', () => {
+  let component: HomePageComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<HomePageComponent>;
+
+  let sectionDataService: jasmine.SpyObj<SectionDataService>;
+  let siteService: jasmine.SpyObj<SiteDataService>;
+  let localeService: jasmine.SpyObj<LocaleService>;
+
+  const site = Object.assign(new Site(), {
+    id: 'test-site',
+    firstMetadataValue: () => undefined,
+  });
+
+  const buildConfig = (enableDynamicLayout: boolean) => ({
+    homePage: {
+      recentSubmissions: { pageSize: 5 },
+      showDiscoverFilters: false,
+      enableDynamicLayout,
+    },
+  });
+
+
+  const setup = (enableDynamicLayout: boolean, findByIdResult: any) => {
+    sectionDataService = jasmine.createSpyObj('SectionDataService', ['findById']);
+    sectionDataService.findById.and.returnValue(findByIdResult);
+
+    siteService = jasmine.createSpyObj('SiteDataService', ['find']);
+    siteService.find.and.returnValue(of(site));
+
+    localeService = jasmine.createSpyObj('LocaleService', ['getCurrentLanguageCode']);
+    localeService.getCurrentLanguageCode.and.returnValue(of('en'));
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [
+        TranslateModule.forRoot(),
+        HomePageComponent,
+      ],
+      providers: [
+        { provide: APP_CONFIG, useValue: buildConfig(enableDynamicLayout) },
+        { provide: SectionDataService, useValue: sectionDataService },
+        { provide: SiteDataService, useValue: siteService },
+        { provide: LocaleService, useValue: localeService },
+        { provide: ActivatedRoute, useValue: { data: of({ site }) } },
+      ],
+      schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA],
+    })
+      .overrideComponent(HomePageComponent, {
+        set: {
+          imports: [AsyncPipe, NgTemplateOutlet, TranslateModule],
+          schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA],
+        },
+      })
+      .compileComponents();
+
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(HomePageComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  };
+
+  const sectionWith = (componentRows: any[][]): Section =>
+    Object.assign(new Section(), { id: 'site', componentRows });
+
+  describe('when dynamic layout is disabled (static mode)', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      setup(false, createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$(sectionWith([[{ componentType: 'top', style: '' }]])));
+    });
+
+    it('should render the static home page', () => {
+      const el: HTMLElement = fixture.nativeElement;
+      expect(el.querySelector('ds-home-news')).toBeTruthy();
+      expect(el.querySelector('#home-header-wrapper')).toBeFalsy();
+    });
+
+    it('should not request the section configuration', () => {
+      expect(sectionDataService.findById).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when dynamic layout is enabled and sections are configured', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      setup(true, createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$(sectionWith([[{ componentType: 'top', style: '' }]])));
+    });
+
+    it('should report configured sections', (done) => {
+      component.hasConfiguredSections$.subscribe((has) => {
+        expect(has).toBeTrue();
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should request the section configuration', () => {
+      expect(sectionDataService.findById).toHaveBeenCalledWith('site');
+    });
+
+    it('should render the dynamic section layout', () => {
+      const el: HTMLElement = fixture.nativeElement;
+      expect(el.querySelector('ds-top-section')).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when dynamic layout is enabled but no sections are configured', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      setup(true, createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$(sectionWith([])));
+    });
+
+    it('should report no configured sections', (done) => {
+      component.hasConfiguredSections$.subscribe((has) => {
+        expect(has).toBeFalse();
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should fall back to the static home page', () => {
+      const el: HTMLElement = fixture.nativeElement;
+      expect(el.querySelector('ds-home-news')).toBeTruthy();
+      expect(el.querySelector('ds-top-section')).toBeFalsy();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when dynamic layout is enabled but rows contain only empty columns', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      setup(true, createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$(sectionWith([[]])));
+    });
+
+    it('should report no configured sections', (done) => {
+      component.hasConfiguredSections$.subscribe((has) => {
+        expect(has).toBeFalse();
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when dynamic layout is enabled but the section config fails to load', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      setup(true, createFailedRemoteDataObject$('error', 500));
+    });
+
+    it('should report no configured sections and fall back to static', (done) => {
+      component.hasConfiguredSections$.subscribe((has) => {
+        expect(has).toBeFalse();
+        const el: HTMLElement = fixture.nativeElement;
+        expect(el.querySelector('ds-home-news')).toBeTruthy();
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.ts b/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.ts
index cf75770b9e8..8ccbc02c753 100644
--- a/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/home-page/home-page.component.ts
@@ -12,20 +12,44 @@ import {
   APP_CONFIG,
   AppConfig,
 } from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
+import { SectionDataService } from '@dspace/core/data/section-data.service';
+import { SiteDataService } from '@dspace/core/data/site-data.service';
+import {
+  SectionComponent,
+  TextRowSection,
+} from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
 import { LocaleService } from '@dspace/core/locale/locale.service';
+import {
+  getFirstCompletedRemoteData,
+  getRemoteDataPayload,
+} from '@dspace/core/shared/operators';
 import { Site } from '@dspace/core/shared/site.model';
+import {
+  isEmpty,
+  isNotEmpty,
+} from '@dspace/shared/utils/empty.util';
 import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
 import {
+  BehaviorSubject,
   combineLatest,
   Observable,
+  of,
 } from 'rxjs';
 import {
   map,
+  shareReplay,
   take,
 } from 'rxjs/operators';
 
 import { SuggestionsPopupComponent } from '../notifications/suggestions/popup/suggestions-popup.component';
 import { ThemedConfigurationSearchPageComponent } from '../search-page/themed-configuration-search-page.component';
+import { ThemedBrowseSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/themed-browse-section.component';
+import { ThemedCountersSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/themed-counters-section.component';
+import { ThemedFacetSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/themed-facet-section.component';
+import { ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/themed-multi-column-top-section.component';
+import { ThemedSearchSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/search-section/themed-search-section.component';
+import { ThemedTextSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/text-section/themed-text-section.component';
+import { ThemedTopSectionComponent } from '../shared/explore/section-component/top-section/themed-top-section.component';
 import { MarkdownViewerComponent } from '../shared/markdown-viewer/markdown-viewer.component';
 import { ThemedSearchFormComponent } from '../shared/search-form/themed-search-form.component';
 import { HomeCoarComponent } from './home-coar/home-coar.component';
@@ -33,6 +57,16 @@ import { ThemedHomeNewsComponent } from './home-news/themed-home-news.component'
 import { RecentItemListComponent } from './recent-item-list/recent-item-list.component';
 import { ThemedTopLevelCommunityListComponent } from './top-level-community-list/themed-top-level-community-list.component';
 
+/**
+ * The home page component.
+ *
+ * Supports both a static layout and a dynamic layout driven by section configurations
+ * fetched from the REST API. When dynamic layout is enabled (via `enableDynamicLayout` config),
+ * it renders section components similar to the explore page (top, browse, search, facet, text-row, counters).
+ * Also handles site metadata rendering.
+ *
+ * COAR Notify inbox link headers are handled by the {@link HomeCoarComponent} rendered in the template.
+ */
 @Component({
   selector: 'ds-base-home-page',
   styleUrls: ['./home-page.component.scss'],
@@ -44,33 +78,77 @@ import { ThemedTopLevelCommunityListComponent } from './top-level-community-list
     NgTemplateOutlet,
     RecentItemListComponent,
     SuggestionsPopupComponent,
+    ThemedBrowseSectionComponent,
     ThemedConfigurationSearchPageComponent,
+    ThemedCountersSectionComponent,
+    ThemedFacetSectionComponent,
     ThemedHomeNewsComponent,
+    ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent,
     ThemedSearchFormComponent,
+    ThemedSearchSectionComponent,
+    ThemedTextSectionComponent,
     ThemedTopLevelCommunityListComponent,
+    ThemedTopSectionComponent,
     TranslateModule,
   ],
 })
 export class HomePageComponent implements OnInit {
 
-  site$: Observable<Site>;
+  site$: BehaviorSubject<Site> = new BehaviorSubject<Site>(null);
   recentSubmissionspageSize: number;
   showDiscoverFilters: boolean;
   homeHeaderMetadataValue$: Observable<string>;
 
+  /** Whether the dynamic section-based home page layout is enabled via app config. */
+  isDynamicHomePageEnabled: boolean;
+
+  /** The section identifier used when fetching the home page layout ('site'). */
+  sectionId = 'site';
+
+  /**
+   * Observable emitting a 2D array (rows × columns) of section components
+   * to render when dynamic home page layout is enabled.
+   */
+  sectionComponents: Observable<SectionComponent[][]>;
+
+  /**
+   * Emits `true` when the dynamic home page has at least one configured section
+   * component to render, `false` otherwise (no sections configured, empty rows,
+   * or the section configuration could not be retrieved). When `false`, the home
+   * page falls back to the default (static) layout.
+   */
+  hasConfiguredSections$: Observable<boolean>;
+
+  /** Whether the site has a home header metadata value in the current language. */
+  hasHomeHeaderMetadata: boolean;
+
+  /** Default text-row section configuration for the home header CMS metadata. */
+  homeHeaderSection: TextRowSection = {
+    content: 'dspace.cms.home-header',
+    contentType: 'text-metadata',
+    componentType: 'text-row',
+    style: '',
+  };
+
   constructor(
     @Inject(APP_CONFIG) protected appConfig: AppConfig,
-    protected route: ActivatedRoute,
+    private route: ActivatedRoute,
+    private sectionDataService: SectionDataService,
+    private siteService: SiteDataService,
     private locale: LocaleService,
   ) {
     this.recentSubmissionspageSize = this.appConfig.homePage.recentSubmissions.pageSize;
     this.showDiscoverFilters = this.appConfig.homePage.showDiscoverFilters;
+    this.isDynamicHomePageEnabled = this.appConfig.homePage.enableDynamicLayout;
   }
 
   ngOnInit(): void {
-    this.site$ = this.route.data.pipe(
+    this.route.data.pipe(
       map((data) => data.site as Site),
-    );
+      take(1),
+    ).subscribe((site: Site) => {
+      this.site$.next(site);
+    });
 
     this.homeHeaderMetadataValue$ = combineLatest({
       site: this.site$,
@@ -79,6 +157,41 @@ export class HomePageComponent implements OnInit {
       take(1),
       map(({ site, language }) => site?.firstMetadataValue('dspace.cms.home-header', { language })),
     );
+
+    if (this.isDynamicHomePageEnabled) {
+      this.sectionComponents = this.sectionDataService.findById('site').pipe(
+        getFirstCompletedRemoteData(),
+        getRemoteDataPayload(),
+        map((section) => section?.componentRows ?? []),
+        shareReplay({ bufferSize: 1, refCount: true }),
+      );
+
+      this.hasConfiguredSections$ = this.sectionComponents.pipe(
+        map((rows: SectionComponent[][]) => isNotEmpty(rows) && rows.some((row: SectionComponent[]) => isNotEmpty(row))),
+      );
+    } else {
+      this.sectionComponents = of([]);
+      this.hasConfiguredSections$ = of(false);
+    }
+
+    combineLatest([this.siteService.find().pipe(take(1)), this.locale.getCurrentLanguageCode()]).subscribe(
+      ([site, language]: [Site, string]) => {
+        this.hasHomeHeaderMetadata = !isEmpty(site?.firstMetadataValue('dspace.cms.home-header',
+          { language }));
+      },
+    );
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Returns Bootstrap column classes for a section component.
+   * If the section's style already contains a 'col' class, uses it as-is;
+   * otherwise defaults to 'col-12' prepended to any existing style.
+   *
+   * @param sectionComponent the section component to compute classes for
+   */
+  componentClass(sectionComponent: SectionComponent) {
+    const defaultCol = 'col-12';
+    return (isNotEmpty(sectionComponent.style) && sectionComponent.style.includes('col')) ?
+      sectionComponent.style : `${defaultCol} ${sectionComponent.style}`;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/abstract-browse-elements.component.ts b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/abstract-browse-elements.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3cd88b50e7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/abstract-browse-elements.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+import { isPlatformServer } from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  inject,
+  Input,
+  OnChanges,
+  OnInit,
+  PLATFORM_ID,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { APP_CONFIG } from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
+import { getItemPageRoute } from '@dspace/core/router/utils/dso-route.utils';
+import { followLink } from '@dspace/core/shared/follow-link-config.model';
+import { PaginatedSearchOptions } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/paginated-search-options.model';
+import { SearchResult } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/search-result.model';
+import {
+  BehaviorSubject,
+  mergeMap,
+  Observable,
+} from 'rxjs';
+
+import { SearchManager } from '../../core/browse/search-manager';
+import { PaginatedList } from '../../core/data/paginated-list.model';
+import { RemoteData } from '../../core/data/remote-data';
+import { TopSection } from '../../core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { Context } from '../../core/shared/context.model';
+import { DSpaceObject } from '../../core/shared/dspace-object.model';
+import { Item } from '../../core/shared/item.model';
+import {
+  getAllCompletedRemoteData,
+  getPaginatedListPayload,
+  getRemoteDataPayload,
+  toDSpaceObjectListRD,
+} from '../../core/shared/operators';
+import { CollectionElementLinkType } from '../object-collection/collection-element-link.type';
+
+
+/**
+ * Abstract base class for browse elements components.
+ *
+ * Handles searching via the {@link SearchManager} and rendering paginated search results.
+ * Subclasses must specify whether to follow thumbnail links by setting {@link followThumbnailLink}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  template: '',
+})
+export abstract class AbstractBrowseElementsComponent implements OnInit, OnChanges {
+
+  protected readonly appConfig = inject(APP_CONFIG);
+  protected readonly platformId = inject(PLATFORM_ID);
+  protected readonly searchManager = inject(SearchManager);
+
+  protected abstract followThumbnailLink: boolean; // to be overridden
+
+  /**
+   * The context of listable object
+   */
+  @Input() context: Context;
+
+  /**
+   * The pagination options
+   */
+  @Input() paginatedSearchOptions: PaginatedSearchOptions;
+
+  /**
+   * Optional projection to use during the search
+   */
+  @Input() projection;
+
+  /**
+   * Whether to show the badge label or not
+   */
+  @Input() showLabel: boolean;
+
+  /**
+   * Whether to show the thumbnail preview
+   */
+  @Input() showThumbnails = this.appConfig.browseBy.showThumbnails;
+
+  /**
+   * TopSection object
+   */
+  @Input() topSection: TopSection;
+
+  public collectionElementLinkTypeEnum = CollectionElementLinkType;
+
+  /** BehaviorSubject emitting the current search options, triggers re-search on change. */
+  paginatedSearchOptions$: BehaviorSubject<PaginatedSearchOptions>;
+
+  /** Observable of the raw paginated search results from the SearchManager. */
+  searchResults$: Observable<RemoteData<PaginatedList<SearchResult<DSpaceObject>>>>;
+
+  /** Observable emitting the flat array of DSpaceObjects extracted from search results. */
+  searchResultArray$: Observable<DSpaceObject[]>;
+
+  ngOnChanges() {
+    this.paginatedSearchOptions$?.next(this.paginatedSearchOptions);
+  }
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+    if (isPlatformServer(this.platformId)) {
+      return;
+    }
+    const followLinks = [];
+    if (this.followThumbnailLink) {
+      followLinks.push(followLink('thumbnail'));
+    }
+
+    this.paginatedSearchOptions = Object.assign(new PaginatedSearchOptions({}), this.paginatedSearchOptions, {
+      projection: this.projection,
+    });
+
+    this.paginatedSearchOptions$ = new BehaviorSubject<PaginatedSearchOptions>(this.paginatedSearchOptions);
+
+    this.searchResults$ = this.paginatedSearchOptions$.asObservable().pipe(
+      mergeMap((paginatedSearchOptions) =>
+        this.searchManager.search(paginatedSearchOptions, null, true, true, ...followLinks),
+      ),
+      getAllCompletedRemoteData(),
+    );
+
+    this.searchResultArray$ = this.searchResults$.pipe(
+      toDSpaceObjectListRD(),
+      getRemoteDataPayload(),
+      getPaginatedListPayload(),
+    );
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the route path for an item's detail page.
+   *
+   * @param item the DSpaceObject (item) to generate a route for
+   */
+  getItemPageRoute(item: DSpaceObject | Item) {
+    return getItemPageRoute(item as Item);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.html b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cfdd8ea2b67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<div>
+  @switch ((sectionTemplateType | lowercase)) {
+    @default {
+      <ds-default-browse-elements
+        [showThumbnails]="topSection.showThumbnails"
+        [topSection]="topSection"
+        [showLabel]="showLabel"
+        [paginatedSearchOptions]="paginatedSearchOptions$.asObservable() | async"
+        [context]="context"
+      ></ds-default-browse-elements>
+    }
+  }
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.scss b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.scss
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e69de29bb2d
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..111a0a6cc47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+import { NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { By } from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { ItemSearchResult } from '@dspace/core/shared/object-collection/item-search-result.model';
+import { of } from 'rxjs';
+
+import { TopSectionTemplateType } from '../../core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { Item } from '../../core/shared/item.model';
+import { BrowseMostElementsComponent } from './browse-most-elements.component';
+import { ThemedDefaultBrowseElementsComponent } from './default-browse-elements/themed-default-browse-elements.component';
+
+describe('BrowseMostElementsComponent', () => {
+  let component: BrowseMostElementsComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<BrowseMostElementsComponent>;
+
+
+  const mockResultObject: ItemSearchResult = new ItemSearchResult();
+  mockResultObject.hitHighlights = {};
+
+  mockResultObject.indexableObject = Object.assign(new Item(), {
+    bundles: of({}),
+    metadata: {
+      'dc.title': [
+        {
+          language: 'en_US',
+          value: 'This is just another title',
+        },
+      ],
+      'dc.type': [
+        {
+          language: null,
+          value: 'Article',
+        },
+      ],
+      'dc.contributor.author': [
+        {
+          language: 'en_US',
+          value: 'Smith, Donald',
+        },
+      ],
+      'dc.date.issued': [
+        {
+          language: null,
+          value: '2015-06-26',
+        },
+      ],
+    },
+  });
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [BrowseMostElementsComponent],
+      schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA],
+    }).overrideComponent(BrowseMostElementsComponent, { remove: { imports: [ThemedDefaultBrowseElementsComponent] } })
+      .compileComponents();
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(BrowseMostElementsComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+    component.topSection = {
+      template: TopSectionTemplateType.DEFAULT,
+    } as any;
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create', () => {
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+    expect(component).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  describe('when the templateType is DEFAULT', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      component.topSection = {
+        template: TopSectionTemplateType.DEFAULT,
+      } as any;
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    });
+
+    it('should display ds-themed-default-browse-elements', () => {
+      const defaultElement = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('ds-default-browse-elements'));
+      expect(defaultElement).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
+    it('should not display ds-themed-images-browse-elements', () => {
+      const imageElement = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('ds-images-browse-elements'));
+      expect(imageElement).toBeNull();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when the templateType is not recognized', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      component.topSection = {
+        template: 'not recognized' as any,
+      } as any;
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    });
+
+    it('should display ds-themed-default-browse-elements', () => {
+      const defaultElement = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('ds-default-browse-elements'));
+      expect(defaultElement).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.ts b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2c69b3ffb21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+import {
+  AsyncPipe,
+  LowerCasePipe,
+} from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+  OnChanges,
+  OnInit,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { PaginatedSearchOptions } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/paginated-search-options.model';
+import { BehaviorSubject } from 'rxjs';
+
+import {
+  TopSection,
+  TopSectionTemplateType,
+} from '../../core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { Context } from '../../core/shared/context.model';
+import { ThemedDefaultBrowseElementsComponent } from './default-browse-elements/themed-default-browse-elements.component';
+
+/**
+ * Container component that delegates rendering of browse elements to the appropriate
+ * template component based on the {@link TopSection} configuration.
+ * Currently supports the default template via {@link DefaultBrowseElementsComponent}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-browse-most-elements',
+  styleUrls: ['./browse-most-elements.component.scss'],
+  templateUrl: './browse-most-elements.component.html',
+  imports: [
+    AsyncPipe,
+    LowerCasePipe,
+    ThemedDefaultBrowseElementsComponent,
+  ],
+})
+
+export class BrowseMostElementsComponent implements OnInit, OnChanges {
+
+  /**
+   * The pagination options
+   */
+  @Input() paginatedSearchOptions: PaginatedSearchOptions;
+
+  /**
+   * The context of listable object
+   */
+  @Input() context: Context;
+
+  /**
+   * Optional projection to use during the search
+   */
+  @Input() projection;
+
+  /**
+   * Whether to show the badge label or not
+   */
+  @Input() showLabel: boolean;
+
+  /**
+   * Whether to show the metrics badges
+   */
+  @Input() showMetrics: boolean;
+
+  /**
+   * Whether to show the thumbnail preview
+   */
+  @Input() showThumbnails: boolean;
+
+  /*
+   * The top section object
+   */
+  @Input() topSection: TopSection;
+
+  /** BehaviorSubject re-emitting paginatedSearchOptions to trigger child component updates. */
+  paginatedSearchOptions$ = new BehaviorSubject<PaginatedSearchOptions>(null);
+
+  /** The resolved template type determining which child component renders the results. */
+  sectionTemplateType: TopSectionTemplateType;
+
+  ngOnInit(): void {
+    this.sectionTemplateType = this.topSection?.template ?? TopSectionTemplateType.DEFAULT;
+  }
+
+  ngOnChanges() { // trigger change detection on child components
+    this.paginatedSearchOptions$.next(this.paginatedSearchOptions);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component.html b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a66021d98df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<div class="m-2">
+  @if ((searchResults$ | async); as searchResults) {
+    @if (searchResults?.hasSucceeded) {
+      <ul class="list-unstyled">
+        @for (object of searchResults?.payload?.page; track object; let i = $index; let last = $last) {
+          <li class="mt-4 mb-4 d-flex" [class.border-bottom]="last !== true">
+            <ds-listable-object-component-loader [context]="context"
+              [index]="i"
+              [listID]="paginatedSearchOptions.configuration"
+              [object]="object"
+              [showLabel]="showLabel"
+              [showThumbnails]="showThumbnails"
+              [viewMode]="paginatedSearchOptions.view"></ds-listable-object-component-loader>
+          </li>
+        }
+      </ul>
+    }
+    @if (searchResults?.hasFailed) {
+      <div>
+        {{ 'remote.error' | translate }}
+      </div>
+    }
+  }
+  @if ((searchResults$ | async) === null || (searchResults$ | async) === undefined) {
+    <ds-loading></ds-loading>
+  }
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component.scss b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component.scss
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e69de29bb2d
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component.ts b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..dee0ee4fd81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import { AsyncPipe } from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  OnChanges,
+  OnInit,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+
+import { ThemedLoadingComponent } from '../../loading/themed-loading.component';
+import { ListableObjectComponentLoaderComponent } from '../../object-collection/shared/listable-object/listable-object-component-loader.component';
+import { AbstractBrowseElementsComponent } from '../abstract-browse-elements.component';
+
+/**
+ * Default template implementation for browsing top elements.
+ * Extends {@link AbstractBrowseElementsComponent} using the standard DSpace
+ * listable object rendering with optional thumbnail support.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-default-browse-elements',
+  templateUrl: './default-browse-elements.component.html',
+  styleUrls: ['./default-browse-elements.component.scss'],
+  imports: [
+    AsyncPipe,
+    ListableObjectComponentLoaderComponent,
+    ThemedLoadingComponent,
+    TranslateModule,
+  ],
+})
+export class DefaultBrowseElementsComponent extends AbstractBrowseElementsComponent implements OnInit, OnChanges {
+
+  protected followThumbnailLink: boolean;
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+    this.followThumbnailLink = this.showThumbnails ?? this.appConfig.browseBy.showThumbnails;
+    super.ngOnInit();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/themed-default-browse-elements.component.ts b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/themed-default-browse-elements.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..34bbfcb59b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/themed-default-browse-elements.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { TopSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { Context } from '@dspace/core/shared/context.model';
+import { PaginatedSearchOptions } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/paginated-search-options.model';
+
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../../theme-support/themed.component';
+import { DefaultBrowseElementsComponent } from './default-browse-elements.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed component for the DefaultBrowseElementsComponent.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-default-browse-elements',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: './../../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedDefaultBrowseElementsComponent extends ThemedComponent<DefaultBrowseElementsComponent> {
+
+  // AbstractBrowseElementsComponent I/O variables
+
+  @Input() paginatedSearchOptions: PaginatedSearchOptions;
+
+  @Input() context: Context;
+
+  @Input() topSection: TopSection;
+
+  // DefaultBrowseElementsComponent I/O variables
+
+  @Input() projection: string;
+
+  @Input() showThumbnails: boolean;
+
+  @Input() showLabel: boolean;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof DefaultBrowseElementsComponent & keyof this)[] = ['paginatedSearchOptions', 'context',  'showThumbnails', 'showLabel', 'projection'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'DefaultBrowseElementsComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./../../../../themes/${themeName}/app/shared/browse-most-elements/default-browse-elements/default-browse-elements.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./default-browse-elements.component`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/themed-browse-most-elements.component.ts b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/themed-browse-most-elements.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ccb0a48108e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/browse-most-elements/themed-browse-most-elements.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import { Context } from 'node:vm';
+
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { PaginatedSearchOptions } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/paginated-search-options.model';
+
+import { TopSection } from '../../core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../theme-support/themed.component';
+import { BrowseMostElementsComponent } from './browse-most-elements.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed wrapper for BrowseMostElementsComponent
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-browse-most-elements',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: '../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedBrowseMostElementsComponent extends ThemedComponent<BrowseMostElementsComponent> {
+
+  @Input() context: Context;
+
+  @Input() paginatedSearchOptions: PaginatedSearchOptions;
+
+  @Input() projection: string;
+
+  @Input() showLabel: boolean;
+
+  @Input() showMetrics: boolean;
+
+  @Input() showThumbnails: boolean;
+
+  @Input() topSection: TopSection;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof BrowseMostElementsComponent & keyof this)[] = ['context', 'paginatedSearchOptions', 'projection', 'showLabel', 'showMetrics', 'showThumbnails', 'topSection'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'BrowseMostElementsComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`../../../themes/${themeName}/app/browse-most-elements/browse-most-elements.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./browse-most-elements.component`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.html b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1f8c06f1ff5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+<div>
+  <h2>{{ 'explore.browse-section.title' | translate }}</h2>
+  @for (name of browseSection.browseNames; track name) {
+    <div class="mb-2">
+      <a [routerLink]="'/browse/' + name" class="lead mb-3">
+        {{'explore.index.' + name | translate}}
+      </a>
+    </div>
+  }
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..824043573ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
+import { NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  inject,
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import {
+  FormsModule,
+  ReactiveFormsModule,
+} from '@angular/forms';
+import {
+  BrowserModule,
+  By,
+} from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { RouterTestingModule } from '@angular/router/testing';
+import { TranslateLoaderMock } from '@dspace/core/testing/translate-loader.mock';
+import { NgbModule } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
+import {
+  TranslateLoader,
+  TranslateModule,
+} from '@ngx-translate/core';
+
+import { BrowseSectionComponent } from './browse-section.component';
+
+describe('BrowseSectionComponent', () => {
+  let component: BrowseSectionComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<BrowseSectionComponent>;
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [CommonModule, NgbModule, FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule, BrowserModule, RouterTestingModule,
+        TranslateModule.forRoot({
+          loader: {
+            provide: TranslateLoader,
+            useClass: TranslateLoaderMock,
+          },
+        }), BrowseSectionComponent],
+      providers: [BrowseSectionComponent],
+      schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA],
+    }).compileComponents();
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(BrowseSectionComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+
+    component.sectionId = 'publication';
+    component.browseSection = {
+      browseNames: ['rodept', 'author', 'title', 'type'],
+      componentType: 'browse',
+      style: 'col-md-4',
+    };
+
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create BrowseSectionComponent', inject([BrowseSectionComponent], (comp: BrowseSectionComponent) => {
+    expect(comp).toBeDefined();
+  }));
+
+  it('should show one link foreach browse names', waitForAsync(() => {
+    fixture.whenStable().then(() => {
+      const browseLinks = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('a.lead'));
+      expect(browseLinks.length).toEqual(4);
+      expect(browseLinks[0].nativeElement.href).toContain('/browse/rodept');
+      expect(browseLinks[1].nativeElement.href).toContain('/browse/author');
+      expect(browseLinks[2].nativeElement.href).toContain('/browse/title');
+      expect(browseLinks[3].nativeElement.href).toContain('/browse/type');
+    });
+  }));
+
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c20fb59f309
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { RouterLink } from '@angular/router';
+import { BrowseSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+
+/**
+ * Component representing the Browse component section.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-browse-section',
+  templateUrl: './browse-section.component.html',
+  imports: [
+    RouterLink,
+    TranslateModule,
+  ],
+})
+export class BrowseSectionComponent {
+
+  /** Unique identifier for this section instance. */
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  /** Configuration object defining the browse indices to display as links. */
+  @Input()
+    browseSection: BrowseSection;
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/themed-browse-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/themed-browse-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6d210784f58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/themed-browse-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { BrowseSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../../../theme-support/themed.component';
+import { BrowseSectionComponent } from './browse-section.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed wrapper for {@link BrowseSectionComponent}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-browse-section',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: '../../../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedBrowseSectionComponent extends ThemedComponent<BrowseSectionComponent> {
+
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  @Input()
+    browseSection: BrowseSection;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof BrowseSectionComponent & keyof this)[] = ['sectionId', 'browseSection'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'BrowseSectionComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`../../../../../themes/${themeName}/app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/browse-section.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./browse-section.component`);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.html b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d6d292d7ff3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+<div>
+  <div class="card p-3">
+    <div class="d-flex flex-wrap flex-row justify-content-around gap-4">
+      @if (isLoading$ | async) {
+        <div>
+          <ds-loading message="{{'loading.default' | translate}}"></ds-loading>
+        </div>
+      }
+      @for (counter of (counterData$ | async); track counter) {
+        @if (counter.link) {
+          @if (internalLinkService.isLinkInternal(counter.link)) {
+            <a class="text-decoration-none" [routerLink]="internalLinkService.getRelativePath(counter.link)">
+              <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="countersSectionContent"></ng-container>
+            </a>
+          }
+          @if (!internalLinkService.isLinkInternal(counter.link)) {
+            <a class="text-decoration-none" [href]="counter.link" [target]="'_blank'">
+              <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="countersSectionContent"></ng-container>
+            </a>
+          }
+        } @else {
+          <div class="d-flex flex-wrap flex-column justify-content-between align-items-center gapy-1 counters-section">
+            <i class="d-block mb-2" [ngClass]="counter.icon"></i>
+            <div class="counters-label text-center">
+              {{ 'explore.counters-section.' + counter.label | translate }}
+            </div>
+            <div class="text-center fw-bold">
+              <b>{{ counter.count }}</b>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        }
+        <ng-template #countersSectionContent>
+          <div class="d-flex flex-wrap flex-column justify-content-between align-items-center gapy-1 counters-section">
+            <i class="d-block mb-2" [ngClass]="counter.icon"></i>
+            <div class="counters-label text-center">
+              {{ 'explore.counters-section.' + counter.label | translate }}
+            </div>
+            <div class="text-center fw-bold">
+              <b>{{ counter.count }}</b>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </ng-template>
+      }
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.scss b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.scss
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c08f994bbe7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.scss
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+.counters-section {
+    min-width: 120px;
+    max-width: 140px;
+    color: var(--bs-gray-800);
+
+    &:hover {
+        color: #{darken($gray-800, 20%)};
+    }
+}
+
+.counters-label {
+    line-height: 1.25;
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6350b812975
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { SearchManager } from '@dspace/core/browse/search-manager';
+import { NativeWindowService } from '@dspace/core/services/window.service';
+import { NativeWindowMockFactory } from '@dspace/core/testing/mock-native-window-ref';
+
+import { ThemedLoadingComponent } from '../../../loading/themed-loading.component';
+import { CountersSectionComponent } from './counters-section.component';
+
+xdescribe('CountersSectionComponent', () => {
+  let component: CountersSectionComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<CountersSectionComponent>;
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [CountersSectionComponent],
+      providers: [
+        { provide: SearchManager, useValue: {} },
+        { provide: NativeWindowService, useFactory: NativeWindowMockFactory },
+      ],
+    })
+      .overrideComponent(CountersSectionComponent, { remove: { imports: [ThemedLoadingComponent] } }).compileComponents();
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(CountersSectionComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create', () => {
+    expect(component).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..14e07d797e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+import {
+  AsyncPipe,
+  isPlatformServer,
+  NgClass,
+  NgTemplateOutlet,
+} from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  Inject,
+  Input,
+  OnInit,
+  PLATFORM_ID,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { RouterLink } from '@angular/router';
+import { SearchManager } from '@dspace/core/browse/search-manager';
+import { SectionComponent } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { PaginationComponentOptions } from '@dspace/core/pagination/pagination-component-options.model';
+import { InternalLinkService } from '@dspace/core/services/internal-link.service';
+import { DSpaceObject } from '@dspace/core/shared/dspace-object.model';
+import { getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload } from '@dspace/core/shared/operators';
+import { PaginatedSearchOptions } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/paginated-search-options.model';
+import { SearchObjects } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/search-objects.model';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import {
+  BehaviorSubject,
+  forkJoin,
+  Observable,
+} from 'rxjs';
+import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
+
+import { ThemedLoadingComponent } from '../../../loading/themed-loading.component';
+
+
+/**
+ * Component that displays entity counts (e.g., number of publications, researchers)
+ * fetched from discovery search configurations. Each counter shows the total number
+ * of elements for a configured discovery query, rendered with an icon and optional link.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-counters-section',
+  styleUrls: ['./counters-section.component.scss'],
+  templateUrl: './counters-section.component.html',
+  imports: [
+    AsyncPipe,
+    NgClass,
+    NgTemplateOutlet,
+    RouterLink,
+    ThemedLoadingComponent,
+    TranslateModule,
+  ],
+})
+export class CountersSectionComponent implements OnInit {
+
+  /** Unique identifier for this section instance. */
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  /** Configuration object defining the counters to display. */
+  @Input()
+    countersSection: CountersSection;
+
+  /** Resolved array of counter data populated after fetching from discovery. */
+  counterData: CounterData[] = [];
+
+  /** Observable emitting the array of resolved counter data. */
+  counterData$: Observable<CounterData[]>;
+
+  /** Subject indicating whether counter data is still being loaded. */
+  isLoading$ = new BehaviorSubject(true);
+
+  pagination: PaginationComponentOptions;
+
+
+  constructor(
+              public internalLinkService: InternalLinkService,
+              private searchService: SearchManager,
+              @Inject(PLATFORM_ID) private platformId: any,
+  ) {
+
+  }
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+    if (isPlatformServer(this.platformId)) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    this.pagination  = Object.assign(new PaginationComponentOptions(), {
+      id: 'counters-pagination' + this.sectionId,
+      pageSize: 1,
+      currentPage: 1,
+    });
+
+    this.counterData$ = forkJoin(
+      this.countersSection.counterSettingsList.map((counterSettings: CountersSettings) =>
+        this.searchService.search(new PaginatedSearchOptions({
+          configuration: counterSettings.discoveryConfigurationName,
+          pagination: this.pagination })).pipe(
+          getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload(),
+          map((rs: SearchObjects<DSpaceObject>) => rs.totalElements),
+          map((total: number) => {
+            return {
+              count: total.toString(),
+              label: counterSettings.entityName,
+              icon: counterSettings.icon,
+              link: counterSettings.link,
+
+            };
+          }),
+        )));
+    this.counterData$.subscribe(() => this.isLoading$.next(false));
+  }
+}
+
+
+
+/**
+ * Configuration for a counters section defining which discovery queries to count.
+ */
+export interface CountersSection extends SectionComponent {
+  componentType: 'counters';
+  /** List of counter settings, each defining a discovery query and display metadata. */
+  counterSettingsList: CountersSettings[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Settings for an individual counter within a {@link CountersSection}.
+ */
+export interface CountersSettings {
+  /** Discovery configuration name used to query the total count. */
+  discoveryConfigurationName: string;
+  /** Display label for the entity type (e.g., 'publications', 'researchers'). */
+  entityName: string;
+  /** CSS icon class to display alongside the counter (e.g., 'fas fa-book'). */
+  icon: string;
+  /** URL to navigate to when the counter is clicked. */
+  link: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolved counter data ready for rendering in the template.
+ */
+export interface CounterData {
+  /** Display label for the counter. */
+  label: string;
+  /** The total count as a string. */
+  count: string;
+  /** CSS icon class for display. */
+  icon: string;
+  /** URL to navigate to when the counter is clicked. */
+  link: string;
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/themed-counters-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/themed-counters-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b2cf7e5a744
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/themed-counters-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../../../theme-support/themed.component';
+import {
+  CountersSection,
+  CountersSectionComponent,
+} from './counters-section.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed wrapper for {@link CountersSectionComponent}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-counters-section',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: '../../../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedCountersSectionComponent extends ThemedComponent<CountersSectionComponent> {
+
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  @Input()
+    countersSection: CountersSection;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof CountersSectionComponent & keyof this)[] = ['sectionId', 'countersSection'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'CountersSectionComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`../../../../../themes/${themeName}/app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/counters-section.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./counters-section.component`);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.html b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e84f2496453
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+<div>
+  <h2>{{ 'explore.facet-section.title' | translate }}</h2>
+  <div class="row">
+    @for (facet of (facets$ | async); track facet) {
+      <div [class]="getFacetsBoxCol(facet)" class="mb-4" data-test="facet-column">
+        <h5>{{'explore.index.' + facet.name | translate}}</h5>
+        @for (facetValue of facet._embedded.values; track facetValue) {
+          <div class="border p-3">
+            <a [routerLink]="getSearchLink()"
+               [queryParams]="getSearchQueryParams(facet, facetValue)">
+              {{facetValue.label}}
+            </a>
+            <span class="badge bg-secondary float-end">{{facetValue.count}}</span>
+          </div>
+        }
+      </div>
+    }
+  </div>
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e2e5e2fa147
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
+import { NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import {
+  BrowserModule,
+  By,
+} from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { RouterTestingModule } from '@angular/router/testing';
+import { authReducer } from '@dspace/core/auth/auth.reducer';
+import { RemoteData } from '@dspace/core/data/remote-data';
+import { FacetValue } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/facet-value.model';
+import { FilterType } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/filter-type.model';
+import { SearchFilterConfig } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/search-filter-config.model';
+import { TranslateLoaderMock } from '@dspace/core/testing/translate-loader.mock';
+import { createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$ } from '@dspace/core/utilities/remote-data.utils';
+import { StoreModule } from '@ngrx/store';
+import {
+  TranslateLoader,
+  TranslateModule,
+} from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+import { SearchService } from 'src/app/shared/search/search.service';
+import { SearchConfigurationService } from 'src/app/shared/search/search-configuration.service';
+
+import { storeModuleConfig } from '../../../../app.reducer';
+import { FacetSectionComponent } from './facet-section.component';
+
+describe('FacetSectionComponent', () => {
+  let component: FacetSectionComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<FacetSectionComponent>;
+
+  let searchServiceStub: any;
+  let searchConfigurationStub: any;
+
+  const dateIssuedValue: FacetValue = {
+    label: '1996 - 1999',
+    value: '1996 - 1999',
+    count: 35,
+    _links: {
+      self: { href: 'di-selectedValue-self-link' },
+      search: { href: '' },
+    },
+  };
+
+  const authorFirstValue: FacetValue = {
+    label: 'First Author',
+    value: 'First Author',
+    count: 20,
+    _links: {
+      self: { href: 'fa-selectedValue-self-link' },
+      search: { href: '' },
+    },
+  };
+
+  const authorSecondValue: FacetValue = {
+    label: 'Second Author',
+    value: 'Second Author',
+    count: 15,
+    _links: {
+      self: { href: 'sa-selectedValue-self-link1' },
+      search: { href: '' },
+    },
+  };
+
+  const mockAuthorFilterConfig = Object.assign(new SearchFilterConfig(), {
+    name: 'author',
+    filterType: FilterType.text,
+    _embedded: {
+      values: [authorFirstValue, authorSecondValue],
+    },
+  });
+
+  const mockSubjectFilterConfig = Object.assign(new SearchFilterConfig(), {
+    name: 'subject',
+    filterType: FilterType.hierarchy,
+    _embedded: {
+      values: [],
+    },
+  });
+
+  const mockDateIssuedFilterConfig = Object.assign(new SearchFilterConfig(), {
+    name: 'dateIssued',
+    filterType: FilterType.range,
+    _embedded: {
+      values: [dateIssuedValue],
+    },
+  });
+  const barChartFacetValue: FacetValue = {
+    label: '2007',
+    value: '2007',
+    count: 13,
+    _links: {
+      self: { href: 'fa-selectedValue-self-link' },
+      search: { href: '' },
+    },
+  };
+  const mockGraphBarChartFilterConfig = Object.assign(new SearchFilterConfig(), {
+    name: 'dateIssued',
+    filterType: FilterType['chart.bar'],
+    _embedded: {
+      values: [barChartFacetValue],
+    },
+  });
+  const pieChartFacetValue: FacetValue = {
+    label: 'Other',
+    value: 'Other',
+    count: 13,
+    _links: {
+      self: { href: 'fa-selectedValue-self-link' },
+      search: { href: '' },
+    },
+  };
+  const mockGraphPieChartFilterConfig = Object.assign(new SearchFilterConfig(), {
+    name: 'dateIssued',
+    filterType: FilterType['chart.pie'],
+    _embedded: {
+      values: [pieChartFacetValue],
+    },
+  });
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+
+    searchServiceStub = {
+      getSearchLink(): string {
+        return '/search';
+      },
+    };
+    searchConfigurationStub = {
+      searchFacets(scope?: string, configurationName?: string): Observable<RemoteData<SearchFilterConfig[]>> {
+        return createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$([mockAuthorFilterConfig, mockSubjectFilterConfig, mockDateIssuedFilterConfig, mockGraphBarChartFilterConfig, mockGraphPieChartFilterConfig]);
+      },
+    };
+
+    searchServiceStub = {
+      getSearchLink(): string {
+        return '/search';
+      },
+    };
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [CommonModule,
+        BrowserModule,
+        RouterTestingModule,
+        StoreModule.forRoot({ auth: authReducer }, storeModuleConfig),
+        TranslateModule.forRoot({
+          loader: {
+            provide: TranslateLoader,
+            useClass: TranslateLoaderMock,
+          },
+        }), FacetSectionComponent],
+      providers: [
+        { provide: SearchService, useValue: searchServiceStub },
+        { provide: SearchConfigurationService, useValue: searchConfigurationStub },
+      ],
+      schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA],
+    }).compileComponents();
+
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(FacetSectionComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+
+    component.sectionId = 'publications';
+    component.facetSection = {
+      discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+      componentType: 'facet',
+      style: 'col-md-12',
+      facetsPerRow: 4,
+    };
+
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create FacetSectionComponent',  () => {
+    expect(component).toBeDefined();
+  });
+
+  it('should create a facet section foreach not empty filter configs',  () => {
+    const facets = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('.col-lg-3.mb-4'));
+    expect(facets.length).toEqual(4);
+
+    const authorFacet = facets[0];
+    expect(authorFacet.children.length).toEqual(3);
+
+    const authorSpan = authorFacet.children[0];
+    expect(authorSpan.name).toEqual('h5');
+    expect(authorSpan.nativeElement.textContent).toEqual('explore.index.author');
+
+    const firstAuthor = authorFacet.children[1];
+    expect(firstAuthor.name).toEqual('div');
+    expect(firstAuthor.query(By.css('a')).nativeElement.href).toContain('search?configuration=publication&page=1&f.author=First%20Author,equals');
+    expect(firstAuthor.query(By.css('span.badge.bg-secondary')).nativeElement.textContent).toEqual('20');
+
+    const secondAuthor = authorFacet.children[2];
+    expect(secondAuthor.name).toEqual('div');
+    expect(secondAuthor.query(By.css('a')).nativeElement.href).toContain('search?configuration=publication&page=1&f.author=Second%20Author,equals');
+    expect(secondAuthor.query(By.css('span.badge.bg-secondary')).nativeElement.textContent).toEqual('15');
+
+    const dateIssuedFacet = facets[1];
+    expect(dateIssuedFacet.children.length).toEqual(2);
+
+    const dateIssuedSpan = dateIssuedFacet.children[0];
+    expect(dateIssuedSpan.name).toEqual('h5');
+    expect(dateIssuedSpan.nativeElement.textContent).toEqual('explore.index.dateIssued');
+
+    const dateIssued = dateIssuedFacet.children[1];
+    expect(dateIssued.name).toEqual('div');
+    expect(dateIssued.query(By.css('a')).nativeElement.href).toContain('search?configuration=publication&page=1&f.dateIssued.min=1996&f.dateIssued.max=1999');
+    expect(dateIssued.query(By.css('span.badge.bg-secondary')).nativeElement.textContent).toEqual('35');
+  });
+
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e80a9828fae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+import { AsyncPipe } from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+  OnInit,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { RouterLink } from '@angular/router';
+import { FacetSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload } from '@dspace/core/shared/operators';
+import { FacetValue } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/facet-value.model';
+import { FilterType } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/filter-type.model';
+import { SearchFilterConfig } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/search-filter-config.model';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { BehaviorSubject } from 'rxjs';
+
+import { SearchService } from '../../../search/search.service';
+import { getFacetValueForTypeAndLabel } from '../../../search/search.utils';
+import { SearchConfigurationService } from '../../../search/search-configuration.service';
+
+
+/**
+ * Component representing the Facet component section.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-facet-section',
+  templateUrl: './facet-section.component.html',
+  imports: [
+    AsyncPipe,
+    RouterLink,
+    TranslateModule,
+  ],
+})
+export class FacetSectionComponent implements OnInit {
+
+  /** Unique identifier for this section instance. */
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  /** Configuration object defining the facet display settings. */
+  @Input()
+    facetSection: FacetSection;
+
+  /** The discovery configuration name used to fetch facets. */
+  discoveryConfiguration: string;
+
+  /** Array of loaded search filter configs that have at least one facet value. */
+  facets: SearchFilterConfig[] = [];
+
+  /** Subject emitting the current facets array as new facets are loaded. */
+  facets$ = new BehaviorSubject(this.facets);
+
+  constructor(
+    private searchConfigService: SearchConfigurationService,
+    private searchService: SearchService,
+  ) {
+
+  }
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+    this.discoveryConfiguration = this.facetSection.discoveryConfigurationName;
+    this.searchConfigService.searchFacets(null, this.discoveryConfiguration)
+      .pipe(getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload())
+      .subscribe((facetConfigs) => {
+        for (const config of facetConfigs) {
+          if (config._embedded.values.length > 0) {
+            this.facets.push(config);
+            this.facets$.next(this.facets);
+          }
+        }
+      });
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the queryParams for the search related to the given facet.
+   *
+   * @param facet the facet
+   * @param facetValue the FacetValue
+   */
+  getSearchQueryParams(facet: SearchFilterConfig, facetValue: FacetValue) {
+    const queryParams = {
+      configuration: this.facetSection.discoveryConfigurationName,
+      page: 1,
+    };
+    this.addFacetValuesToQueryParams(facet, facetValue, queryParams);
+    return queryParams;
+  }
+
+  private addFacetValuesToQueryParams(facet: SearchFilterConfig, facetValue: FacetValue, queryParams) {
+    if (this.isRangeFacet(facet.filterType, facetValue.label)) {
+      const dates = facetValue.label.split('-');
+      queryParams[facet.paramName + '.min'] = dates[0].trim();
+      queryParams[facet.paramName + '.max'] = dates[1].trim();
+      return;
+    }
+    queryParams[facet.paramName] = getFacetValueForTypeAndLabel(facetValue, facet);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Return the appropriate col-* classes for the facet, based on the number of facets per row
+   * @param facet
+   */
+  getFacetsBoxCol(facet) {
+    const facetsPerRow = this.facetSection.facetsPerRow ? this.facetSection.facetsPerRow : 4;
+    const colSizeLg = Math.min(Math.ceil(12 / facetsPerRow), 12);
+    const colSizeMd = Math.min(Math.ceil(12 / facetsPerRow * 2), 12); // double width on medium screens
+
+    return `col-12 col-md-${colSizeMd} col-lg-${colSizeLg}`;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Return the search page link
+   */
+  getSearchLink(): string[] {
+    return [this.searchService.getSearchLink()];
+  }
+
+  private isRangeFacet(filterType: FilterType, value: string) {
+    return filterType === FilterType.range && value.split('-').length === 2;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/themed-facet-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/themed-facet-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6be740cb115
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/themed-facet-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { FacetSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../../../theme-support/themed.component';
+import { FacetSectionComponent } from './facet-section.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed wrapper for {@link FacetSectionComponent}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-facet-section',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: '../../../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedFacetSectionComponent extends ThemedComponent<FacetSectionComponent> {
+
+  @Input()
+  sectionId: string;
+
+  @Input()
+  facetSection: FacetSection;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof FacetSectionComponent & keyof this)[] = ['sectionId', 'facetSection'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'FacetSectionComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`../../../../../themes/${themeName}/app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/facet-section.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./facet-section.component`);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.html b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7cf0c1b8186
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+<div class="card mb-4">
+  <div class="d-flex flex-row">
+    @for (column of getColumns(); track column) {
+      <div class="card-header" [ngClass]="column.style">{{ 'explore.index.' + column.titleKey | translate }}</div>
+    }
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="card-body p-0">
+    @for (topObject of ( topObjects | async ); track topObject; let last = $last) {
+      <div
+        [class.border-bottom]="!last"
+        class="p-3 d-flex flex-row">
+        @for (column of getColumns(); track column) {
+          <div [ngClass]="column.style">
+            <a [routerLink]="getItemPage(topObject)">{{getColumnValue(topObject,column)}}</a>
+          </div>
+        }
+      </div>
+    }
+  </div>
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..34fd4e0ea6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { RouterTestingModule } from '@angular/router/testing';
+import { SearchManager } from '@dspace/core/browse/search-manager';
+import { MultiColumnTopSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { PaginatedSearchOptions } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/paginated-search-options.model';
+import { createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$ } from '@dspace/core/utilities/remote-data.utils';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+
+import { MultiColumnTopSectionComponent } from './multi-column-top-section.component';
+
+describe('MultiColumnTopSectionComponent', () => {
+  let component: MultiColumnTopSectionComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<MultiColumnTopSectionComponent>;
+  let searchManager: jasmine.SpyObj<SearchManager>;
+
+  const topSection: MultiColumnTopSection = {
+    discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+    componentType: 'multi-column-top',
+    style: 'col-md-12',
+    order: 'desc',
+    sortField: 'dc.date.accessioned',
+    titleKey: 'lastPublications',
+    columnList: [],
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+    searchManager = jasmine.createSpyObj('SearchManager', ['search']);
+    searchManager.search.and.returnValue(createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$({ page: [] } as any));
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [MultiColumnTopSectionComponent, RouterTestingModule, TranslateModule.forRoot()],
+      providers: [
+        { provide: SearchManager, useValue: searchManager },
+      ],
+    })
+      .compileComponents();
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(MultiColumnTopSectionComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+    component.topSection = topSection;
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create', () => {
+    expect(component).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it('should generate a unique pagination id per instance', () => {
+    const second = TestBed.createComponent(MultiColumnTopSectionComponent).componentInstance;
+    expect(component.paginationId).toMatch(/^search-object-pagination-/);
+    expect(second.paginationId).toMatch(/^search-object-pagination-/);
+    expect(component.paginationId).not.toEqual(second.paginationId);
+  });
+
+  it('should use its unique pagination id in the search options', () => {
+    const options = searchManager.search.calls.mostRecent().args[0] as PaginatedSearchOptions;
+    expect(options.pagination.id).toEqual(component.paginationId);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8f8a90e8011
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+import {
+  AsyncPipe,
+  NgClass,
+} from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+  OnInit,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { RouterLink } from '@angular/router';
+import { SearchManager } from '@dspace/core/browse/search-manager';
+import {
+  SortDirection,
+  SortOptions,
+} from '@dspace/core/cache/models/sort-options.model';
+import {
+  MultiColumnTopSection,
+  TopSectionColumn,
+} from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { PaginationComponentOptions } from '@dspace/core/pagination/pagination-component-options.model';
+import { getItemPageRoute } from '@dspace/core/router/utils/dso-route.utils';
+import { DSpaceObject } from '@dspace/core/shared/dspace-object.model';
+import { Item } from '@dspace/core/shared/item.model';
+import { Metadata } from '@dspace/core/shared/metadata.utils';
+import { getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload } from '@dspace/core/shared/operators';
+import { PaginatedSearchOptions } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/paginated-search-options.model';
+import { SearchObjects } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/search-objects.model';
+import { SearchResult } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/search-result.model';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
+
+
+/**
+ * Component that displays a table of top items from a discovery search,
+ * with configurable columns showing different metadata fields per item.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-multi-column-top-section',
+  templateUrl: './multi-column-top-section.component.html',
+  imports: [
+    AsyncPipe,
+    NgClass,
+    RouterLink,
+    TranslateModule,
+  ],
+})
+export class MultiColumnTopSectionComponent implements OnInit {
+
+  /** Unique identifier for this section instance. */
+  @Input()
+  sectionId: string;
+
+  /** Configuration object defining discovery query, sort, and column layout. */
+  @Input()
+  topSection: MultiColumnTopSection;
+
+  /** Observable emitting the array of top DSpaceObjects fetched from the search. */
+  topObjects: Observable<DSpaceObject[]>;
+
+  /**
+   * Unique pagination id for this section instance.
+   * Generated per instance so multiple top sections on the same page do not share pagination state.
+   */
+  paginationId = `search-object-pagination-${uuidv4()}`;
+
+  constructor(private searchService: SearchManager) {
+
+  }
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+    const order = this.topSection.order;
+    const sortDirection = order && order.toUpperCase() === 'ASC' ? SortDirection.ASC : SortDirection.DESC;
+    const pagination: PaginationComponentOptions = Object.assign(new PaginationComponentOptions(), {
+      id: this.paginationId,
+      pageSize: 50,
+      currentPage: 1,
+    });
+
+    this.topObjects = this.searchService.search(new PaginatedSearchOptions({
+      configuration: this.topSection.discoveryConfigurationName,
+      pagination: pagination,
+      sort: new SortOptions(this.topSection.sortField, sortDirection),
+    })).pipe(
+      getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload(),
+      map((response: SearchObjects<DSpaceObject>) => response.page
+        .map((searchResult: SearchResult<DSpaceObject>) => searchResult._embedded.indexableObject),
+      ),
+    );
+  }
+
+
+  /**
+   * Get the item page url
+   * @param item The item for which the url is requested
+   */
+  getItemPage(item: DSpaceObject): string {
+    return getItemPageRoute((item as Item));
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the configured column definitions for the table.
+   */
+  getColumns(): TopSectionColumn[] {
+    return this.topSection.columnList;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the first metadata value for a given column's metadata field on the object.
+   *
+   * @param topObject the DSpace object (item) to extract metadata from
+   * @param column the column definition specifying which metadata field to read
+   */
+  getColumnValue(topObject: DSpaceObject, column: TopSectionColumn): string {
+    return Metadata.firstValue(topObject.metadata, column.metadataField);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/themed-multi-column-top-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/themed-multi-column-top-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..98970bbf9c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/themed-multi-column-top-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { MultiColumnTopSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../../../theme-support/themed.component';
+import { MultiColumnTopSectionComponent } from './multi-column-top-section.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed wrapper for {@link MultiColumnTopSectionComponent}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-multi-column-top-section',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: '../../../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent extends ThemedComponent<MultiColumnTopSectionComponent> {
+
+  @Input()
+  sectionId: string;
+
+  @Input()
+  topSection: MultiColumnTopSection;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof MultiColumnTopSectionComponent & keyof this)[] = ['sectionId', 'topSection'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'MultiColumnTopSectionComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`../../../../../themes/${themeName}/app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/multi-column-top-section.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./multi-column-top-section.component`);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.html b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1bb25fd8452
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+<div>
+  @if (searchSection.displayTitle) {
+    <h2>{{ 'explore.search-section.' + sectionId + '.title' | translate }}</h2>
+  }
+  @if (searchSection.searchType !== 'basic' || !searchSection.searchType) {
+    <form [formGroup]="searchForm" (ngSubmit)="onSubmit(searchForm.value)">
+      @for (queryStatement of queryArray.controls; track queryStatement; let i = $index; let isLast = $last) {
+        <div formArrayName="queryArray">
+          <div [formGroupName]="i" class="row mb-3 mb-md-0" data-test="form-row">
+            <div class="col-md-4 pb-3">
+              <select [name]="'filter-' + i" [id]="'filter-' + i" formControlName="filter" class="form-control me-2">
+                @for (filter of (filters | async); track filter) {
+                  <option [value]="filter">{{'explore.index.' + filter | translate}}</option>
+                }
+              </select>
+            </div>
+            <div class="col-md-5 col-xl-6 pb-3">
+              <input type="text" [name]="'query-' + i" [id]="'query-' + i" formControlName="query" class="form-control me-2"/>
+            </div>
+            <div class="col-md-3 col-xl-2 pb-3">
+              @if (!isLast) {
+                <select [name]="'operation-' + i" [id]="'operation-' + i" formControlName="operation" class="form-control">
+                  @for (operation of operations; track operation) {
+                    <option [value]="operation">{{operation}}</option>
+                  }
+                </select>
+              }
+              @if (isLast) {
+                <button id="addButton" type="button" class="btn btn-info w-100" (click)="addQueryStatement()">+</button>
+              }
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      }
+      <div class="d-flex justify-content-end" style="gap: 20px;">
+        <button type="button" id="resetButton" class="btn btn-outline-primary float-end" (click)="onReset()">
+          <i class="fas fa-redo me-1"></i>
+          {{'explore.search-section.reset-button' | translate}}
+        </button>
+        <button type="submit" id="searchButton" class="btn btn-primary float-end">
+          <i class="fas fa-search me-1"></i>
+          {{'explore.search-section.search-button' | translate}}
+        </button>
+      </div>
+    </form>
+  }
+
+  @if (searchSection.searchType === 'basic') {
+    <div class="col-md-12 d-flex justify-content-center">
+      <div class="col-md-8">
+        @if (searchSection.searchType === 'basic') {
+          <ds-search-form
+            [inPlaceSearch]="false"
+            [configuration]="searchSection.discoveryConfigurationName"
+            [searchPlaceholder]="'search.search-form.placeholder' | translate"></ds-search-form>
+        }
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  }
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a7f38e86913
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,253 @@
+import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
+import { NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  fakeAsync,
+  inject,
+  TestBed,
+  tick,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import {
+  FormsModule,
+  ReactiveFormsModule,
+} from '@angular/forms';
+import {
+  BrowserModule,
+  By,
+} from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { Router } from '@angular/router';
+import { RouterTestingModule } from '@angular/router/testing';
+import { RemoteData } from '@dspace/core/data/remote-data';
+import { SearchConfig } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/search-filters/search-config.model';
+import { TranslateLoaderMock } from '@dspace/core/testing/translate-loader.mock';
+import { createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$ } from '@dspace/core/utilities/remote-data.utils';
+import { NgbModule } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
+import {
+  TranslateLoader,
+  TranslateModule,
+} from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+import { SearchService } from 'src/app/shared/search/search.service';
+import { SearchConfigurationService } from 'src/app/shared/search/search-configuration.service';
+
+import { ThemedSearchFormComponent } from '../../../search-form/themed-search-form.component';
+import { SearchSectionComponent } from './search-section.component';
+
+describe('SearchSectionComponent', () => {
+  let component: SearchSectionComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<SearchSectionComponent>;
+
+  let searchServiceStub: any;
+  let searchConfigurationStub: any;
+  let router: any;
+
+  const firstFilterConfig: any = {
+    filter: 'author',
+    hasFacets: true,
+    operators: [],
+    openByDefault: true,
+    pageSize: 5,
+    type: 'text',
+  };
+
+  const secondFilterConfig: any = {
+    filter: 'subject',
+    hasFacets: true,
+    operators: [],
+    openByDefault: true,
+    pageSize: 5,
+    type: 'text',
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+
+    searchServiceStub = {
+      getSearchLink(): string {
+        return '/search';
+      },
+    };
+    searchConfigurationStub = {
+      getSearchConfigurationFor( scope?: string, configurationName?: string ): Observable<RemoteData<SearchConfig>> {
+        const config = new SearchConfig();
+        config.filters = [firstFilterConfig, secondFilterConfig];
+        return createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$(config);
+      },
+    };
+
+    router = {
+      navigate: jasmine.createSpy('navigate'),
+    };
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [CommonModule, NgbModule, FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule, BrowserModule, RouterTestingModule,
+        TranslateModule.forRoot({
+          loader: {
+            provide: TranslateLoader,
+            useClass: TranslateLoaderMock,
+          },
+        }), SearchSectionComponent],
+      providers: [SearchSectionComponent,
+        { provide: SearchService, useValue: searchServiceStub },
+        { provide: SearchConfigurationService, useValue: searchConfigurationStub },
+        { provide: Router, useValue: router }],
+      schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA],
+    }).overrideComponent(SearchSectionComponent, { remove: { imports: [ThemedSearchFormComponent] } }).compileComponents();
+
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(SearchSectionComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+
+    component.sectionId = 'publications';
+    component.searchSection = {
+      discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+      componentType: 'search',
+      style: 'col-md-8',
+      searchType: 'advanced',
+      initialStatements: 3,
+      displayTitle: false,
+    };
+
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create SearchSetionComponent', inject([SearchSectionComponent], (comp: SearchSectionComponent) => {
+    expect(comp).toBeDefined();
+  }));
+
+  it('should create an empty form with three rows',  () => {
+    const formRows = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('[data-test="form-row"]'));
+    expect(formRows.length).toEqual(3);
+
+    for (const formRow of formRows) {
+      const filterSelect = formRow.query(By.css('[id^="filter"]'));
+      expect(filterSelect).not.toBeNull();
+      const filterOptions = filterSelect.children;
+      expect(filterOptions.length).toEqual(3);
+      expect(filterOptions.map((el) => el.nativeElement.value)).toEqual(['all','author','subject']);
+
+      const queryInput = formRow.query(By.css('[id^="query"]'));
+      expect(queryInput).not.toBeNull();
+      expect(queryInput.nativeElement.value).toEqual('');
+
+      const isLastRow = formRows.indexOf(formRow) === 2;
+      if ( isLastRow ) {
+        expect(formRow.query(By.css('#addButton'))).not.toBeNull();
+        expect(formRow.query(By.css('[id^="operation"]'))).toBeNull();
+      } else {
+        const operationSelect = formRow.query(By.css('[id^="operation"]'));
+        expect(operationSelect).not.toBeNull();
+        const operationOptions = operationSelect.children;
+        expect(operationOptions.length).toEqual(3);
+        expect(operationOptions.map((el) => el.nativeElement.value)).toEqual(['AND','OR','NOT']);
+        expect(formRow.query(By.css('#addButton'))).toBeNull();
+      }
+    }
+
+    expect(fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('#resetButton'))).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('#searchButton'))).not.toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  describe('when you click on the add button', () => {
+    beforeEach(fakeAsync(() => {
+      fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('#addButton')).nativeElement.click();
+      tick();
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    }));
+
+    it('should add a row in the form', () => {
+      const formRows = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('[data-test="form-row"]'));
+      expect(formRows.length).toEqual(4);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when you click on the reset button', () => {
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      const firstFormRow = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('[data-test="form-row"]'))[0];
+      const filterSelect = firstFormRow.query(By.css('[id^="filter"]'));
+      filterSelect.nativeElement.value = 'author';
+      const queryInput = firstFormRow.query(By.css('[id^="query"]'));
+      queryInput.nativeElement.value = 'Adam';
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    });
+
+    beforeEach(fakeAsync(() => {
+      fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('#resetButton')).nativeElement.click();
+      tick();
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    }));
+
+    it('should reset the form', () => {
+      const formRows = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('[data-test="form-row"]'));
+      expect(formRows.length).toEqual(3);
+      const firstFormRow = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('[data-test="form-row"]'))[0];
+      const filterSelect = firstFormRow.query(By.css('[id^="filter"]'));
+      expect(filterSelect.nativeElement.value).toEqual('all');
+      const queryInput = firstFormRow.query(By.css('[id^="query"]'));
+      expect(queryInput.nativeElement.value).toEqual('');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when you click on the search button', () => {
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      const firstFormRow = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('[data-test="form-row"]'))[0];
+      const filterSelect = firstFormRow.query(By.css('[id^="filter"]')).nativeElement;
+      filterSelect.value = 'author';
+      filterSelect.dispatchEvent(new Event('change'));
+      const firstQueryInput = firstFormRow.query(By.css('[id^="query"]')).nativeElement;
+      firstQueryInput.value = 'Adam';
+      firstQueryInput.dispatchEvent(new Event('input'));
+      const operationInput = firstFormRow.query(By.css('[id^="operation"]')).nativeElement;
+      operationInput.value = 'OR';
+      operationInput.dispatchEvent(new Event('change'));
+      const secondFormRow = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('[data-test="form-row"]'))[1];
+
+      const secondQueryInput = secondFormRow.query(By.css('[id^="query"]')).nativeElement;
+      secondQueryInput.value = 'test';
+      secondQueryInput.dispatchEvent(new Event('input'));
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    });
+
+    beforeEach(fakeAsync(() => {
+      fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('#searchButton')).nativeElement.click();
+      tick();
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    }));
+
+    it('should redirect to the search page with the composed query', () => {
+      expect(router.navigate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(['/search'], {
+        queryParams: { page: 1, configuration: 'publication', query: 'author:(Adam) OR (test)' },
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when basic search is configured', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      fixture = TestBed.createComponent(SearchSectionComponent);
+      component = fixture.componentInstance;
+
+      component.sectionId = 'publications';
+      component.searchSection = {
+        discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+        componentType: 'search',
+        style: 'col-md-8',
+        searchType: 'basic',
+        initialStatements: 3,
+        displayTitle: false,
+      };
+
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    });
+
+    it('should display basic search form', () => {
+      expect(fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('ds-search-form')))
+        .toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
+  });
+
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..71ebbc1a923
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+import { AsyncPipe } from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+  OnInit,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  FormArray,
+  FormBuilder,
+  FormGroup,
+  FormsModule,
+  ReactiveFormsModule,
+} from '@angular/forms';
+import { Router } from '@angular/router';
+import { SearchSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload } from '@dspace/core/shared/operators';
+import { SearchConfig } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/search-filters/search-config.model';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
+
+import { SearchService } from '../../../search/search.service';
+import { SearchConfigurationService } from '../../../search/search-configuration.service';
+import { ThemedSearchFormComponent } from '../../../search-form/themed-search-form.component';
+
+/**
+ * Component representing the Search component section.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-search-section',
+  templateUrl: './search-section.component.html',
+  imports: [
+    AsyncPipe,
+    FormsModule,
+    ReactiveFormsModule,
+    ThemedSearchFormComponent,
+    TranslateModule,
+  ],
+})
+export class SearchSectionComponent implements OnInit {
+
+  /** Unique identifier for this section instance. */
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  /** Configuration object defining the search section behaviour. */
+  @Input()
+    searchSection: SearchSection;
+
+  /** Reactive form containing the array of query statements. */
+  searchForm: FormGroup;
+
+  /** Observable emitting the available filter field names (including 'all'). */
+  filters: Observable<string[]>;
+
+  /** Constant representing the "all fields" filter option. */
+  allFilter = 'all';
+
+  /** Available boolean operations for combining query statements. */
+  operations = ['AND', 'OR', 'NOT'];
+
+  constructor(private formBuilder: FormBuilder,
+              private router: Router,
+              private searchService: SearchService,
+              private searchConfigurationService: SearchConfigurationService,
+  ) {
+
+  }
+
+  get queryArray(): FormArray {
+    return this.searchForm.get('queryArray') as FormArray;
+  }
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+
+    this.filters = this.searchConfigurationService.getSearchConfigurationFor(null, this.searchSection.discoveryConfigurationName).pipe(
+      getFirstSucceededRemoteDataPayload(),
+      map((searchFilterConfig: SearchConfig) => {
+        return [this.allFilter].concat(searchFilterConfig.filters
+          .filter((filterConfig) => !filterConfig.filter.startsWith('graph'))
+          .map((filterConfig) => filterConfig.filter));
+      }),
+    );
+
+    this.searchForm = this.formBuilder.group(({
+      queryArray: this.formBuilder.array([]),
+    }));
+
+    const statements = this.searchSection.initialStatements ? this.searchSection.initialStatements : 3;
+    for (let i = 0; i < statements; i++) {
+      this.addQueryStatement();
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Navigate to the search page with the composed query.
+   * @param data the query statements
+   */
+  onSubmit(data: { queryArray: QueryStatement[] }) {
+    const query = this.composeQuery(data.queryArray);
+    const configurationName = this.searchSection.discoveryConfigurationName;
+    this.router.navigate([this.searchService.getSearchLink()], {
+      queryParams: {
+        page: 1,
+        configuration: configurationName,
+        query: query,
+      },
+    });
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Reset the form.
+   */
+  onReset() {
+    this.queryArray.controls.splice(0, this.queryArray.controls.length);
+    const statements = this.searchSection.initialStatements ? this.searchSection.initialStatements : 3;
+    for (let i = 0; i < statements; i++) {
+      this.addQueryStatement();
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Creates a new FormGroup representing a single query statement
+   * with default filter, empty query, and first boolean operation.
+   */
+  createFormGroup(): FormGroup {
+    return this.formBuilder.group({
+      filter: this.allFilter,
+      query: '',
+      operation: this.operations[0],
+    });
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Appends a new empty query statement to the form array.
+   */
+  addQueryStatement(): void {
+    this.queryArray.push(this.createFormGroup());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Compose the search query starting from the user input.
+   *
+   * @param statements the query statements entered by the user
+   */
+  composeQuery(statements: QueryStatement[]): string {
+    let query = '';
+
+    for (const statement of statements) {
+      if (statement.query !== '') {
+        const statementFilter = statement.filter !== this.allFilter ? statement.filter + ':' : '';
+        query = query + ' ' + statementFilter + '(' + statement.query + ') ' + statement.operation;
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Remove last operation
+    const lastOperationIndex = query.lastIndexOf(' ');
+    return query.substring(0, lastOperationIndex).trim();
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Interface representing a single query statement in the advanced search form.
+ */
+interface QueryStatement {
+  /** The metadata field to search in, or 'all' for all fields. */
+  filter: string;
+  /** The search query text entered by the user. */
+  query: string;
+  /** Boolean operation (AND, OR, NOT) to combine with the next statement. */
+  operation: string;
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/themed-search-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/themed-search-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c2c9a6a692e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/themed-search-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { SearchSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../../../theme-support/themed.component';
+import { SearchSectionComponent } from './search-section.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed wrapper for {@link SearchSectionComponent}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-search-section',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: '../../../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedSearchSectionComponent extends ThemedComponent<SearchSectionComponent> {
+
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  @Input()
+    searchSection: SearchSection;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof SearchSectionComponent & keyof this)[] = ['sectionId', 'searchSection'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'SearchSectionComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`../../../../../themes/${themeName}/app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/search-section.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./search-section.component`);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.html b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d605b9f92fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+
+@switch (textRowSection?.contentType) {
+  @case ('image') {
+    <div><img [src]="textRowSection.content" style="width: 100%"></div>
+  }
+  @case ('text-key') {
+    <div>{{ ('explore.text-section.' + textRowSection.content) | translate }}</div>
+  }
+  @case ('text-raw') {
+    <div>{{ textRowSection.content }}</div>
+  }
+  @case ('text-metadata') {
+    <div [class.text-section-home-news]="textRowSection.content === 'cris.cms.home-news'">
+      <ds-markdown-viewer data-test="ds-markdown-viewer"
+                          [value]="metadataValue(textRowSection.content) | async"></ds-markdown-viewer>
+    </div>
+  }
+  @case ('custom') {
+    <div>
+      <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="custom"></ng-container>
+    </div>
+  }
+}
+
+<!-- Custom content type -->
+<ng-template #custom></ng-template>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.scss b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.scss
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bd109285403
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.scss
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+:host ::ng-deep {
+
+  .text-section-home-news {
+    a {
+      color: var(--ds-home-news-link-color);
+
+      &:hover {
+        color: var(--ds-home-news-link-hover-color);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..17c4d89a91b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { By } from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { LocaleService } from '@dspace/core/locale/locale.service';
+import { Site } from '@dspace/core/shared/site.model';
+import { of } from 'rxjs';
+import { SearchService } from 'src/app/shared/search/search.service';
+
+import { MarkdownViewerComponent } from '../../../markdown-viewer/markdown-viewer.component';
+import { TextSectionComponent } from './text-section.component';
+
+describe('TextSectionComponent', () => {
+  let component: TextSectionComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<TextSectionComponent>;
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [TextSectionComponent],
+      providers: [
+        { provide: SearchService, useValue: {} },
+        { provide: LocaleService, useValue: { getCurrentLanguageCode: () => of('en') } },
+      ],
+    })
+      .overrideComponent(TextSectionComponent, { remove: { imports: [MarkdownViewerComponent] } }).compileComponents();
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(TextSectionComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+    component.site  = Object.assign(new Site(), {
+      id: 'test-site',
+      _links: {
+        self: { href: 'test-site-href' },
+      },
+      metadata: {
+        'cms.homepage.footer': [
+          {
+            language: 'en',
+            value: '1234',
+          },
+        ],
+        'dc.description': [
+          {
+            language: 'en_US',
+            value: 'desc',
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+    });
+    component.textRowSection = {
+      content: 'cms.homepage.footer',
+      contentType: 'text-metadata',
+      componentType: 'text-row',
+      style: '',
+    };
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create', () => {
+    expect(component).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+  // FIXME: complete scenarios
+  it('should render text-metadata with ds-markdown-viewer', () => {
+    component.sectionId = 'site';
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+    const dsMarkdownViewer = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('[data-test="ds-markdown-viewer"]'));
+    expect(dsMarkdownViewer).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6586efe549c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+import {
+  AsyncPipe,
+  NgTemplateOutlet,
+} from '@angular/common';
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { TextRowSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { LocaleService } from '@dspace/core/locale/locale.service';
+import { Site } from '@dspace/core/shared/site.model';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
+
+import { MarkdownViewerComponent } from '../../../markdown-viewer/markdown-viewer.component';
+
+
+/**
+ * Component that renders a text section, supporting localized metadata content
+ * from the Site object or static markdown/HTML content rendering.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-text-section',
+  templateUrl: './text-section.component.html',
+  styleUrls: ['./text-section.component.scss'],
+  imports: [
+    AsyncPipe,
+    MarkdownViewerComponent,
+    NgTemplateOutlet,
+    TranslateModule,
+  ],
+})
+export class TextSectionComponent {
+
+  /** Unique identifier for this section instance. */
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  /** Configuration object defining the text content and content type. */
+  @Input()
+    textRowSection: TextRowSection;
+
+  /** The site object used to resolve metadata-based content. */
+  @Input()
+    site: Site;
+
+  constructor(
+    private locale: LocaleService,
+  ) {
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Resolves a localized metadata value from the site object based on the current language.
+   *
+   * @param content the metadata key to look up on the site
+   * @returns observable emitting the localized metadata value, or empty string if not found
+   */
+  metadataValue(content: string): Observable<string> {
+    return this.locale.getCurrentLanguageCode().pipe(
+      map(language => this.site?.firstMetadataValue(content, { language }) ?? ''),
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/themed-text-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/themed-text-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..51af784408d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/themed-text-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { TextRowSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { Site } from '@dspace/core/shared/site.model';
+
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../../../theme-support/themed.component';
+import { TextSectionComponent } from './text-section.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed wrapper for {@link TextSectionComponent}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-text-section',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: '../../../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedTextSectionComponent extends ThemedComponent<TextSectionComponent> {
+
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  @Input()
+    textRowSection: TextRowSection;
+
+  @Input()
+    site: Site;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof TextSectionComponent & keyof this)[] = ['sectionId', 'textRowSection', 'site'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'TextSectionComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`../../../../../themes/${themeName}/app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/text-section.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./text-section.component`);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/themed-top-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/themed-top-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7fa1ca5aafd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/themed-top-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { TopSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { Context } from '@dspace/core/shared/context.model';
+
+import { ThemedComponent } from '../../../theme-support/themed.component';
+import { TopSectionComponent } from './top-section.component';
+
+/**
+ * Themed wrapper for {@link TopSectionComponent}.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-top-section',
+  styleUrls: [],
+  templateUrl: '../../../theme-support/themed.component.html',
+})
+export class ThemedTopSectionComponent extends ThemedComponent<TopSectionComponent> {
+
+  @Input()
+    sectionId: string;
+
+  @Input()
+    topSection: TopSection;
+
+  @Input()
+    context: Context;
+
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof TopSectionComponent & keyof this)[] = ['sectionId', 'topSection', 'context'];
+
+  protected getComponentName(): string {
+    return 'TopSectionComponent';
+  }
+
+  protected importThemedComponent(themeName: string): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`../../../../../themes/${themeName}/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component`);
+  }
+
+  protected importUnthemedComponent(): Promise<any> {
+    return import(`./top-section.component`);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.html b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5f0daba1b46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+<div>
+  <div class="card mb-4">
+    @if (topSection.titleKey) {
+      <div class="card-header">{{ 'explore.index.' + topSection.titleKey | translate }}</div>
+    }
+    @if (!topSection.titleKey) {
+      <div class="card-header">{{ 'explore.index.' + topSection.sortField | translate }}</div>
+    }
+    <div class="card-body p-0">
+      <ds-browse-most-elements [context]="context"
+        [paginatedSearchOptions]="paginatedSearchOptions"
+        [showLabel]="true"
+        [showMetrics]="true"
+      [topSection]="topSection"></ds-browse-most-elements>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7b8207b194b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,154 @@
+import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
+import { NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ComponentFixture,
+  inject,
+  TestBed,
+  waitForAsync,
+} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import {
+  FormsModule,
+  ReactiveFormsModule,
+} from '@angular/forms';
+import {
+  BrowserModule,
+  By,
+} from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { RouterTestingModule } from '@angular/router/testing';
+import { TopSectionTemplateType } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { DSpaceObject } from '@dspace/core/shared/dspace-object.model';
+import { SearchResult } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/search-result.model';
+import { TranslateLoaderMock } from '@dspace/core/testing/translate-loader.mock';
+import { createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$ } from '@dspace/core/utilities/remote-data.utils';
+import { NgbModule } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
+import {
+  TranslateLoader,
+  TranslateModule,
+} from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { SearchService } from 'src/app/shared/search/search.service';
+
+import { ThemedBrowseMostElementsComponent } from '../../../browse-most-elements/themed-browse-most-elements.component';
+import { TopSectionComponent } from './top-section.component';
+
+describe('TopSectionComponent', () => {
+  let component: TopSectionComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<TopSectionComponent>;
+
+  let searchServiceStub: any;
+
+  const firstSearchResult = Object.assign(new SearchResult(), {
+    _embedded: {
+      indexableObject: Object.assign(new DSpaceObject(), {
+        id: 'd317835d-7b06-4219-91e2-1191900cb897',
+        uuid: 'd317835d-7b06-4219-91e2-1191900cb897',
+        name: 'My first publication',
+        metadata: {
+          'dspace.entity.type': [
+            { value: 'Publication' },
+          ],
+        },
+      }),
+    },
+  });
+
+  const secondSearchResult = Object.assign(new SearchResult(), {
+    _embedded: {
+      indexableObject: Object.assign(new DSpaceObject(), {
+        id: '0c34d491-b5ed-4a78-8b29-83d0bad80e5a',
+        uuid: '0c34d491-b5ed-4a78-8b29-83d0bad80e5a',
+        name: 'This is a publication',
+      }),
+    },
+  });
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+    searchServiceStub = jasmine.createSpyObj('SearchService', {
+      search: jasmine.createSpy('search'),
+      getSearchLink: jasmine.createSpy('getSearchLink'),
+    });
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [CommonModule, NgbModule, FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule, BrowserModule, RouterTestingModule,
+        TranslateModule.forRoot({
+          loader: {
+            provide: TranslateLoader,
+            useClass: TranslateLoaderMock,
+          },
+        }), TopSectionComponent],
+      providers: [TopSectionComponent,
+        { provide: SearchService, useValue: searchServiceStub }],
+      schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA],
+    }).overrideComponent(TopSectionComponent, { remove: { imports: [ThemedBrowseMostElementsComponent] } }).compileComponents();
+
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(TopSectionComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+    searchServiceStub.search.and.returnValue(createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$({ page: [firstSearchResult, secondSearchResult] }));
+    searchServiceStub.getSearchLink.and.returnValue('/search');
+    component.sectionId = 'publications';
+    component.topSection = {
+      discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+      componentType: 'top',
+      style: 'col-md-6',
+      order: 'desc',
+      sortField: 'dc.date.accessioned',
+      numberOfItems: 5,
+      titleKey: undefined,
+      showThumbnails: false,
+      template: TopSectionTemplateType.DEFAULT,
+    };
+
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create TopSectionComponent', inject([TopSectionComponent], (comp: TopSectionComponent) => {
+    expect(comp).toBeDefined();
+  }));
+
+  it('should generate a unique pagination id per instance', () => {
+    const second = TestBed.createComponent(TopSectionComponent).componentInstance;
+    expect(component.paginationId).toMatch(/^search-object-pagination-/);
+    expect(second.paginationId).toMatch(/^search-object-pagination-/);
+    expect(component.paginationId).not.toEqual(second.paginationId);
+  });
+
+  it('should use its unique pagination id in the paginated search options', () => {
+    expect(component.paginatedSearchOptions.pagination.id).toEqual(component.paginationId);
+  });
+
+
+  describe('Top section with title key defined', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      fixture = TestBed.createComponent(TopSectionComponent);
+      component = fixture.componentInstance;
+      searchServiceStub.search.and.returnValue(createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$({ page: [firstSearchResult, secondSearchResult] }));
+      searchServiceStub.getSearchLink.and.returnValue('/search');
+      component.sectionId = 'publications';
+      component.topSection = {
+        discoveryConfigurationName: 'publication',
+        componentType: 'top',
+        style: 'col-md-6',
+        order: 'desc',
+        sortField: 'dc.date.foo',
+        numberOfItems: 5,
+        titleKey: 'lastPublications',
+        showThumbnails: false,
+        template: TopSectionTemplateType.DEFAULT,
+      };
+
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+    });
+
+    it('should create a top section with title', () => {
+
+      const cardElement = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('.card.mb-4'));
+      expect(cardElement).not.toBeNull();
+      expect(cardElement.query(By.css('.card-header')).nativeElement.textContent).toEqual('explore.index.lastPublications');
+
+
+    });
+  });
+
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.ts b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..60a37b40f59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/top-section.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+
+import {
+  Component,
+  Input,
+  OnInit,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  SortDirection,
+  SortOptions,
+} from '@dspace/core/cache/models/sort-options.model';
+import { TopSection } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { PaginationComponentOptions } from '@dspace/core/pagination/pagination-component-options.model';
+import { Context } from '@dspace/core/shared/context.model';
+import { PaginatedSearchOptions } from '@dspace/core/shared/search/models/paginated-search-options.model';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
+
+import { ThemedBrowseMostElementsComponent } from '../../../browse-most-elements/themed-browse-most-elements.component';
+
+
+/**
+ * Component representing the Top component section.
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-base-top-section',
+  templateUrl: './top-section.component.html',
+  imports: [
+    ThemedBrowseMostElementsComponent,
+    TranslateModule,
+  ],
+})
+export class TopSectionComponent implements OnInit {
+
+  /** Unique identifier for this section instance. */
+  @Input()
+  sectionId: string;
+
+  /** Configuration object defining discovery query, sort, and display options. */
+  @Input()
+  topSection: TopSection;
+
+  /** The context in which items are rendered (defaults to BrowseMostElements). */
+  @Input()
+  context: Context = Context.BrowseMostElements;
+
+  /** Paginated search options built from the topSection configuration, passed to the browse component. */
+  paginatedSearchOptions: PaginatedSearchOptions;
+
+  /**
+   * Unique pagination id for this section instance.
+   * Generated per instance so multiple top sections on the same page do not share pagination state.
+   */
+  paginationId = `search-object-pagination-${uuidv4()}`;
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+    const order = this.topSection.order;
+    const numberOfItems = this.topSection.numberOfItems;
+    const sortDirection = order && order.toUpperCase() === 'ASC' ? SortDirection.ASC : SortDirection.DESC;
+    const pagination: PaginationComponentOptions = Object.assign(new PaginationComponentOptions(), {
+      id: this.paginationId,
+      pageSize: numberOfItems,
+      currentPage: 1,
+    });
+
+    this.paginatedSearchOptions = new PaginatedSearchOptions({
+      configuration: this.topSection.discoveryConfigurationName,
+      pagination: pagination,
+      sort: new SortOptions(this.topSection.sortField, sortDirection),
+    });
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/providers/admin-community-list.menu.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/admin-community-list.menu.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3a2fa7bd2e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/admin-community-list.menu.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/**
+ * The contents of this file are subject to the license and copyright
+ * detailed in the LICENSE and NOTICE files at the root of the source
+ * tree and available online at
+ *
+ * http://www.dspace.org/license/
+ */
+
+import { TestBed } from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { APP_CONFIG } from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
+
+import { MenuItemType } from '../menu-item-type.model';
+import { PartialMenuSection } from '../menu-provider.model';
+import { AdminCommunityListMenuProvider } from './admin-community-list.menu';
+
+describe('AdminCommunityListMenuProvider', () => {
+  const expectedSections: PartialMenuSection[] = [
+    {
+      visible: true,
+      model: {
+        type: MenuItemType.LINK,
+        text: `menu.section.browse_global_communities_and_collections`,
+        link: `/community-list`,
+      },
+      icon: 'diagram-project',
+    },
+  ];
+
+  const createProvider = (showCommunityCollection: boolean): AdminCommunityListMenuProvider => {
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      providers: [
+        AdminCommunityListMenuProvider,
+        { provide: APP_CONFIG, useValue: { layout: { navbar: { showCommunityCollection } } } },
+      ],
+    });
+    return TestBed.inject(AdminCommunityListMenuProvider);
+  };
+
+  it('should be created', () => {
+    expect(createProvider(true)).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it('getSections should return the community list section when showCommunityCollection is disabled (navbar fallback)', (done) => {
+    createProvider(false).getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+      expect(sections).toEqual(expectedSections);
+      done();
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('getSections should return no sections when showCommunityCollection is enabled (shown in navbar instead)', (done) => {
+    createProvider(true).getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+      expect(sections).toEqual([]);
+      done();
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/providers/admin-community-list.menu.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/admin-community-list.menu.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e693d1e1b22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/admin-community-list.menu.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+/**
+ * The contents of this file are subject to the license and copyright
+ * detailed in the LICENSE and NOTICE files at the root of the source
+ * tree and available online at
+ *
+ * http://www.dspace.org/license/
+ */
+
+import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  Observable,
+  of,
+} from 'rxjs';
+
+import { PartialMenuSection } from '../menu-provider.model';
+import { CommunityListMenuProvider } from './community-list.menu';
+
+/**
+ * Menu provider to create the "Communities & Collections" menu section in the admin sidebar.
+ *
+ * It is a distinct provider class (extending {@link CommunityListMenuProvider}) so the menu infrastructure resolves it
+ * as a separate instance with its own {@link menuID}, independent of the public navbar provider.
+ *
+ * The section is shown only when the {@link showInNavbar} flag is disabled, so that administrators can still reach the
+ * community list when it is hidden from the public navbar.
+ */
+@Injectable()
+export class AdminCommunityListMenuProvider extends CommunityListMenuProvider {
+  public getSections(): Observable<PartialMenuSection[]> {
+    return of(!this.showInNavbar ? this.communityListSection() : []);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/providers/community-list.menu.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/community-list.menu.spec.ts
index fc212bbef72..d17f497f52f 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/menu/providers/community-list.menu.spec.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/community-list.menu.spec.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
  */
 
 import { TestBed } from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { APP_CONFIG } from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
 
 import { MenuItemType } from '../menu-item-type.model';
 import { PartialMenuSection } from '../menu-provider.model';
@@ -25,25 +26,31 @@ describe('CommunityListMenuProvider', () => {
     },
   ];
 
-  let provider: CommunityListMenuProvider;
-
-  beforeEach(() => {
+  const createProvider = (showCommunityCollection: boolean): CommunityListMenuProvider => {
     TestBed.configureTestingModule({
       providers: [
         CommunityListMenuProvider,
+        { provide: APP_CONFIG, useValue: { layout: { navbar: { showCommunityCollection } } } },
       ],
     });
-    provider = TestBed.inject(CommunityListMenuProvider);
-  });
+    return TestBed.inject(CommunityListMenuProvider);
+  };
 
   it('should be created', () => {
-    expect(provider).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(createProvider(true)).toBeTruthy();
   });
 
-  it('getSections should return expected menu sections', (done) => {
-    provider.getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+  it('getSections should return the community list section when showCommunityCollection is enabled', (done) => {
+    createProvider(true).getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
       expect(sections).toEqual(expectedSections);
       done();
     });
   });
+
+  it('getSections should return no sections when showCommunityCollection is disabled', (done) => {
+    createProvider(false).getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+      expect(sections).toEqual([]);
+      done();
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/providers/community-list.menu.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/community-list.menu.ts
index 79e893c974d..c7d43c13663 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/menu/providers/community-list.menu.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/community-list.menu.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@
  * http://www.dspace.org/license/
  */
 
-import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  inject,
+  Injectable,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { APP_CONFIG } from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
 import {
   Observable,
   of,
@@ -19,12 +23,28 @@ import {
 } from '../menu-provider.model';
 
 /**
- * Menu provider to create the "Communities & Collections" menu section in the public navbar
+ * Menu provider to create the "Communities & Collections" menu section in the public navbar.
+ *
+ * The section is shown only when the {@link https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSDOC9x/ layout.navbar.showCommunityCollection}
+ * config flag is enabled. When it is disabled, {@link AdminCommunityListMenuProvider} surfaces the same section in the
+ * admin sidebar instead, so the community list stays reachable.
  */
 @Injectable()
 export class CommunityListMenuProvider extends AbstractMenuProvider {
-  public getSections(): Observable<PartialMenuSection[]> {
-    return of([
+  protected appConfig = inject(APP_CONFIG);
+
+  /**
+   * Whether the "Communities & Collections" link is configured to appear in the public navbar.
+   */
+  protected get showInNavbar(): boolean {
+    return this.appConfig.layout.navbar.showCommunityCollection;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * The "Communities & Collections" menu section linking to the community list page.
+   */
+  protected communityListSection(): PartialMenuSection[] {
+    return [
       {
         visible: true,
         model: {
@@ -34,6 +54,10 @@ export class CommunityListMenuProvider extends AbstractMenuProvider {
         },
         icon: 'diagram-project',
       },
-    ] as PartialMenuSection[]);
+    ];
+  }
+
+  public getSections(): Observable<PartialMenuSection[]> {
+    return of(this.showInNavbar ? this.communityListSection() : []);
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/providers/explore.menu.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/explore.menu.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a86df6f4b67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/explore.menu.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+/**
+ * The contents of this file are subject to the license and copyright
+ * detailed in the LICENSE and NOTICE files at the root of the source
+ * tree and available online at
+ *
+ * http://www.dspace.org/license/
+ */
+
+import { TestBed } from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { APP_CONFIG } from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
+import { SectionDataService } from '@dspace/core/data/section-data.service';
+import { createPaginatedList } from '@dspace/core/testing/utils.test';
+import { createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$ } from '@dspace/core/utilities/remote-data.utils';
+
+import { MenuItemType } from '../menu-item-type.model';
+import { PartialMenuSection } from '../menu-provider.model';
+import { ExploreMenuProvider } from './explore.menu';
+
+describe('ExploreMenuProvider', () => {
+
+  let provider: ExploreMenuProvider;
+  let sectionDataServiceStub: any;
+
+  const mockSections = [
+    { id: 'publications', componentRows: [], nestedSections: [] },
+    { id: 'researchers', componentRows: [], nestedSections: [] },
+  ];
+
+  function configureTestingModule(enableExplorePages: boolean) {
+    sectionDataServiceStub = {
+      findVisibleSections: jasmine.createSpy('findVisibleSections').and.returnValue(
+        createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$(createPaginatedList(mockSections)),
+      ),
+    };
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      providers: [
+        ExploreMenuProvider,
+        { provide: APP_CONFIG, useValue: { layout: { enableExplorePages } } },
+        { provide: SectionDataService, useValue: sectionDataServiceStub },
+      ],
+    });
+    provider = TestBed.inject(ExploreMenuProvider);
+    provider.menuProviderId = 'explore';
+  }
+
+  describe('when enableExplorePages is true', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      configureTestingModule(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should be created', () => {
+      expect(provider).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
+    it('should call findVisibleSections on the SectionDataService', (done) => {
+      provider.getSections().subscribe(() => {
+        expect(sectionDataServiceStub.findVisibleSections).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should return menu sections for each visible section', (done) => {
+      const expectedSections: PartialMenuSection[] = [
+        {
+          visible: true,
+          model: {
+            type: MenuItemType.LINK,
+            text: 'menu.section.explore_publications',
+            link: '/explore/publications',
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          visible: true,
+          model: {
+            type: MenuItemType.LINK,
+            text: 'menu.section.explore_researchers',
+            link: '/explore/researchers',
+          },
+        },
+      ];
+
+      provider.getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+        expect(sections).toEqual(expectedSections);
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when a visible section has nested sections', () => {
+    const nestedMockSections = [
+      { id: 'publications', componentRows: [], nestedSections: [] },
+      {
+        id: 'people',
+        componentRows: [],
+        nestedSections: [
+          { id: 'researchers', componentRows: [], nestedSections: [] },
+          { id: 'staff', componentRows: [], nestedSections: [] },
+        ],
+      },
+    ];
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      sectionDataServiceStub = {
+        findVisibleSections: jasmine.createSpy('findVisibleSections').and.returnValue(
+          createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject$(createPaginatedList(nestedMockSections)),
+        ),
+      };
+
+      TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+        providers: [
+          ExploreMenuProvider,
+          { provide: APP_CONFIG, useValue: { layout: { enableExplorePages: true } } },
+          { provide: SectionDataService, useValue: sectionDataServiceStub },
+        ],
+      });
+      provider = TestBed.inject(ExploreMenuProvider);
+      provider.menuProviderId = 'explore';
+    });
+
+    it('should render a flat link for a section without nested sections', (done) => {
+      provider.getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+        const flat = sections.find((s) => s.model.type === MenuItemType.LINK && (s.model as any).link === '/explore/publications');
+        expect(flat).toBeDefined();
+        expect(flat.parentID).toBeUndefined();
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should render an expandable top section for a section with nested sections', (done) => {
+      provider.getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+        const top = sections.find((s) => s.id === 'explore_people');
+        expect(top).toBeDefined();
+        expect(top.model.type).toEqual(MenuItemType.TEXT);
+        expect((top.model as any).text).toEqual('menu.section.explore_people');
+        expect(top.alwaysRenderExpandable).toBeTrue();
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should render a child link for each nested section, linked to the parent', (done) => {
+      provider.getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+        const children = sections.filter((s) => s.parentID === 'explore_people');
+        expect(children.length).toEqual(2);
+        children.forEach((child) => {
+          expect(child.model.type).toEqual(MenuItemType.LINK);
+          expect(child.alwaysRenderExpandable).toBeFalse();
+        });
+        expect(children.map((c) => (c.model as any).link)).toEqual(['/explore/researchers', '/explore/staff']);
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when enableExplorePages is false', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      configureTestingModule(false);
+    });
+
+    it('should be created', () => {
+      expect(provider).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
+    it('should return an empty array', (done) => {
+      provider.getSections().subscribe((sections) => {
+        expect(sections).toEqual([]);
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should not call findVisibleSections on the SectionDataService', (done) => {
+      provider.getSections().subscribe(() => {
+        expect(sectionDataServiceStub.findVisibleSections).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/providers/explore.menu.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/explore.menu.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8d4b33dbe07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/providers/explore.menu.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+/**
+ * The contents of this file are subject to the license and copyright
+ * detailed in the LICENSE and NOTICE files at the root of the source
+ * tree and available online at
+ *
+ * http://www.dspace.org/license/
+ */
+
+import {
+  inject,
+  Injectable,
+} from '@angular/core';
+import { APP_CONFIG } from '@dspace/config/app-config.interface';
+import { PaginatedList } from '@dspace/core/data/paginated-list.model';
+import { RemoteData } from '@dspace/core/data/remote-data';
+import { SectionDataService } from '@dspace/core/data/section-data.service';
+import { Section } from '@dspace/core/layout/models/section.model';
+import { getFirstSucceededRemoteData } from '@dspace/core/shared/operators';
+import { isEmpty } from '@dspace/shared/utils/empty.util';
+import {
+  Observable,
+  of,
+} from 'rxjs';
+import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
+
+import { MenuItemType } from '../menu-item-type.model';
+import {
+  AbstractMenuProvider,
+  PartialMenuSection,
+} from '../menu-provider.model';
+
+/**
+ * Menu provider to create the explore menu sections in the public navbar.
+ * Returns an empty menu when `layout.enableExplorePages` is false.
+ */
+@Injectable()
+export class ExploreMenuProvider extends AbstractMenuProvider {
+  protected appConfig = inject(APP_CONFIG);
+
+  constructor(
+    protected sectionDataService: SectionDataService,
+  ) {
+    super();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Retrieves the explore menu sections by fetching the visible sections from the backend.
+   *
+   * A section without nested sections is rendered as a flat link. A section that has nested sections is rendered as an
+   * expandable navbar section: a top (text) section plus a link for each nested section, so it renders as a
+   * `ds-expandable-navbar-section`.
+   *
+   * Returns an empty array when explore pages are disabled in the app configuration.
+   */
+  getSections(): Observable<PartialMenuSection[]> {
+    if (!this.appConfig.layout.enableExplorePages) {
+      return of([]);
+    }
+    return this.sectionDataService.findVisibleSections().pipe(
+      getFirstSucceededRemoteData(),
+      map((rd: RemoteData<PaginatedList<Section>>) => {
+        return rd.payload.page.reduce((sections: PartialMenuSection[], section: Section) => {
+          return [
+            ...sections,
+            ...this.sectionToMenuSections(section),
+          ];
+        }, [] as PartialMenuSection[]);
+      }),
+    );
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Convert a single visible {@link Section} into one or more {@link PartialMenuSection}s.
+   * - Without nested sections: a single flat link section.
+   * - With nested sections: an expandable top section plus one child link per nested section.
+   *
+   * @param section the visible section to convert
+   */
+  protected sectionToMenuSections(section: Section): PartialMenuSection[] {
+    if (isEmpty(section.nestedSections)) {
+      return [this.exploreLinkSection(section.id)];
+    }
+
+    const parentID = `${this.menuProviderId}_${section.id}`;
+    const childSections: PartialMenuSection[] = section.nestedSections.map((nestedSection: Section) => ({
+      ...this.exploreLinkSection(nestedSection.id),
+      id: `${parentID}_${nestedSection.id}`,
+      parentID,
+      alwaysRenderExpandable: false,
+    }));
+
+    const topSection: PartialMenuSection = {
+      id: parentID,
+      visible: true,
+      model: {
+        type: MenuItemType.TEXT,
+        text: `menu.section.explore_${section.id}`,
+      },
+      alwaysRenderExpandable: true,
+    };
+
+    return [
+      ...childSections,
+      topSection,
+    ];
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Build a flat link menu section pointing to the explore page of the given section id.
+   *
+   * @param id the section id used for both the i18n label and the route
+   */
+  protected exploreLinkSection(id: string): PartialMenuSection {
+    return {
+      visible: true,
+      model: {
+        type: MenuItemType.LINK,
+        text: `menu.section.explore_${id}`,
+        link: `/explore/${id}`,
+      },
+    };
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/search-form/search-form.component.ts b/src/app/shared/search-form/search-form.component.ts
index 0bd6f2d8ebc..b34c1197684 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/search-form/search-form.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/search-form/search-form.component.ts
@@ -61,8 +61,12 @@ export class SearchFormComponent implements OnChanges {
   /**
    * The currently selected scope object's UUID
    */
-  @Input()
-  scope = '';
+  @Input() scope = '';
+
+  /**
+   * Discovery configuration to be used in search
+   */
+  @Input() configuration: string;
 
   /**
    * Hides the scope in the url, this can be useful when you hardcode the scope in another way
@@ -128,6 +132,11 @@ export class SearchFormComponent implements OnChanges {
     if (isNotEmpty(this.scope)) {
       data = Object.assign(data, { scope: this.scope });
     }
+
+    if (isNotEmpty(this.configuration)) {
+      data = { ...data, configuration: this.configuration };
+    }
+
     this.updateSearch(data);
     this.submitSearch.emit(data);
   }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/search-form/themed-search-form.component.ts b/src/app/shared/search-form/themed-search-form.component.ts
index e6db53c3258..3d7b8089796 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/search-form/themed-search-form.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/search-form/themed-search-form.component.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ export class ThemedSearchFormComponent extends ThemedComponent<SearchFormCompone
 
   @Input() showScopeSelector: boolean;
 
+  @Input() configuration: string;
+
   @Output() submitSearch: EventEmitter<any> = new EventEmitter();
 
   protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof SearchFormComponent & keyof this)[] = [
@@ -48,6 +50,7 @@ export class ThemedSearchFormComponent extends ThemedComponent<SearchFormCompone
     'searchPlaceholder',
     'showScopeSelector',
     'submitSearch',
+    'configuration',
   ];
 
   protected getComponentName(): string {
diff --git a/src/app/shared/search/search-configuration.service.ts b/src/app/shared/search/search-configuration.service.ts
index dbd63e1825a..d43dd788697 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/search/search-configuration.service.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/search/search-configuration.service.ts
@@ -84,6 +84,11 @@ export class SearchConfigurationService implements OnDestroy {
    */
   private facetLinkPathPrefix = 'discover/facets/';
 
+  /**
+   * Endpoint link path for retrieving configured facets with their respective values
+   */
+  private searchFacetLinkPath = 'discover/search/facets/';
+
   /**
    * Default pagination id
    */
@@ -523,15 +528,33 @@ export class SearchConfigurationService implements OnDestroy {
 
 
 
+
   /**
    * Request the filter configuration for a given scope or the whole repository
+   * @param {link}   link the link to use for the request
    * @param {string} scope UUID of the object for which config the filter config is requested, when no scope is provided the configuration for the whole repository is loaded
    * @param {string} configurationName the name of the configuration
    * @returns {Observable<RemoteData<SearchFilterConfig[]>>} The found filter configuration
    */
-  getConfig(scope?: string, configurationName?: string): Observable<RemoteData<SearchFilterConfig[]>> {
-    const href$ = this.halService.getEndpoint(this.facetLinkPathPrefix).pipe(
-      map((url: string) => this.getConfigUrl(url, scope, configurationName)),
+  private getFilterConfigByLink(link: string, scope?: string, configurationName?: string): Observable<RemoteData<SearchFilterConfig[]>> {
+    const href$ = this.halService.getEndpoint(link).pipe(
+      map((url: string) => {
+        const args: string[] = [];
+
+        if (isNotEmpty(scope)) {
+          args.push(`scope=${scope}`);
+        }
+
+        if (isNotEmpty(configurationName)) {
+          args.push(`configuration=${configurationName}`);
+        }
+
+        if (isNotEmpty(args)) {
+          url = new URLCombiner(url, `?${args.join('&')}`).toString();
+        }
+
+        return url;
+      }),
     );
 
     href$.pipe(take(1)).subscribe((url: string) => {
@@ -571,6 +594,25 @@ export class SearchConfigurationService implements OnDestroy {
     );
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Request the filter configuration for a given scope or the whole repository
+   * @param {string} scope UUID of the object for which config the filter config is requested, when no scope is provided the configuration for the whole repository is loaded
+   * @param {string} configurationName the name of the configuration
+   * @returns {Observable<RemoteData<SearchFilterConfig[]>>} The found filter configuration
+   */
+  getConfig(scope?: string, configurationName?: string): Observable<RemoteData<SearchFilterConfig[]>> {
+    return this.getFilterConfigByLink(this.facetLinkPathPrefix, scope, configurationName);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Request the filter configuration for a given scope or the whole repository
+   * @param {string} scope UUID of the object for which config the filter config is requested, when no scope is provided the configuration for the whole repository is loaded
+   * @param {string} configurationName the name of the configuration
+   * @returns {Observable<RemoteData<SearchFilterConfig[]>>} The found filter configuration
+   */
+  searchFacets(scope?: string, configurationName?: string): Observable<RemoteData<SearchFilterConfig[]>> {
+    return this.getFilterConfigByLink(this.searchFacetLinkPath, scope, configurationName);
+  }
   /**
    * Calculates the {@link Params} of the search after removing a filter with a certain value and resets the page number.
    *
diff --git a/src/app/shared/search/search-filters/search-filter.service.ts b/src/app/shared/search/search-filters/search-filter.service.ts
index 52141379f8a..0833f87154a 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/search/search-filters/search-filter.service.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/search/search-filters/search-filter.service.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   Store,
 } from '@ngrx/store';
 import {
+  combineLatest,
   combineLatest as observableCombineLatest,
   Observable,
   of,
@@ -190,6 +191,27 @@ export class SearchFilterService {
     return `${new EmphasizePipe().transform(facet.value, query)} (${facet.count})`;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Requests the active filter values set for a given filter
+   * @param {SearchFilterConfig} filterConfig The configuration for which the filters are active
+   * @returns {Observable<string[]>} Emits the active filters for the given filter configuration
+   */
+  getSelectedValuesForFilter(filterConfig: SearchFilterConfig): Observable<string[]> {
+    const values$ = this.routeService.getQueryParameterValues(filterConfig.paramName);
+    const prefixValues$ = this.routeService.getQueryParamsWithPrefix(filterConfig.paramName + '.').pipe(
+      map((params: Params) => [].concat(...Object.values(params))),
+    );
+    return combineLatest([values$, prefixValues$]).pipe(
+      map(([values, prefixValues]) => {
+        if (isNotEmpty(values)) {
+          return values;
+        }
+        return prefixValues;
+      },
+      ),
+    );
+  }
+
   /**
    * Checks if the state of a given filter is currently collapsed or not
    * @param {string} filterName The filtername for which the collapsed state is checked
diff --git a/src/app/shared/search/search.utils.ts b/src/app/shared/search/search.utils.ts
index f5caa0a26db..7cdeaa5b65e 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/search/search.utils.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/search/search.utils.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,31 @@ export function getFacetValueForType(facetValue: FacetValue, searchFilterConfig:
   return addOperatorToFilterValue(facetValue.value, 'equals');
 }
 
+/**
+ * Get a facet's value by matching the label with its parameter in the search href, this will include the operator of the facet value
+ * If the {@link FacetValue} doesn't contain a search link, its raw label will be returned as a fallback
+ * @param facetValue
+ * @param searchFilterConfig
+ */
+export function getFacetValueForTypeAndLabel(facetValue: FacetValue, searchFilterConfig: SearchFilterConfig): string {
+  return _createValue(searchFilterConfig.paramName, facetValue._links, facetValue.label, facetValue.authorityKey);
+}
+
+function _createValue(paramName: string, facetValueLinks, value, authorityKey) {
+  const regex = new RegExp(`[?|&]${escapeRegExp(encodeURIComponent(paramName))}=(${escapeRegExp(encodeURIComponent(value))}[^&]*)`, 'g');
+  if (isNotEmpty(facetValueLinks)) {
+    const values = regex.exec(facetValueLinks.search.href);
+    if (isNotEmpty(values)) {
+      return decodeURIComponent(values[1]);
+    }
+  }
+  if (authorityKey) {
+    return addOperatorToFilterValue(authorityKey, 'authority');
+  }
+
+  return addOperatorToFilterValue(value, 'equals');
+}
+
 /**
  * Escape a string to be used in a JS regular expression
  *
diff --git a/src/assets/i18n/en.json5 b/src/assets/i18n/en.json5
index 6551143ff13..bee43ef41fd 100644
--- a/src/assets/i18n/en.json5
+++ b/src/assets/i18n/en.json5
@@ -2093,6 +2093,78 @@
 
   "error.validation.metadata.qualifier.max-length": "This field may not contain more than 64 characters",
 
+  "explore.browse-section.title": "Browse",
+
+  "explore.counters-section.rprofiles": "People",
+
+  "explore.counters-section.publications": "Research outputs",
+
+  "explore.counters-section.project_funding": "Projects",
+
+  "explore.facet-section.title": "Discover",
+
+  "explore.index.all": "All",
+
+  "explore.index.author": "Author",
+
+  "explore.index.birthDate": "Birthday",
+
+  "explore.index.dateIssued": "Date issued",
+
+  "explore.index.dateissued": "Date issued",
+
+  "explore.index.dc.date.accessioned": "Recent Additions",
+
+  "explore.index.dc.title": "Title",
+
+  "explore.index.familyName": "Family name",
+
+  "explore.index.givenName": "Given name",
+
+  "explore.index.jobTitle": "Job title",
+
+  "explore.index.title": "Title",
+
+  "explore.index.type": "Type",
+
+  "explore.index.rodept": "Department",
+
+  "explore.index.subject": "Subject",
+
+  "explore.index.rsoTitle": "Title",
+
+  "explore.index.pjtitle": "Title",
+
+  "explore.index.rpdept": "Department",
+
+  "explore.index.rpname": "Name",
+
+  "explore.search-section.fundings_and_projects.title": "Search Projects",
+
+  "explore.search-section.orgunits.title": "Search Organizations",
+
+  "explore.search-section.publications.title": "Search Research Outputs",
+
+  "explore.search-section.researchoutputs.title": "Search Research Outputs",
+
+  "explore.search-section.researcherprofiles.title": "Search People",
+
+  "explore.search-section.search-button": "Search",
+
+  "explore.search-section.reset-button": "Reset",
+
+  "explore.fundings_and_projects.breadcrumbs": "Projects",
+
+  "explore.orgunits.breadcrumbs": "Organizations",
+
+  "explore.publications.breadcrumbs": "Research Outputs",
+
+  "explore.researchoutputs.breadcrumbs": "Research Outputs",
+
+  "explore.researcherprofiles.breadcrumbs": "People",
+
+  "explore.title": "Explore section",
+
   "feed.description": "Syndication feed",
 
   "file-download-link.restricted": "Restricted bitstream",
@@ -3732,6 +3804,16 @@
 
   "menu.section.browse_global_by_subject": "By Subject",
 
+  "menu.section.explore_infrastructure": "Infrastructure",
+
+  "menu.section.explore_publications": "Research Outputs",
+
+  "menu.section.explore_researchoutputs": "Research Outputs",
+
+  "menu.section.explore_researcherprofiles": "People",
+
+  "menu.section.explore_orgunits": "Organizations",
+
   "menu.section.browse_global_by_srsc": "By Subject Category",
 
   "menu.section.browse_global_by_nsi": "By Norwegian Science Index",
@@ -3740,6 +3822,8 @@
 
   "menu.section.browse_global_communities_and_collections": "Communities & Collections",
 
+  "menu.section.explore_fundings_and_projects": "Fundings & Projects",
+
   "menu.section.browse_global_geospatial_map": "By Geolocation (Map)",
 
   "menu.section.control_panel": "Control Panel",
diff --git a/src/config/default-app-config.ts b/src/config/default-app-config.ts
index fd703d4d024..a44984a4994 100644
--- a/src/config/default-app-config.ts
+++ b/src/config/default-app-config.ts
@@ -375,6 +375,7 @@ export class DefaultAppConfig implements AppConfig {
       pageSize: 5,
     },
     showDiscoverFilters: false,
+    enableDynamicLayout: false,
   };
 
   // Item Config
@@ -745,6 +746,7 @@ export class DefaultAppConfig implements AppConfig {
   // These styles are used in components like MetadataLinkViewComponent to display entity type indicators
   // alongside metadata values, providing visual cues about the type of referenced entity.
   layout: LayoutConfig = {
+    enableExplorePages: false,
     authorityRef: [
       {
         entityType: 'DEFAULT',
@@ -815,6 +817,10 @@ export class DefaultAppConfig implements AppConfig {
         },
       ],
     },
+    navbar: {
+      // If true, show the "Community and Collections" link in the navbar; otherwise, show it in the admin sidebar
+      showCommunityCollection: true,
+    },
   };
 
   // Search result configuration for authority metadata processing
diff --git a/src/config/homepage-config.interface.ts b/src/config/homepage-config.interface.ts
index 47d75e60743..16cc3d20414 100644
--- a/src/config/homepage-config.interface.ts
+++ b/src/config/homepage-config.interface.ts
@@ -28,4 +28,8 @@ export interface HomeConfig extends Config {
   * Enable or disable the Discover filters on the homepage
   */
   showDiscoverFilters: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Whether to enable dynamic home page rendering.
+   */
+  enableDynamicLayout: boolean;
 }
diff --git a/src/config/layout-config.interfaces.ts b/src/config/layout-config.interfaces.ts
index 709292a0068..97a8dc49b3d 100644
--- a/src/config/layout-config.interfaces.ts
+++ b/src/config/layout-config.interfaces.ts
@@ -62,15 +62,35 @@ export interface AuthorityRefConfig extends Config {
  * @see AppConfig
  */
 export interface LayoutConfig extends Config {
+  /**
+   * Whether explore pages (e.g., /explore/:id) and the explore menu in the navbar are enabled.
+   * When false, explore routes will redirect to 404 and menu entries will be hidden.
+   */
+  enableExplorePages: boolean;
+
   /**
    * Array of authority reference configurations for different entity types.
    * Each entry defines how entities of a specific type should be visually represented with icons and styles.
    */
   authorityRef: AuthorityRefConfig[];
+  /**
+   * Whether to show download links as attachments.
+   */
   showDownloadLinkAsAttachment: boolean;
   /**
    * Configuration for advanced attachment rendering features.
    * Controls pagination and metadata display for bitstream attachments.
    */
   advancedAttachmentRendering: AdvancedAttachmentRenderingConfig;
+  /**
+   * Configuration for the navbar layout customization.
+   */
+  navbar: NavbarConfig;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Interface describing the structure of the navbar layout.
+ */
+export interface NavbarConfig extends Config {
+  showCommunityCollection: boolean;
 }
diff --git a/src/environments/environment.test.ts b/src/environments/environment.test.ts
index 0ae82e957a1..3124c6b35c4 100644
--- a/src/environments/environment.test.ts
+++ b/src/environments/environment.test.ts
@@ -282,6 +282,7 @@ export const environment: BuildConfig = {
       pageSize: 5,
     },
     showDiscoverFilters: false,
+    enableDynamicLayout: false,
   },
   item: {
     edit: {
@@ -534,6 +535,7 @@ export const environment: BuildConfig = {
 
   // Configuration for layout customization of metadata rendering in Item page
   layout: {
+    enableExplorePages: false,
     authorityRef: [
       {
         entityType: 'DEFAULT',
@@ -603,6 +605,9 @@ export const environment: BuildConfig = {
         },
       ],
     },
+    navbar: {
+      showCommunityCollection: true,
+    },
   },
 
   searchResult: {
diff --git a/src/themes/custom/app/home-page/home-page.component.ts b/src/themes/custom/app/home-page/home-page.component.ts
index 3d8f9f72ae9..7b60150442b 100644
--- a/src/themes/custom/app/home-page/home-page.component.ts
+++ b/src/themes/custom/app/home-page/home-page.component.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,13 @@ import { RecentItemListComponent } from '../../../../app/home-page/recent-item-l
 import { ThemedTopLevelCommunityListComponent } from '../../../../app/home-page/top-level-community-list/themed-top-level-community-list.component';
 import { SuggestionsPopupComponent } from '../../../../app/notifications/suggestions/popup/suggestions-popup.component';
 import { ThemedConfigurationSearchPageComponent } from '../../../../app/search-page/themed-configuration-search-page.component';
+import { ThemedBrowseSectionComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/explore/section-component/browse-section/themed-browse-section.component';
+import { ThemedCountersSectionComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/explore/section-component/counters-section/themed-counters-section.component';
+import { ThemedFacetSectionComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/explore/section-component/facet-section/themed-facet-section.component';
+import { ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/explore/section-component/multi-column-top-section/themed-multi-column-top-section.component';
+import { ThemedSearchSectionComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/explore/section-component/search-section/themed-search-section.component';
+import { ThemedTextSectionComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/explore/section-component/text-section/themed-text-section.component';
+import { ThemedTopSectionComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/explore/section-component/top-section/themed-top-section.component';
 import { ThemedSearchFormComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/search-form/themed-search-form.component';
 
 @Component({
@@ -28,10 +35,17 @@ import { ThemedSearchFormComponent } from '../../../../app/shared/search-form/th
     NgTemplateOutlet,
     RecentItemListComponent,
     SuggestionsPopupComponent,
+    ThemedBrowseSectionComponent,
     ThemedConfigurationSearchPageComponent,
+    ThemedCountersSectionComponent,
+    ThemedFacetSectionComponent,
     ThemedHomeNewsComponent,
+    ThemedMultiColumnTopSectionComponent,
     ThemedSearchFormComponent,
+    ThemedSearchSectionComponent,
+    ThemedTextSectionComponent,
     ThemedTopLevelCommunityListComponent,
+    ThemedTopSectionComponent,
     TranslateModule,
   ],
 })