Creating unique post layouts in WordPress can be tricky with the default editor. You might want to organize posts by category, design a clean post grid, or highlight specific articles — but the built-in options don’t always offer that kind of control.
Advanced Post Block solves that problem. It’s a Gutenberg block plugin that lets you build dynamic post layouts directly inside the WordPress editor. You can filter posts by category, author, or custom type, and style them to match your site’s design.
From magazine-style homepages to curated post grids or event archives, Advanced Post Block helps you create layouts that look professional and stay fully responsive.
In this guide, you’ll learn how the plugin works, explore its key features, and see how it fits into real WordPress use cases.
Let’s get started.
How to Use Advanced Post Block
Advanced Post Block is simple and beginner-friendly, making it easy to display posts exactly how you want.
In this section, we’ll walk you through the setup process step by step, so you can learn how to install the plugin, adjust the settings, and customize your post layouts with ease.
Install and activate the plugin
Navigate to your WordPress admin area. Go to Plugins → Add New and search for Advanced Post Block. Now, install and activate the plugin.
Note: If you’ve installed the pro version, you need the license key to activate the plugin.
Add the Block and Select Layout
Open the page in the WordPress editor panel. Click the “+” icon to open the block library and look for the Advanced Post Block.
Add the block to the suitable area.
After adding the Advanced Post Block to your editor, you’ll find its settings in the right sidebar.
In the General → Layout section, you can choose how your posts are displayed—options include grid, masonry, slider, and ticker layouts.
You can also select a sub layout to refine the design even further. Adjust the number of columns, as well as the column and row gaps, to control spacing between posts.
For a more polished design, you can enable options like equal height for post cards and set a consistent content/texts height. These settings help create a clean, uniform look across all posts in the layout.
The Posts Query section lets you choose which posts to show and how they appear. First, pick the Post Type; this could be regular blog posts, pages, or any custom post types on your site. Then, you can filter the posts by category or tag to display only the content you want.
You can control how many posts to show using the Post Per Page setting. Use the Post Order By option to sort posts by date, title, author, and more. You can also choose whether the list appears in ascending or descending order.
If you’re using the Pro version, you get extra filters like Post Offset (to skip a number of posts), Include Posts and Exclude Posts (by post ID), and Exclude Current Post.
These advanced options help you build more dynamic layouts, like hiding the current post, creating a featured section, or showing related posts on a single page.
Navigate to the Elements tab to style individual parts of each post, including the featured image, title, meta information, excerpt, and the read more button.
In the Meta Data settings, you can choose which extra information to display with each post, such as the author name, publish date, categories, tags, reading time, and comment count.
You can start by enabling the Author option to show the name of the post author. With the Pro version, you can also add an author link and a custom author icon using a URL.
Next, you can turn on the Date to show when the post was published. The Pro version lets you customize the date format and add a date icon for a more polished look.
For post Categories, you can choose where they appear (inside the image or content area), and Pro users can also include a category icon.
The Taxonomies section allows you to display tags, but this feature is available only in the Pro version.
If you’d like to show how long a post might take to read, you can enable Reading Time (Pro feature). You can customize the reading time label (e.g., “Min read”), show it in seconds, and even add an icon.
Finally, you can enable the Comment count to display how many comments each post has received.
These meta options help you provide useful information at a glance and make your post layouts more informative and engaging.
Under the Style > Content section, you can control the overall appearance of the post content area.
You can start by setting the Text Alignment, choosing left, center, or right alignment depending on your design preference.
The Background option lets you apply a background color or image behind the content section of each post card, helping you match the layout with your site’s branding.
Next, you can adjust the Padding to control the spacing inside the content area.
You can also apply a Border around the content block to give it more structure or visual separation. This is useful for creating card-style post layouts with a clean and modern look.
In the Style > Meta Data section, you can customize how your post’s meta information looks, such as the author name, publish date, categories, and more.
You can start by adjusting the Typography to control the font size, weight, line height, and letter spacing. This lets you match the meta text style with the rest of your site’s design.
The Text Color setting allows you to choose a custom color for the meta text, while Link Color changes the color of any clickable meta elements, like the author name or category links.
If you’re using icons (like a calendar for date or user icon for author), you can also set a specific Icon Color to make them stand out or match your brand colors.
Lastly, use the Margin controls to set the spacing around the meta data.
In the Style tab, you can also control the appearance of key post elements like the Title, Excerpt, and Read More link.
For each of these, you’ll find options to customize typography, text color, hover effects, spacing, and more. Whether you want bold, eye-catching titles or a minimalist “Read More” button, you have full control over how each piece looks.
Once you’re happy with how everything looks, simply hit the Publish or Update button to save your changes.
If you’ve followed these steps, your post layout will look clean, well-structured, and fully matched to your content style, just like the example shown below.
Advantages of Using Advanced Post Block
Advanced Post Block stands out as a powerful yet easy-to-use plugin for anyone looking to display posts dynamically within the Block Editor. Below are some of the core advantages that make it a valuable tool for WordPress site builders, bloggers, developers, and agencies.
1. Built for the Block Editor
Since Advanced Post Block is designed specifically for Gutenberg, you can create and edit post layouts right inside the native WordPress editor. There’s no need for page builders or custom templates.
Everything happens in one place, keeping your workflow simple, lightweight, and compatible with the latest WordPress standards. This makes it ideal for users who prefer to stay within the default editor while still achieving advanced layout designs.
2. Full Design Control Without Code
You don’t need CSS knowledge or template editing to design attractive post sections. With Advanced Post Block, all layout and style options are available in the block settings panel.
You can switch between grid and list views, change thumbnail sizes, show or hide meta fields such as author or date, and control excerpt lengths. These options let you create professional post grids and listings quickly, even if you’re not a developer.
3. Advanced Filtering Options
The plugin gives you detailed control over which posts to display. You can filter by category, author, date, or taxonomy, allowing you to create focused content sections like “Latest Articles,” “Team Updates,” or “Case Studies.”
This flexibility is perfect for blogs, magazines, or any site that needs organized and dynamic content sections.
4. Works with Any Custom Post Type
Advanced Post Block isn’t limited to regular blog posts. It supports all custom post types on your site, so you can display portfolios, products, events, testimonials, or courses.
This makes it a versatile choice for agencies, business sites, eLearning platforms, and niche projects that use custom content structures.
5. Responsive Layouts That Fit Every Screen
Every post layout built with Advanced Post Block is automatically responsive. Whether you use a multi-column grid or a simple list, your content adjusts smoothly to different screen sizes.
Visitors will have a consistent, readable experience on desktops, tablets, and phones — without needing extra configuration.
6. Lightweight and Optimized for Speed
Despite offering powerful layout options, the plugin remains lightweight. It’s built with clean, efficient code that doesn’t slow down your site.
This focus on performance helps maintain fast page loads and supports better Core Web Vitals scores, ensuring your post grids and layouts perform as well as they look.
Advanced Post Block Use Cases for WordPress
The Advanced Post Block plugin offers a wide range of practical use cases that help you present content dynamically without writing a single line of code.
Whether you’re building a homepage, a blog archive, or a content-rich landing page, this block can help you create polished layouts that are both functional and visually appealing.
Let’s explore some of the most effective ways you can use the Advanced Post Block to enhance your WordPress site:
Homepage Featured Posts
One of the most popular uses for Advanced Post Block is to highlight selected posts on the homepage. You can configure the block to display:
- The latest blog posts
- Posts from specific categories or tags
- Handpicked featured posts using a custom taxonomy or sticky post setting
With built-in layout controls, you can choose between grid or list views, show or hide featured images, and fine-tune meta information like post date, author, or excerpt length, giving you full control over how your homepage content is presented.
Category-Specific Blog Sections
Segmenting your homepage or blog index by content category is a great way to improve user experience and navigation. With Advanced Post Block, you can:
- Display “News,” “Tutorials,” “Reviews,” or other categories in separate blocks
- Customize each section with its own layout and color scheme
- Filter content by taxonomy and limit the number of posts shown
This approach turns your blog into a more organized, magazine-style format that helps visitors find relevant content quickly.
Display Custom Post Types
Advanced Post Block isn’t limited to blog posts—it also supports custom post types. This makes it a perfect fit for sites that manage:
- Events or webinars
- Portfolios and case studies
- Courses or lessons
- WooCommerce products
You can filter by custom taxonomies, sort by meta values, and design the output to match your theme style, without installing a separate plugin for each content type.
Author-Specific Post Page
For multi-author blogs or editorial teams, displaying content by author is an excellent way to highlight contributors and their expertise. Advanced Post Block allows you to:
- Filter posts by specific authors
- Show a list of articles written by a guest blogger or team member
- Combine with author profile blocks or avatars for visual appeal
This use case is ideal for portfolios, journalism sites, or knowledge bases where author identity is important.
Related Posts Section
Boosting engagement and reducing bounce rate is easy when you show readers related posts at the end of an article. With Advanced Post Block, you can:
- Display related content based on shared categories or tags
- Use the same block on multiple posts with dynamic filtering
- Adjust styling to match your content template
This setup encourages users to keep reading and improves internal linking, both important for SEO.
Archive or Magazine-Style Pages
Instead of relying on your theme’s default archive templates, you can use Advanced Post Block to build fully customized archive pages using Gutenberg. This allows for:
- Multi-column post grids with featured images and excerpt control
- Pagination or load-more functionality
- Layout variations per category or post type
It’s a powerful way to turn static archives into interactive, well-structured content hubs.
Landing Pages with Curated Content
Want to build a niche-specific page showcasing posts from a particular topic, author, or event? With Advanced Post Block, you can create curated landing pages that:
- Pull in content dynamically using filters
- Combine multiple blocks for different categories or tags
- Maintain visual consistency with full control over design
This is especially useful for seasonal campaigns, product launches, or evergreen topic hubs like “Best Tutorials” or “Latest News.”
Conclusion
Advanced Post Block gives you complete control over how your posts appear on your site. You can design custom post grids, showcase featured articles, or organize content by category — all without leaving the Gutenberg editor.
It’s simple to use and removes the need for extra page builders or custom code. Whether you run a blog, news site, or portfolio, this plugin helps you display content in a clean, flexible way that fits your style.
If you want better post layouts and more design freedom, try Advanced Post Block and see how easily you can transform your content display.
Leave a Reply