One of our readers inquired about how to create custom single post templates in WordPress.
At CanadaCreate, we have assisted numerous website owners in enhancing their blogs with unique layouts for individual posts. Custom single post templates enable you to apply different designs to your blog posts, giving each one a unique appearance. While many WordPress themes come with a selection of page templates, you also have the option to create your own if necessary.
In this article, we will guide you through various methods to easily create custom single post templates in WordPress, allowing you to select the one that best fits your requirements.
When Should You Consider a Custom Single Post Template?
There may be times when you want a distinct look and feel for specific posts on your WordPress website. For example, you might prefer a different layout for featured articles or posts in a particular category.
This is when a custom single post template in WordPress becomes essential.
By default, WordPress utilizes a single post template according to the WordPress template hierarchy. All themes include a single.php template, which is used as the default for all your single posts.
Some themes may also provide additional templates or layout options that you can utilize.
Creating a custom page template in WordPress is similar to designing a custom single post template. Most WordPress themes include page templates that can be utilized when editing posts or pages.
Now, let’s explore how to effortlessly create custom single post templates in WordPress. We’ll present various methods so you can choose the one that suits you best.
- Designing single post templates with the block editor
- Creating custom single post templates using SeedProd
- Utilizing theme settings to design single post layouts
- Manually crafting custom single post templates with code
- Developing custom single post templates based on categories
- Creating custom single post templates tailored for specific authors
Designing Single Post Templates Using the Block Editor
This approach does not truly create a post template and has limited flexibility. However, it is the simplest way to save your own single post layouts for future use.
The default WordPress block editor features a built-in option that allows you to save and reuse blocks. One such reusable block is the group block.
The group block enables you to combine multiple blocks and entire post layouts into a single unit. You can then save this group block and reuse it across your other posts.
Let’s explore how to utilize the group block for saving your personalized post templates.
Begin by creating a new post in WordPress. Then, add a group block to the content area.
You can now start inserting blocks into the group block to design a single post layout for your WordPress blog.
Feel free to include any blocks you desire, such as columns, media and text, cover images, and more.
Once you are happy with your layout, hover over and select the group block.
Click on the three-dot menu icon and choose the ‘Add to Reusable blocks’ option.
Next, provide a name for your reusable block and click the Save button. WordPress will save your reusable block along with all the blocks contained in the group block.
You can then edit any existing post on your site or create a new one. In the post-edit screen, click the add new block button and find your saved block under the ‘Reusable’ tab.
Insert the block into your post, and WordPress will load your entire group block with all the blocks and settings as you saved them.
This approach enables you to save your custom layouts, but it doesn’t allow you to modify how your theme manages single posts.
For enhanced flexibility, continue to the next step.
How to Create Custom Single Post Templates with SeedProd
The simplest method to design a custom single post template is by utilizing SeedProd. This top-rated WordPress website builder plugin allows you to create stunning website layouts and personalized templates without any coding skills.
With SeedProd’s intuitive drag-and-drop builder, you can develop a fully customized WordPress theme, including tailored single post templates.
To get started, install and activate the SeedProd plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our comprehensive guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once activated, you will need to enter your license key, which can be found in your account on the SeedProd website.
Next, it’s time to design your custom WordPress theme, which is easier than it may seem.
How to Create a Custom WordPress Theme
Begin by navigating to theSeedProd » Theme Builderpage. Here, you will select one of SeedProd’s pre-designed themes as your foundation, replacing your current WordPress theme with a fresh, custom design.
You can do this by clicking the ‘Themes’ button.
Explore a variety of professionally designed themes tailored for different website types, such as ‘Modern Business’, ‘Marketing Agency’, and ‘Mortgage Broker Theme’.
Browse through the available options and select the one that best fits your requirements by clicking the checkmark icon.
After selecting a theme, SeedProd will automatically generate all the necessary templates, including one for single pages and another for individual posts.
Each template is equipped with visually appealing layouts and easy-to-customize placeholder content.
For more information on creating a theme with SeedProd, refer to our guide on how to effortlessly build a custom WordPress theme without any coding skills.
Customizing the Default Single Post Template
SeedProd simplifies the process of customizing the default ‘Single Post’ template with its intuitive drag-and-drop page builder.
Just click the ‘Edit Design’ link located beneath the template to open your post template in SeedProd’s visual editor.
The visual editor features a two-column layout. On the left, you’ll find various blocks and sections that you can incorporate into your design.
On the right side, there’s a live preview of the template where you can observe your changes in real-time.
Customizing the layout of your post template is straightforward. Just click on any block to access its settings in the left sidebar.
For instance, clicking on the post title allows you to adjust its settings, including alignment, font size, heading level, and more.
By selecting the Advanced tab, you can modify font colors, spacing, and various other style options.
You can easily add extra blocks by dragging them from the left sidebar into the preview area. SeedProd utilizes template tags to incorporate dynamic content such as post titles, featured images, comments, and more, enabling you to enrich the template without editing each post separately.
For example, you can insert a Posts block at the end of your post content. This will showcase recent posts that your readers might be interested in after finishing the current post. This block will automatically appear on all posts that use this template.
Next, you can adjust the settings of the Posts block to tailor the content that is displayed.
For instance, you can filter content by specific categories, opt for a two-column layout, and set the number of posts to display.
Feel free to take your time experimenting with various blocks and exploring their settings.
Once you have designed your desired post template, save it by clicking the green ‘Save’ button located in the top right corner. You can then exit the SeedProd visual editor by selecting the ‘X’ close icon.
You can modify the remainder of your WordPress theme in a similar manner. If you require assistance, refer back to our comprehensive guide on how to create a custom WordPress theme using SeedProd.
When you are satisfied with the appearance of your template, ensure that the ‘Enable SeedProd Theme’ toggle is switched on. Your WordPress site will now utilize your SeedProd theme along with your custom single post template.
Utilizing Theme Settings for Custom Single Post Layouts
Many popular WordPress themes include built-in options to personalize the look of your single post template.
If your theme supports these customization settings, you will find them on the post-edit screen. The available options may vary based on the theme you are using.
For example, the Astra theme provides customization options when editing a single post. With these options, you can modify sidebars, hide headers, titles, menus, and more.
Conversely, many leading WordPress themes come with pre-designed templates that you can easily implement.
If your theme supports single post templates, you can find them in the ‘Template’ or ‘Post Attributes’ section while editing a post.
These templates provide complete layouts that are ready to use without any additional configuration.
Creating Custom Single Post Templates Manually Using Code
This approach is more advanced, as it involves editing theme files, copying and pasting code, and potentially adding custom CSS. If you’re new to this, check out our tutorial on how to copy and paste code in WordPress.
First, open a plain text editor on your computer, such as Notepad, and paste the following code into it:
<?php
/*
* Template Name: Featured Article
* Template Post Type: post, page, product
*/
get_header();
?>
This code creates a new template named ‘Featured Article’ that can be used for post, page, and product post types.
You should save this file as wpb-single-post.php on your desktop. Then, upload the file to your current theme folder using an FTP client to add the template to your WordPress site.
Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard to create or edit a post. On the post edit screen, scroll down to find the new ‘Template’ panel or ‘Post Attributes’ meta box, where you can select your desired template.
Your custom template named ‘Featured Article’ will be listed there.
Currently, your template is empty, so selecting it will result in a blank screen.
Let’s resolve this issue.
The simplest way to do this is by copying the code from your theme’s single.php file to use as a foundation. Open the single.php file and copy everything after the get_header() line.
Then, paste this code at the end of your wpb-single-post.php file. Save the file and upload it back to your server.
However, this will initially look identical to your existing single-post template. You can now begin customizing your single post template.
Feel free to add your own custom CSS classes, remove sidebars, create a full-width layout, or implement any changes you desire.
Creating Custom Single Post Templates Based on Categories
Are you interested in creating a custom single post template tailored to specific categories? For instance, you can design a unique layout for posts in the travel category, distinct from those in the photography category.
You can achieve this using either the SeedProd Theme Builder or by writing custom code.
How to Create Custom Single Post Templates by Category with SeedProd
Previously, we discussed how to modify the default single post template in the SeedProd Theme Builder. However, the customization options are extensive. With SeedProd, you can create multiple custom post templates, allowing for a unique layout for each post category.
To create a new single post template, simply click the ‘Duplicate’ link beneath the original post template. This action will generate a new template named ‘Single Post – Copy,’ which will appear at the top of the theme templates page.
You can customize the new template just like you did with the default Single Post template. Click the ‘Edit Design’ link on the template and use SeedProd’s visual editor to make your desired changes.
Once you have finished customizing the template, you will need to set conditions so that SeedProd knows which posts should utilize this template. In this instance, we want it to be displayed for posts within a specific category.
To do this, click on the ‘Edit Conditions’ link for the template, and a new window will appear.
In this window, you can assign a name and priority to the template. The default Single Post template has a priority of 0, so ensure you set a higher priority for your new template to ensure it appears for the relevant categories.
In the ‘Conditions’ section, choose ‘Has Category’ from the second dropdown menu, and enter the category name in the last field. For instance, if you want this layout to apply only to posts in the photography category, enter ‘photography’.
Once you are done, click the ‘Save’ button, and this template will now be applied to all posts within the specified category.
This is the simplest way to create multiple custom post templates in WordPress. It requires no coding knowledge and will not interfere with any theme files.
Creating Custom Single Post Templates by Category Using Code
This is an alternative method for those who are comfortable with adding code to their theme files.
First, you need to insert this code into your theme’s functions.php file or use a code snippets plugin.
/*
* Define a constant path to our single post template directory
*/
define(SINGLE_PATH, TEMPLATEPATH . '/single'); /**
* Apply a filter to the single_template using our custom function
*/
add_filter('single_template', 'my_single_template'); /**
* Function to select the appropriate single post template
*/
function my_single_template($single) {
global $wp_query, $post; /**
* Check for a single post template based on category
* Look for templates using category slug and ID
*/
foreach((array)get_the_category() as $cat) : if(file_exists(SINGLE_PATH . '/single-cat-' . $cat->slug . '.php'))
return SINGLE_PATH . '/single-cat-' . $cat->slug . '.php'; elseif(file_exists(SINGLE_PATH . '/single-cat-' . $cat->term_id . '.php'))
return SINGLE_PATH . '/single-cat-' . $cat->term_id . '.php'; endforeach;
}This code checks if WordPress is requesting a single post. If so, it directs WordPress to search for the template in the /single/ directory of your WordPress theme.
Next, you need to add the template files specified by this code.
Connect to your WordPress hosting using an FTP client or the File Manager in cPanel and navigate to /wp-content/themes/your-theme-folder/.
In your current theme directory, create a new folder named ‘single’. Inside this folder, create a new file.single-cat-{category-slug}Make sure to replace {category-slug} with the actual slug of your category.
For instance, if you have a category named ‘News’, you would create a file calledsingle-cat-news.phpIf your category is ‘Travel Tips’, then you should create a template namedsingle-cat-travel-tips.php, and continue this pattern for other categories.
These template files will initially be empty. To get started, copy the contents of your single.php file from your theme directory and paste them into each of these new templates. After that, customize these templates according to your needs.
Once you have completed your changes, visit your website and view a post. It will utilize the template you created for the category to which this post belongs.
For example, if a post is assigned to both the News and Travel Tips categories, WordPress will automatically display the template for ‘News’ since it comes first alphabetically.
If you have assigned a post to a category without creating a specific template for that category, WordPress will revert to using the default single.php template from your theme.
How to Create Custom Single Post Templates for Individual Authors
Imagine you want the posts authored by a particular writer to have a unique appearance on your site. You can achieve this by utilizing code in the same way we demonstrated for categories.
Begin by adding the following code to your theme’s functions.php file or through a code snippets plugin.
/**
* Set a constant path to our custom single template directory
*/
define('SINGLE_PATH', TEMPLATEPATH . '/single'); /**
* Apply a filter to the single_template using our custom function
*/
add_filter('single_template', 'my_single_author_template'); /**
* Function to select the appropriate single template for authors
*/
function my_single_author_template($single) {
global $wp_query, $post; /**
* Check for a single template specific to the author
* Look up by user nicename and ID
*/
$curauth = get_userdata($wp_query->post->post_author); if(file_exists(SINGLE_PATH . '/single-author-' . $curauth->user_nicename . '.php'))
return SINGLE_PATH . '/single-author-' . $curauth->user_nicename . '.php'; elseif(file_exists(SINGLE_PATH . '/single-author-' . $curauth->ID . '.php'))
return SINGLE_PATH . '/single-author-' . $curauth->ID . '.php'; }
Next, connect to your website using FTP or the cPanel file manager, then navigate to /wp-content/themes/your-theme-folder/. If you haven’t created a folder named /single/ inside it yet, please do so now.
Within this folder, create a template file using the author’s username in the file name. For instance, single-author-johnsmith.php.
This template will initially be blank, so you can copy and paste the content from your theme’s single.php template to use as a foundation.
Now, you can visit your website to see a post authored by a specific individual, utilizing the template you just created.
We hope this article has guided you in creating custom single post templates in WordPress. You might also want to explore how to track visitors to your WordPress site or check out our list of essential WordPress plugins to enhance your website.
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