Adding a blog

  • Resolved lauradeacon

    (@lauradeacon)


    1 week, 5 days ago

    Hi Tyler, I’m the Laura who recently commented on your YouTube video, which I found very helpful. I wondered if you could help me! I took your advice about the blog and portfolio page, but I don’t think I’m doing it right.

    I have added a new page, called it ‘Blog’, and used the Super Blank template called Resources/Downloads. I couldn’t see one for a blog, and when I put the ‘Blog’ page onto the posts section of Menus>Reading, the template from Super Blank vanished and just showed the example post I made. It had no option for editing with Elementor, had very basic formatting and I can’t find a way to add a heading or images like an Elementor page. It just stands alone on the page. I edited with WordPress editor but nothing changed on the live page.

    The links on the template for ‘download’ could be linked to a PDF, I thought. But is there a way for me to upload posts and show them on the blog and portfolio pages? (I’m looking to have the portfolio page to have the same post format as the blog page.) Should I cancel Super Blank and use another plugin to have services, blog and portfolio?

    Thanks for your time and help – it’s much appreciated.

    Laura

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Plugin Author Tyler Moore

    (@conutant)

    Hello Laura,

    It’s great to hear you found the video helpful!
    Here’s a step-by-step approach to follow — take it one step at a time.

    1?? Setting Up Your Blog Page

    The Super Blank plugin doesn’t include a blog template because the blog setup happens in Astra. Here’s how to do it:

    ? Create Your Blog Page:

    1. In your WordPress Dashboard, go to Pages → Add New.
    2. Name it Blog and click Publish (no need to add any content).

    ? Set It as Your Blog Page:

    1. Go to Settings → Reading in your dashboard.
    2. Under Your homepage displays, set the Posts page to your new Blog page.
    3. Click Save Changes.

    ? Start Posting!

    1. Go to Posts → Add New and create your first blog post.
    2. Add categories to organize your posts.
    3. Once you publish a post, it will automatically appear on your Blog page.

    ?? Here’s a part of tutorial on how to add blog posts

    2?? Customizing Your Blog Layout

    If you tried editing your Blog page with Elementor but didn’t see any options, don’t worry—that’s normal! To customize your blog’s look:

    1. Go to Appearance → Customize → Blog.
    2. Adjust settings like post layout, featured images, and colors.

    3?? Adding Download Links in Super Blank (Done in Elementor)

    Since the Super Blank template is built with Elementor, you’ll add the download link directly in the Elementor editor. Here’s how:

    ? Upload Your PDF:

    1. In your WordPress Dashboard, go to Media → Add New.
    2. Upload your PDF file (make sure it’s not too large—use an online tool to reduce size if needed).
    3. Click on the uploaded file and copy the “File URL” from the right-hand side.

    ? Add It to a Button in Elementor:

    1. Open your page editor in Elementor.
    2. Find the button you want to use for the download link.
    3. Click on the button, then paste the PDF link into the URL field.
    4. Click the gear icon ?? and check “Open in new tab”.

    That’s it! Now when someone clicks the button, the PDF will open in a new tab.

    4?? Displaying Posts on Blog & Portfolio Pages

    ?? Before setting up the Portfolio page, make sure you have at least a few test blog posts with:

    • Featured images
    • Categories

    ? Create Portfolio Posts:

    1. When adding a blog post, create a new category called Portfolio.
    2. Assign all your portfolio posts to this category.

    ? Find Your Portfolio Page:
    Once you add posts under the Portfolio category, they will automatically appear on:
    ?? https://yourwebsite.com/category/portfolio/

    ? Add It to Your Menu:

    1. Go to Appearance → Menus.
    2. Find your Portfolio category page and add it to the menu.
    3. Click Save Menu.

    Now, when visitors click Portfolio, they’ll see all the posts you added under that category.

    5?? Should You Stop Using Super Blank?

    Yes, you can use other plugins, but the questions you asked are mostly about Astra and Elementor — so you might not even need another plugin.

    I’ve gone over how to use other plugins in my other tutorials.

    Thread Starter lauradeacon

    (@lauradeacon)

    Thanks so much for all the detail! That all worked so I’m very happy.

    Is there a way to change the portfolio URL from diamondcopy.co.uk/category/portfolio to just diamondcopy.co.uk/portfolio? Or not possible?

    Also, how do I exclude portfolio category posts appearing on the blog page? I’d just like blog category posts on the blog page.

    Plugin Author Tyler Moore

    (@conutant)

    Glad to hear everything worked!

    Yes, you can add these features using plugins.

    • To change the portfolio URL, you can use Yoast SEO or similar permalink plugins.
    • To exclude portfolio category posts from the blog page, there are plugins available for that as well.

    Just a reminder — always backup your site before installing new plugins or making major changes.

    Thread Starter lauradeacon

    (@lauradeacon)

    Ok thanks so much!

    Much appreciated.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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