You can build a polished, archive-style content hub in WPBakery by combining a normal WordPress Page, reusable Grid Builder card, and separate Post Grid queries. The result can include a heading, search, category navigation, featured posts, and topic-based sections without editing theme PHP.
There is one important limit: this Page does not automatically replace WordPress’s native category, tag, author, or date archive templates. Those URLs continue to use the active theme’s template hierarchy. Treat the WPBakery design as a curated landing page, and configure native archive templates separately if you need every archive URL to share the same layout.
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What you are building
The workflow documented by WPBakery on August 13, 2026 creates a normal Page that behaves like an editorial archive. A typical structure is:
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- A search field and category links.
- A two-column featured grid containing two selected posts.
- One or more topic sections, each with a heading, a link to its category archive, and a three-column grid.
That arrangement is an example rather than a fixed template. You can change the number of sections, columns, posts, spacing, and query rules while keeping the same reusable card design.
Prepare your content and environment
Confirm that published posts exist
Create or publish enough realistic posts to fill the featured and topic sections before judging the design. On a staging site, sample content should include different title lengths, excerpts, dates, category combinations, and featured-image dimensions. Empty grids and identical placeholder images conceal alignment and responsive problems.
Check your WPBakery version
The labels in WPBakery can vary by release. The tutorial’s interface is documented for WPBakery 9.0 or later, so use the closest equivalent control when your installation displays different wording. The official content-elements documentation lists Post Grid controls and notes that some options appear only for particular data sources or display styles.
Decide whether this is a landing page or a true archive replacement
Use this method when you want a branded “Blog,” “Resources,” or campaign-style page with deliberately selected sections. Do not assume it changes URLs such as /category/news/, tag archives, author archives, or date archives. Those routes remain governed by the active theme unless you deliberately modify the theme or use a separate archive-templating system.
Create the page and its header
- In WordPress, open Pages → Add New.
- Enter a title such as Blog or Resources, then launch WPBakery Page Builder.
- Add a row and a column for the page heading and a concise description of what readers will find.
- Use one H1 for the page name. Reserve H2 headings for content sections and H3 headings for individual post titles inside cards, adjusting the hierarchy if your theme already outputs a page title.
Keep the description useful: explain the topics, publishing focus, or update frequency instead of repeating the page title. A short introduction gives search engines and assistive-technology users context before the grids begin.
Add search and category navigation
Configure the search form
You can insert a standard WordPress search form through a Raw HTML element or use a search element supplied by your theme or an addon. The form must submit a value named s to the WordPress home URL so WordPress can process a normal site search. In Raw HTML, verify that the form uses method='get', its text input has name='s', and its action points to the site’s actual home URL rather than a hard-coded staging address.
Test the form on the front end with a term that appears in a published post. Confirm that the resulting URL and search-results template work on both desktop and mobile; do not assume the editor canvas proves the form is correctly wired.
Use category links as navigation
Add text links or buttons that point to your category archive URLs. These are navigation links, not necessarily live filters that redraw the current grid. Clicking one normally takes the visitor to a different category archive route, where the theme’s archive template controls the presentation.
Build one reusable post-card template
Open Grid Builder
Add a Post Grid element and use its item-template control to open Grid Builder, or open Grid Builder from the WPBakery dashboard menu. Start with a predefined design or create a template from scratch, then give it a descriptive name such as Archive card. The official Grid Builder guide explains the template workflow.
Assemble the card
A practical card contains these elements in order:
- A featured image linked to the post.
- The publication date.
- A linked post title.
- A short excerpt.
- Linked post categories.
Use a consistent image ratio or fixed visual height so cards align when source uploads have different dimensions. Keep the title link and image link obvious, and check color contrast for metadata and category labels.
Understand card states and reuse
Grid Builder separates the Normal card state from Hover and Additional areas. Normal is the default appearance. Hover is used when an animation preset defines a hover state, while Additional can place content around those areas. Save the template once and select it in every Post Grid that should share the design. Editing the saved template updates cards that use it, which lets you fix typography, spacing, or image treatment centrally.
Configure the featured Post Grid
- Add a new row beneath the header and insert a Post Grid element.
- Select an individual-post or list-of-IDs source so you can choose the two articles that deserve featured placement.
- Include the two selected posts.
- Set the layout to two items per row and choose the gap and display options that match your page design.
- Select the saved Grid Builder item template.
- Save the element, update the Page, and inspect the front end.
The exact labels depend on your WPBakery version. The broader Post Grid documentation lists controls for data source, category, tag and custom-taxonomy narrowing, total items, display style, filters, columns, gaps, included posts, custom query, items per page, order, sorting, offset, exclusions, and item template: Post Grid content-element documentation.
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For a hand-picked feature area, an individual-post or IDs source is preferable to a date-sorted query because it keeps the editorial selection stable until you intentionally change it.
Add a category section and its second grid
- Add another row below the featured grid.
- Insert an H2 heading naming the topic.
- Add a button or text link to that topic’s category archive URL.
- Place a second Post Grid underneath.
- Reuse the saved card template.
- Select posts as the source, narrow the query by the chosen category, set the total to three posts, and set three columns.
The two grids can use different queries while sharing one card design. Repeat this row for additional topics, changing only the heading, archive link, category restriction, number of posts, or column setting as needed. If a category contains fewer published posts than the requested total, the grid can display fewer cards; add enough content before evaluating spacing and balance.
Know which Post Grid controls matter
| Control | What it changes | Typical use in this layout |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | Where the grid obtains posts | Individual posts for the featured area; posts plus category narrowing for topic sections |
| Included posts | The specific posts returned by an individual-post or IDs query | Choose the two feature articles |
| Category, tag, or custom taxonomy | Restricts results to matching terms | Keep a topic grid focused on one category |
| Total items | Limits how many posts the grid returns | Two featured posts or three topic posts |
| Columns | Controls items per row at the selected breakpoint or style | Two columns for features and three for a topic row |
| Items per page | Controls page-sized result batches where the selected display supports it | Consider it when a section needs pagination |
| Order, sorting, offset, and exclusions | Changes sequence or removes posts from a query | Prevent duplicates or control recency in larger sections |
| Item template | Selects the Grid Builder card appearance | Apply the same saved card to both grids |
Controls can appear or disappear according to the selected source and display style. Configure the source first, then review the remaining options rather than searching for every setting in advance.
Style the page without breaking the card system
Use page-specific CSS or an element-level extra class for details such as search-field borders, category-button styling, image corners, section spacing, and card typography. Scope selectors to the page or class so you do not unintentionally change unrelated Post Grid elements elsewhere on the site.
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- Leave enough vertical space for long titles and excerpts.
- Make linked text visibly distinct from ordinary metadata.
- Keep focus states visible for keyboard users.
- Check that category links remain readable against their background.
Do not rely on the WPBakery editor view alone. Preview the published front end after each significant update.
Make the layout responsive
Check the page at desktop and mobile widths. The feature grid should reduce from two columns to one, while the three-column topic grid should stack cleanly. Confirm all of the following:
- The heading and description do not overflow.
- The search field is usable with a phone keyboard.
- Category links wrap or stack without collisions.
- Images retain their intended crop.
- Titles and excerpts do not create uneven, broken cards.
- Buttons and links have a tap-friendly target.
If the breakpoint controls in your WPBakery installation differ from the tutorial, use the responsive settings exposed by your version and verify the result on an actual narrow viewport.
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Optional PostX template route
PostX is optional; the native WPBakery rows, Post Grid, Grid Builder, and CSS workflow is sufficient for the page described above. Choose the alternate route only when your site already uses PostX or you specifically want its saved-template workflow.
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- Enable its Saved Templates and WPBakery Page Builder addons.
- Create and publish a PostX saved template.
- In WPBakery, add a PostX Template element.
- Select the saved PostX template and place it where the section belongs.
This introduces another plugin and template system, so it is less direct when you only need a few WPBakery grids. The tutorial’s PostX instructions are included in WPBakery’s archive-page guide.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Pagination, query behavior, and common failures
The wrong posts appear
Recheck the data source, included-post list, category restriction, exclusions, offset, and sorting order. A reused card template changes appearance, not which posts the query returns.
A category section is empty
Confirm that the category has published posts and that the query is not excluding them. Drafts, scheduled posts, and posts assigned only to a different term will not provide visible cards.
Cards have uneven rows
Normalize featured-image dimensions, constrain image height, and allow enough space for long titles. Do not hide titles merely to force equal height; readable content is more important than perfectly uniform boxes.
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Inspect the front-end form. The input must be named s, the method should be GET, and the action must target the WordPress home URL. Test from the published page, not only inside the builder.
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Pagination is unavailable
Pagination depends on the selected Post Grid display style and its available controls. Review the Items per page, total-items, and display-style settings after choosing the data source. If the selected style does not expose pagination, use a layout that does or keep the section intentionally limited rather than promising visitors more pages.
The editor looks correct but the live page does not
Update the Page, clear any page or cache-layer cache, and inspect the front end at desktop and mobile widths. Theme CSS, optimization plugins, and breakpoint rules can alter the published result.
Licensing and optional monetization
WPBakery is the directly relevant software for this workflow. On October 13, 2026, its official license page listed a one-site lifetime license at $82 USD, five-site and ten-site lifetime plans, one year of support, and a 15-day refund policy. Prices and included benefits can change, so verify the current offer on the official license page before publishing a purchase recommendation.
WPBakery’s affiliate page invites publishers to apply and says qualifying applicants will be notified. It does not publish commission, cookie, tracking, or payout terms. Do not promise acceptance or a particular commission; obtain the current terms directly if you apply.
Final launch checklist
- Published posts fill every planned grid.
- The page has one clear H1 and logical H2/H3 headings.
- The search form submits
sto the WordPress home URL. - Category links point to the intended archive URLs and are labeled as navigation.
- The featured query returns the selected two posts.
- Topic queries return the intended category posts.
- Both grids use the saved Grid Builder card.
- Images, titles, dates, excerpts, and category links are readable and clickable.
- Two-column features collapse to one column on small screens.
- Three-column topic grids stack without overlap.
- The published front end has been tested after updates.
- You have documented that this Page does not replace native category, tag, author, or date templates.
Which implementation route should you choose?
| Route | Best fit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Native WPBakery Post Grid plus Grid Builder | Most sites building the archive-style landing page from WPBakery rows | Requires you to configure the card and each query directly |
| PostX saved template embedded in WPBakery | A site that already uses PostX or wants its premade template workflow | Adds PostX and its WPBakery addons to the setup |
For the described page, the native route provides the clearest control over post selection, category queries, columns, and the shared card template. Use the optional route only when its additional template system solves a specific need.
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