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To add posts to a WordPress sidebar, edit the active theme’s sidebar template area and insert a Latest Posts block for recent articles or a Query Loop for more control. If you need to flag specific posts as featured regardless of date, use a featured-post tool such as the Featured List block or widget described by the Post Type Spotlight plugin. These methods select posts differently, so choose the one that matches how you want editors to manage the list.
Choose how posts should be selected
| What you want | Use | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Show the newest posts | Latest Posts block | It is designed for recent posts, with ordering and display controls. |
| Filter posts and customize each displayed item | Query Loop with a Custom query | It offers more query and layout controls, but takes more setup. |
| Let editors mark particular posts as featured | Post Type Spotlight Featured List block or widget | It adds a plugin and a separate featured-selection workflow. Check its current maintenance and compatibility before installing. |
“Recent,” “sticky,” and “featured” are not interchangeable. Latest Posts selects recent posts; sticky-post settings control sticky posts; a featured-post plugin can provide an explicit flag for choosing arbitrary posts.
Find the sidebar in your active theme
In a block theme, edit the relevant template or template part in the Site Editor and work in the block area that provides the sidebar. The exact route and available areas vary by theme, so there is no single menu path that applies to every WordPress site. Classic themes and block themes also use different editing workflows.
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If you cannot find a sidebar area, check the active theme’s templates and template parts before adding blocks elsewhere. A block placed in the wrong template will not appear beside the site’s posts.
Add a Latest Posts block for a simple recent-post list
- Open the active theme’s sidebar template area in the editor used by that theme.
- Insert a Latest Posts block where you want the list to appear.
- Set the ordering and display options you need. The block supports controls for ordering, featured images, excerpts, and author or date information.
- Save the template or template part, then view a published page that uses it to check the sidebar.
This is the most direct choice when “featured” means “show visitors some recent posts,” rather than “show only posts selected by an editor.”
Use Query Loop when you need more control
The Query Loop block displays posts that match specified parameters. Its Post Template contains the blocks repeated for each result, letting you control the content and layout of each sidebar item.
- In the sidebar’s template area, insert a Query Loop block and choose a starting layout.
- Change Query Type from Default to Custom to expose query settings.
- Set the post type, ordering, sticky-post behavior, filters, and number of items to suit the list.
- In the Post Template, add a post title and, if useful in the available sidebar width, an excerpt or featured image.
- Add a No Results section with a short message if the query or featured selection could return nothing.
- Save and inspect a published page to confirm the results and layout.
The sticky-post control is not a general-purpose way to mark arbitrary posts as featured. Use it only when sticky-post behavior is what you want.
Show explicitly selected featured posts
If editors need to designate particular posts as featured independently of publication date, the WordPress.org listing for the Post Type Spotlight plugin describes a Featured List block and a widget. The block offers the options Only featured, Featured first, and Exclude featured. This gives editors an explicit selection model rather than relying on recency or sticky status.
Check the current plugin listing for maintenance and compatibility with your WordPress version and theme before installing. After adding the block or widget to the sidebar area, configure its featured-post behavior and test the result on a published page.
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A post’s featured image is set in that post’s settings sidebar, but whether a theme uses featured images can vary. In a Query Loop layout, add a Post Featured Image block when you want an image to appear; its Link to post control can make the image clickable. Check the title and image link settings in the blocks you add rather than assuming every item links automatically.
Keep the repeated layout compact enough for the sidebar. A title alone is often easier to scan than a long excerpt and large image; preview the published page at the widths your visitors use.
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Check the finished sidebar
- Confirm the intended posts appear and are selected by the behavior you chose.
- Check that titles and images navigate to the correct posts.
- Make sure the layout fits the sidebar without crowding other content.
- Verify the no-results message if the list can be empty.
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