The simplest way to add featured posts in a modern WordPress block theme is a Query Loop block on your homepage or the template that should contain the section. Set the loop to a custom query, decide whether “featured” means sticky posts, a category or tag, or an explicit featured flag, and then build the repeated Post Template with a linked Featured Image, title, excerpt and any metadata you want.
Antihost offers managed WordPress hosting with free migration, one-click staging and a 14-day free trial.
You do not need a plugin for most sites. Sticky Posts, taxonomy filters and a manually linked section are available through WordPress itself. A plugin becomes useful when editors need a separate featured switch, or when the section must query a custom post type.
What “featured posts” means in WordPress
WordPress does not have one universal Featured Posts switch in the core editor. You first choose how the site will identify a post as featured, then you use a display method that reads that choice.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →- Sticky Posts: the built-in priority mechanism. It is appropriate when “featured” means “place these selected posts ahead of ordinary posts.”
- Category or tag: a visible, reusable editorial label such as Featured. A Query Loop can filter by that term.
- Explicit plugin flag: a plugin can add a dedicated featured field, useful for clear on/off control or custom post types.
- Manual selection: a Group, Columns or Cover section can contain a small number of hand-picked linked cards. This is best for a permanent hero area that should not change automatically.
For a block theme, the display layer is normally a Query Loop. WordPress describes this as “an advanced block that allows you to display posts based on specified parameters, like a PHP loop without the code.” The loop determines which posts appear; its nested Post Template determines how every result is rendered.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Choose the right method before you edit the homepage
| Approach | Best for | How posts are selected | Custom post types | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Query Loop with core blocks | Block themes and no-code layouts | Sticky setting, taxonomy filters and query parameters | Available when the post type is public, queryable and supported by the block | You must understand the nested Post Template and query controls |
| Sticky Posts in a classic theme | Existing classic themes that already prioritize sticky content | WordPress’s built-in Sticky designation | Depends on the theme’s loop and custom development | The location and styling are controlled by the theme |
| Category or tag filter | Teams that want a shared editorial label | A chosen category or tag, such as Featured | Only if the taxonomy is registered for that post type and exposed to the query | Editors must apply the term consistently |
| Post Type Spotlight | Explicit featured flags or supported custom post types | Its featured flag, with “Only featured” or “Featured first” modes | Can extend the concept to supported custom post types | Adds third-party software that must be maintained |
| Manual linked section | One or two permanent stories in a hero area | You choose each post and link it yourself | Any content with a usable URL | It does not update dynamically when a new story is published |
If your site uses a block theme and you want a section that updates itself, start with Query Loop plus either Sticky Posts or a taxonomy filter. Use a manual section when the list is intentionally short and art-directed. Add a plugin only when the built-in choices do not express your editorial workflow.
How to add featured posts with a Query Loop in a block theme
The following procedure works in the Site Editor and in templates that expose block editing. Exact panel names can vary slightly by WordPress version and theme, but the block names and sequence are the same.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
- Open the place where the section belongs. Go to the Site Editor and open the homepage, the front-page template, or the template part used for the section. If the homepage is a regular Page rather than a template, edit that page instead.
- Insert Query Loop. Open the block inserter and search for Query Loop, or type
/query loopin an empty block. - Choose a starting layout. Select a pattern for a ready-made card layout, or choose Start blank when you need to control every nested block.
- Expose the full query controls. Select the Query Loop. If the sidebar only shows basic choices, change Query Type to Custom. Custom mode exposes controls for the post type, order, number of posts, sticky behavior and taxonomy filters.
- Set the content query. Choose the post type, ordering and the number of posts to show. Add a category or tag filter if that is how your site identifies featured stories. Decide how sticky posts should be handled rather than leaving a setting that conflicts with your editorial rule.
- Edit the repeated card. Select the nested Post Template. Add or arrange Post Featured Image, Post Title, Post Excerpt, Post Date, Post Author, Post Categories, Post Tags and Read More as needed. Every block inside Post Template repeats for each result.
- Make the image and title links. Select the nested Post Featured Image block and turn on Link to post. Select the title block and enable Make title a link. A pattern may enable these options automatically, so verify them instead of assuming the card is clickable.
- Choose list or grid presentation. Select the Post Template and choose a List or Grid arrangement. Adjust the gap, width, colors, image aspect ratio, typography and other block styles in the sidebar.
- Preview and save. Check the section at desktop and mobile widths, confirm that each card points to the expected post, and save the page or template.
What belongs inside the Post Template
The Post Template is the part that makes a Query Loop useful. A regular Image block placed outside it will show one fixed image for the entire section; a Post Featured Image block inside it retrieves the featured image for each individual result. WordPress’s documentation defines the Post Featured Image block as the block used “to display the featured image of a post.”
#1 Best Overall
A practical card usually contains the image, title and excerpt. Add the date or author when recency or attribution matters. Categories and tags can help readers understand the subject, but displaying every taxonomy term can make a compact grid noisy. A Read More block is optional if the image and title already link to the post.
How many posts should the loop show?
Set the item count to match the space available rather than treating the number as a universal best practice. A narrow hero may need one result, while a three-column row may need three or six. Remember that sticky behavior interacts with the limit: if the loop is restricted to a small number of posts, including sticky posts or showing them first can change which ordinary posts are pushed out.
Decide which posts are featured
Use Sticky Posts when priority is the definition
Sticky Posts are WordPress’s built-in way to prioritize selected posts. Marking a post sticky does not create a separate copy or move the post permanently; it gives the query a signal that the post should receive special treatment. In a Query Loop, the Sticky posts setting can include sticky posts, exclude them, ignore their special status, or place them first, depending on the controls exposed by the theme and WordPress version.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Sticky is a good fit for a newsroom-style homepage where an editor periodically promotes a few current stories. It is less suitable when “featured” is a permanent subject label, because a sticky designation is easy to forget after a campaign ends. Review sticky posts whenever the homepage looks stale.
Use a category or tag for a visible editorial label
Create a category or tag named Featured, or use a more specific term such as Editors’ picks. Apply it to each post that belongs in the section, then set the Query Loop’s category or tag filter to that term. This approach makes the selection visible in the post editor and can be reused by other loops, archive pages or navigation.
Taxonomy selection is only reliable when the team applies the term consistently. Decide whether the term is temporary, campaign-based or permanent, and remove it when a post should leave the section. If the filter returns nothing, verify that the term is attached to published posts of the same post type being queried.
Use an explicit featured flag when editors need a separate switch
A plugin such as Post Type Spotlight can add a dedicated featured flag and a Featured List block. Its documented modes include Only featured, which excludes unflagged items, and Featured first, which prioritizes flagged items before the rest. This can be clearer than overloading a category or the sticky setting, especially when a custom post type needs the same workflow.
Recommended Free Tools
Plugins add maintenance responsibility. Before relying on one for a production homepage, check that it is actively maintained, compatible with the WordPress version you run, and able to query the post type and taxonomies you need. If the plugin is deactivated, its block or metadata may no longer produce the expected section, so keep a fallback plan.
Use a manual section for a deliberately fixed selection
For one or two permanent stories, insert a Group, Columns or Cover block and build linked cards manually. This avoids query configuration and gives you exact control over the hero image, copy and order. The cost is editorial: the section will not change when a new post is published, and someone must update each link when the campaign or priority changes.
How to feature posts on a homepage without changing every archive
A Query Loop placed in the homepage template affects the homepage section only. It does not automatically alter category archives, search results or the site’s main blog index unless those views use the same template part or query configuration.
Rank #3
When editing a block theme, identify whether the homepage is a static front page, a home template, or a reusable template part. Place the loop at the level that matches the intended scope:
- Homepage-only section: add the loop to the front-page template or the homepage page content.
- Reusable section: add it to a template part if the same featured area should appear in multiple templates.
- Archive-specific promotion: edit the relevant archive template and apply a query that makes sense for that archive’s context.
After saving, visit the public page in a logged-out window or a private browser tab. Caching can make an old version appear temporarily, so clear the site or browser cache if the editor preview and public page disagree.
How to use Sticky Posts with a classic theme
Classic themes do not use the Site Editor’s block-template workflow. Open the post editing interface, mark the post as Sticky using the post’s status or visibility controls, and update the post. The exact label and location depend on the WordPress version and the theme’s editor experience.
The theme’s home or archive loop then decides what to do with that designation. Some themes automatically place sticky posts first; others style them differently or make no visible distinction. If the theme does not provide the desired section, a developer must customize the loop with WP_Query and the sticky-post IDs returned from WordPress’s get_option('sticky_posts') value. The developer handbook documents the include and exclude patterns.
Because placement and styling belong to the theme, two classic themes can produce very different results from the same sticky setting. Test the homepage, blog index, pagination and mobile layout after changing the theme or its loop.
Query Loop settings that most often change the result
Post type
The default query usually targets standard Posts. If you intend to show a custom post type, select it explicitly when the Query Loop offers it. The type must be public and queryable, and the block or plugin must support it. A private, admin-only or otherwise non-queryable type will not appear simply because it exists in the dashboard.
Order and order-by field
Choose the ordering that matches the editorial purpose: newest first for a current feed, oldest first for a sequence, or another available field when the theme exposes it. Do not assume that marking a post sticky changes every ordering rule; sticky behavior is a separate setting and can interact with the item limit.
Sticky-post behavior
Read the available choices literally. Include allows sticky posts in the results, Exclude removes them, and Ignore treats them like ordinary posts. A separate “show sticky first” behavior, when available, promotes them without necessarily excluding non-sticky posts. The result depends on the number of posts requested and any other filters.
Category and tag filters
A taxonomy filter narrows the query before the cards are rendered. If a post lacks the selected term, it will not appear even when it is published and has a featured image. Multiple filters can make the result set unexpectedly small, so add them one at a time while configuring the section.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Comparison: which featured-post approach fits your site?
| Question | Query Loop plus core blocks | Sticky Posts | Category or tag | Plugin flag | Manual cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needs a plugin? | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Updates automatically? | Yes, when the query matches | Yes, through the theme or loop | Yes, through the taxonomy filter | Yes, through the plugin block or query | No |
| Selection is visible to editors? | Depends on the chosen filter | As a Sticky status | As a category or tag | As a dedicated flag | Only in the page layout |
| Supports explicit “only these” mode? | With a matching filter | With sticky-only behavior where available | Yes, by filtering to the term | Yes, with “Only featured” | Yes |
| Supports “featured first” mode? | With sticky-first or suitable ordering | Yes, when the loop supports it | Not by taxonomy alone; the query needs ordering logic | Yes, with “Featured first” | Yes, because you set the order |
| Best for custom post types? | When the type is public, queryable and supported | Depends on the theme and custom loop | When the taxonomy is registered for that type | When the plugin supports that type | Any content with a link |
Troubleshoot a featured-post section that is not working
Nothing appears
- Confirm that at least one matching item is published, not a draft, scheduled post or private item.
- Check the selected post type. A loop set to Posts will not return a custom post type.
- Remove category and tag filters temporarily. A term mismatch can exclude every result.
- Review the sticky setting. Exclude or Ignore may remove the posts you expected to see.
- If a plugin supplies the block, confirm that the plugin is active and that its query supports the selected type.
The image is visible but not clickable
Select the nested Post Featured Image block inside Post Template and enable Link to post. A regular Image block, or a featured-image block outside the repeated template, will not automatically link each result.
The title is not clickable
Select the nested Post Title block and enable Make title a link. Also check that the title block is inside Post Template; a static Heading block cannot know which post URL belongs to each card.
Every card shows the same image
Delete the fixed Image block if it sits outside the loop and insert Post Featured Image inside Post Template. Then verify that each source post actually has its own featured image. A dynamic block can only display data that exists on the post.
Sticky posts appear in an unexpected order
Inspect the Sticky posts setting, the order-by choice and the number of posts per page together. Include, Exclude and Ignore produce different result sets, and a small limit can push ordinary posts out when sticky items are promoted.
A custom post type or plugin block is missing
Check that the plugin is active, the post type is public and queryable, and the block or query supports it. A post type registered only for administration, or a taxonomy not registered for that type, will not be available as a front-end filter.
The layout breaks on a phone
Switch the Post Template between Grid and List, reduce the column count, and check image aspect ratio and spacing at a narrow width. Preview both the editor and the published page; a theme’s responsive rules can change the final appearance.
Accessibility, links and editorial maintenance
Use descriptive post titles and make sure every featured post has a meaningful featured image when the design depends on imagery. Keep the title and image links consistent so keyboard and touch users have an obvious route to the article. If you include a Read More control, use the post title or another specific label rather than a row of identical, context-free links.
Assign responsibility for the selection method. With Sticky Posts, decide when a promotion ends. With a Featured category or tag, document who applies and removes the term. With a plugin flag, include the flag in the publishing checklist and monitor plugin updates. With manual cards, schedule a review because the links will not refresh automatically.
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallOutdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match- Verify that the query still returns the intended number of published posts.
- Remove expired sticky status or taxonomy terms.
- Check that image and title links still point to the correct posts.
- Review the section after theme, plugin or WordPress updates.
- Test desktop and mobile layouts whenever card content or column settings change.
Do featured posts improve traffic or conversions?
There is no authoritative, general performance figure establishing that a WordPress featured-post section increases traffic or conversions by a particular percentage. The feature controls visibility and ordering; its business effect depends on the stories selected, the audience, the layout and the surrounding site experience. Measure your own results if that outcome matters, rather than treating “featured” as a guaranteed uplift.
Quick Recap
Recommended setup for most sites
For a block theme, create a Query Loop in the homepage or front-page template, switch it to Custom, filter it by a carefully maintained Featured category or tag, and use a Grid Post Template containing a linked Post Featured Image, linked title, excerpt and date. Choose Sticky Posts instead when priority—not a permanent label—is the editorial meaning. Reserve a plugin for explicit flags or custom post types that the core controls cannot express, and use a manual section when only a very small, intentionally fixed selection is required.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
