How does the PostX WordPress Gutenberg Editor Plugin Work?
PostX is a Gutenberg Blocks builder that seamlessly integrates into WordPress and lets you build news magazine websites in minutes. It’s a lightweight plugin that’s got all the tools you need to build a blogging site on the go.
Simply put, this Gutenberg blocks plugin takes advantage of the in-built features like the Query Builder, Archive Builder, AJAX filtering and Pagination, etc. to offer a seamless experience to the user while building a website. Of course, the more the options the more room there is for creativity.
And that’s what the PostX Gutenberg Builder is all about!
Layouts and Ready blocks from PostX
It’s one of the main traits of the PostX WordPress Gutenberg Editor Plugin.
Yes, with many Gutenberg blocks plugin options out there, you get pre-made layout packs. And yes, in some cases, they may look better.
Here, PostX doesn’t take the conventional route of just giving you some layouts and ready-made blocks.
All PostX layouts and ready-made blocks are ready for heavy customization. If you feel like you need to change a design, then there’s plenty of customization features you can use. From the typography to the number of posts you want to show, everything is changeable with PostX.
So what’s the difference between the PostX ready-made blocks and the layout packs.
PostX ready-made blocks are chunks of post blocks with customization features. On the other hand, a couple of these ready-made blocks make a layout pack. Now do keep in mind that these layout packs do have different design patterns with custom blocks that have separate design customizations as well.
Now do keep in mind, there are certain limitations with the free version of the PostX blocks builder. You don’t get as many ready-made blocks or layout packs as PostX pro. So, though the free version of PostX is excellent to get started, you may want to consider the paid version of PostX for heavy commercial applications.
Choosing a ready-made block
As we’re trying to understand how the PostX WordPress Gutenberg Editor Plugin works, we’ll move ahead with live examples. So, we’ll choose a post block and show how to customize it further and use the Gutenberg builder.
To choose a ready-made block:
- Make sure you have PostX installed on your WordPress site (isn’t it obvious!). To do that, go to Plugins>Add New> Search “PostX”.
- Once it’s done Install and Activate the PostX plugin.
- Now, go to Pages>Add New.
- Now head on to the Block Editor.
- Once you click on it, you’ll have all the ready-made blocks and the layout packs ready.
- We’ll choose a post block and hit Import.
Now the block is ready to use. We’re now ready to use the PostX Gutenberg Blocks Plugin.
Exploring the Options
Once you add a Post Grid to your page (in our case it is Post Grid #3), you will meet several options to the right.
Under the Design tab, you’ll have options to check out other layout options from your page. If you’re a pro user of PostX, then you can truly take advantage of changing to different designs quickly.
The Advanced tab is all about adding additional CSS properties to your page or changing certain design properties like the margin, padding, box-shadow, etc. Here, you can also find the responsive settings which will help you further on.
The Settings tab is where all the magic happens.
General Settings
This setting can be different based on the ready-made design block or layout you’ll be using. The blocks builder we’re using has the option to change the number of columns, set the column gaps, and more. By using the slider, you can change the number to columns to show your posts. Also, here, you’re allowed to turn on/off different settings for the ready block.
We’ll be talking about some of the key features of the PostX WordPress Gutenberg Editor Plugin. So, we’ll take you through all the essential settings of this Gutenberg blocks plugin.
The Advanced Query Builder
The Advanced Query Builder of PostX lets you select and show particular posts to your audience based on taxonomy and other traits.
You have the option to show relevant posts based on popularity, the number of comments, published date, and more. There’s also the choice to show posts based on the names of the author.
What we’ll do is:
- We’ll set the Quick Query to Popular Posts as we’re trying to show the popular posts of all time.
- We’ll keep the Order by and Order Settings as is. They’ll show the posts in a descending order.
- We’ll set the Taxonomy Value to post_tag which will show the posts according to their tags.
There’s also an offset post option which you can use as well. You can use the slider and offset the number of posts easily. We’re keeping it as is for now.
Category Settings
With the category settings, you can easily show the category of your posts. Here, we will change the:
- Category Style to show it to the Right Border.
- Change the Category Position to “Over Image”.
We’ll leave all other settings to default for now. But we do want to mention the “Specific Color” feature, which takes the color of the category and adds it to the posts. It’s a paid feature of PostX.
Meta Settings
The PostX Gutenberg blocks plugin helps you to change the Meta Character Settings. Here we will:
- Change the Style to “With Icon” from the dropdown.
- Add a Slash separator from the dropdown.
- Show the “Author”, “Date” and “Meta”.
- Show the “Author Name” as the small meta.
With the PostX blocks builder, you’ll be able to see the changes to your right. This way, you can add or delete changes in real-time.
We’ll keep all the settings default. Now, we’ll move on to the next bit of the PostX Gutenberg builder, which is the post-filtering.
Filter Settings
Again, the Filter setting is one of the key features of the PostX blocks plugin. You can easily filter out specific posts to show to your audience.
As we’re trying to show the popular posts, we will:
- Change the “All Content Text” to “POPULAR CONTENT“.
- Choose the Filter Type to “Post_tag” from the dropdown.
- Keep the typography, dropdown and other settings to default.
From the menu, you’ll be able to find plenty of customization options to make the filtered posts look and feel better. And once you add the AJAX Pagination functionality to your page, things become more fluid for your readers.
AJAX Pagination
AJAX pagination is a popular feature of the PostX Gutenberg blocks plugin. It adds a sense of fluidity to the overall user experience.
So, in order to add pagination to your page block, you (in this case “We”) can do the following:
- Keep the Pagination type to Pagination.
- Change the Pagination Text to “Before|After”.
- Change the Pagination design to “Text and Arrow” from the dropdown.
- Keep the typgraphy and other settings as is.
You’ll now see a pagination feature added to your page. This helps the readers to move from one content section to the other, getting the feel for better navigation.
Read More
This is a setting of the PostX WordPress Gutenberg Editor Plugin that’s like a cherry on top. Users all over the globe appreciate this feature so that the reader can get a gist of the whole content before reading it through.
Here we’re going to:
- Change the “Read More” text to “More Inside”.
- Change the Icon Style to Angle from the dropdown.
- Change the Icon Size using the slider.
- Keep all other design settings default.
You can now see the change on your page to the right.
So, you see, editing a readymade block with PostX is super easy. And the best thing is, there are other settings you can play with like the Image, heading, excerpt, and what not to make your site page look cool. You can change the typography, box-shadow, border, background, and other design assets for these settings as well.
“But if you wish to save time, then just choose one of the layout packs and add it to the page. Each block in the layout is customizable. So you can bring design changes to the whole layout as well.”
PostX WordPress Gutenberg Editor Plugin: Advanced Features
Although most of the above-mentioned features are available with the PostX free tier of PostX, there are some advanced features that you will find only with the Paid tiers of PostX:
PostX Archive Page Builder Addon
WordPress users already know the importance of a WordPress Archive Builder. For this reason, PostX comes with an Archive Builder that can create specific archive pages for your WordPress news magazine blog. Once you create an archive page, you’ll be able to customize it to your heart’s content.
Of course, this will add value to your WordPress site in terms of Search Engine Optimization as well.
The PostX Archive Builder comes with shortcode support. All you have to do is build an archive page, the shortcode will be generated automatically. Then you can create a new page and place the shortcode, it’s as simple as that!
PostX SEO Meta Addon
The PostX SEO meta addon is the latest addition to the PostX blocks plugin. It lets you work with popular SEO plugins like:
- Yoast
- All-in-one SEO
- SEOPress
- RankMath
You can now use all these SEO plugins with the PostX SEO plugin addon. It’s super simple and doesn’t require too much effort to get started.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the PostX WordPress Gutenberg Editor Plugin has a lot of advantages. Not only do you have unlimited freedom (even with the free PostX plugin), you can be up and running with your magazine website in a matter of minutes.
Do check out PostX and all its features to see if it’s worth it.