How do I create ‘content blocks’?

If I’m understanding you correctly, you want both columns to be editable through the WordPress back-end? Meaning you want to edit content in the left column and populate the right column with blog posts — all through the WordPress edit page function?

The only idea I’d have is to look at some of the plugins that’ll split a page into two columns (search the repository for “column”), but I don’t know if you can then use the Blog Summary plugin only for the right column.

If there’s no way to do that, the only thing I know to do is construct the page using standard CSS methods. A div for the right and left, the content on the left can be edited through the WordPress edit page function, then you can populate the right div using a query posts function, I think.

Yeah that’s right. Whats a ‘query posts function’ – does that require php knowledge?

I’m still getting my head around it…. is there a way to have latest blog post as a widget in the sidebar?

I’ve not tried widgets yet I’m just getting round to it now.

https://codex.www.ads-software.com/The_Loop#Multiple_Loops

I’ve been creating two sites using custom content blocks this week. I use “posts” to create the content for the given blocks and then assign categories just for those items. Then I create a custom page template with divs that call up just only post(s) created with the specific category IDs.

<?php $posts = get_posts( "category=10&amp;numberposts=1" ); ?>

The above is an example of a content block’s code. It says “get the posts from category 10 and only show the latest one”.

As for the regular blog page, it has an exclusion written into the top of the content above “the loop” which tells the blog page to only pick up posts with certain categories. (Read here: https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Template_Tags/query_posts to learn how to do this)

Good solution DavidBorrink.

@ loxley – It’s going to require a bit of CSS and PHP coding to get this to work pretty much any way you slice it. But it’s nothing you couldn’t do after some study of the codex pages. Actually, the CSS might be the hardest part. ??

Good evening DavidBorrink – I have looked into this issue and really like your solution unfortunately I cannot seem to get it to work. I have created a post, then created a category (homeblock1), and assigned the post to that category. Then in my custom template I have a “banner box” where I want the content from said post to display. Maybe I mistyped something? Syntax error? The code from my template is below. Any help appreciated in advance!

‘<div class=”grid_4″ id=”bucket_green”>
<?php $posts = get_posts( “category=homeblock1&numberposts=1” ); ?>
</div>’

Thanks-Sunny

Just a note: I used the proper ampersand code but when I posted my post before, it converted it to an actual ampersand

Hi all,
I don’t know if it’s too late to add to this thread. I am trying to do a similar thing: create two columns on one page, and I’d like both to be editable. I am relatively new to WordPress. I don’t want the second column to generate the info dynamically from the posts, but rather I’d like to be able to update the information manually.

Basically it’s the home page and the left (wider) column will have mostly static information, but the narrow right column (my sidebar is on the left) will have a few short blurbs with photos outlining recent projects. These ideally will be linkable to additional pages inside the site. Is this possible? Any suggestions for how to accomplish it?

Thanks!

PS: I am well versed in CSS, and getting better at PHP; one additional problem is that the client has a specific wordpress hosting package that doesn’t allow me ftp access to the site so it all has to be done through the wordpress admin panel.