How to Use a Blog Module Inside a Category and/or Archive Page Template

The Divi Blog module is a powerful tool when it comes to creating category and archive pages. With a few simple settings, you can assign a template to any category or archive page without having to adjust the Blog module. In this article, we’ll look at how to use a Blog module inside a category or archive page template and assign it to any category or archive page.

Let’s get started.

What is a Category and/or Archive Page?

First, let’s define what we’re talking about.

An archive page displays posts that belong to a specific type of archive. These include the post author, category, date, and tag. It also works for each of the post types, such as projects.

A category page displays posts for a specific blog category. It’s a type of archive page.

Divi allows us to create templates for all of these archive pages. We can also create templates for specific archive pages using dynamic post options.

Specifying the Archive Page Content

Even though we can assign a template to an archive page, we still have to specify what the page will display. This is done within the Blog module within the template itself. The Blog module displays the feed based on our selections. We’ll look at the most efficient way to set up the Blog module so it can be used with any archive page.

Upload the Category Page Template

To follow along, you’ll need a Category page template. You can create it from scratch, or you can download one from the Elegant Themes blog. You can find lots of free category page templates in the Elegant Themes blog by searching for “free category page template”. Download the zipped file to your computer and unzip it. You’ll need to upload the JSON file.

For my examples, I’m using the free Category Page Template for Divi’s Software Layout Pack. Upload the category template by going to Divi > Theme Builder in the WordPress dashboard. Select Portability in the right corner, choose the Import tab and navigate to the JSON file on your computer. Select the file and click Import Divi Theme Builder Templates. Save your template.

Divi
Theme Builder
Portability
Import
Choose File
Import Divi Theme Builder Templates
Save

Assign the Category Page Template

The Category template is automatically set to All Category Pages. You can assign it to a specific archive or category pages by selecting the gear icon.

The Template Settings let us choose the posts that will display the template. we can choose All of a certain type of post or a specif post. For example, we can assign the template to all authors, or choose a specific author.

Adjusting the Category Page Template

Our template includes a Post Slider module and a Blog module. The Post Slider is part of the hero section, while the Blog module creates the blog feed.

I want to create them from scratch, so I’ve deleted the Post Slider module and Row, and the Blog module from my template. We’ll first build the template with a Blog module and then add the Post Slider later in order to create two versions of the layout.

Create the Category or Archive Template

First, we’ll add a Blog module. Select the gray icon and choose the Blog module from the options.

Content

First, enable Posts for Current Page. This allows the module to display the posts dynamically regardless of the page assignment. Next, set the Post Count to 8.

Posts for Current Page: Yes
Post Count: 8

Elements

Scroll down to Elements. Select to use the Featured Image, Read More Button, Categories, Excerpt, and Pagination. Disable the rest.

Featured Image: Yes
Read More Button: Yes
Categories: Yes
Excerpt: Yes
Pagination: Yes

Layout and Overlay

Go to the Design tab. Make sure Grid is selected for the Layout and disable the Overlay.

Layout: Grid
Overlay: Off

Title Text

Scroll to Title Text and select H2 for the Heading Level. Choose Archivo for the Font and set it to Bold. Set the Color to #222222.

Heading Level: H2
Font: Archivo
Weight: Bold
Color: #222222

Set the Size to 16px and the Line Height to 1.3em.

Size: 16px
Line height: 1.3em

Body Text

Scroll to Body Text and choose Archivo for the Font. Set the Color to black and the Line Height to 1.5em.

Font: Archivo
Color: #000000
Line Height: 1.5em

Meta Text

Scroll to Meta Text and choose Archivo for the Font. Set the Style to none and the Color to #544fff.

Font: Archivo
Style: None
Color: #544fff

Pagination Text

For the Pagination Text, choose Archivo for the Font and set it to Semi Bold and black.

Font: Archivo
Weight: Semi Bold
Color: #000000

Spacing

Scroll to Spacing and set the Top Margin to 0vw.

Top Margin: 0vw

Border

Go to Border and set the Rounded Corners to 0px.

Grid Layout Rounded Corners: 0px

Box Shadow

Scroll down to Box Shadow and choose the first option. Set the Vertical Position to 0px, the Blur Strength to 0px, the Spread Strength to 2px, and the Color to black.

Box Shadow: First
Vertical Position: 0px
Blur Strength: 0px
Spread Strength: 2px
Color: #000000

Custom CSS

Finally, we’ll add some CSS to the Read More Button to add some space between the text and the Read More Button. Go to the Advanced tab and scroll to the Read More Button Field and add this CSS:

margin-top: 10px !important;

display: block;

Now, save your settings and close the Theme Builder.

Category and Archive Page Results

Here’s how our Category Template looks when assigned to All Categories. The page displays dynamic content from me Education category. For my examples, I’ve changed my post count to 4 to keep the screenshots smaller and increased the size of the Meta Text to make them easier to see.

The pagination only works dynamically within this category. For the next image, I’ve selected the Older Entries and it still only shows entries in the Education category.

Only Category pages use this template. If I select an author’s name, tag, or date, I see the standard blog feed. Here’s my author page:

Now, let’s go back and change the assignment to Author Pages.

Now, when I view the author page, I see posts from multiple categories. The page even shows the dynamic content in the title. I made no adjustments inside the template itself. I’ve only changed the assignment.

Add the Hero Section to the Archive Page Template

Next, let’s add a hero section with a Blog Slider. It will display a few of the latest posts from the category or archive we assign the template to. Since both modules will display posts from the same category or archive, we don’t want them to overlap and show the same posts. We’ll need to make adjustments to both modules.

Add a Row

First, add a single-column Row under the Title.

Background

Go to the Background Settings and set the Background Color to rgba(255,255,255,0).

Background Color: rgba(255,255,255,0)

Sizing

Select the Design tab and enable Use Custom Gutter Width. Set the Width to 1.

Use Custom Gutter Width: Yes
Gutter Width: 1

Spacing

Scroll down to Spacing and set the Left and Right Padding to 20px.

Padding: Left, Right 20px

Border

Go to Border and set the Width to 2px and the Color to #01012c. Close the Row settings.

Border Width: 2px
Border Color: #01012c