Post Poster WordPress Plugin

A powerful WordPress plugin that lets you create layout grids from existing blog posts with customizable shortcodes and grid options. Display your posts in beautiful, responsive grid layouts with full control over appearance and content.

Features

• Flexible Grid Layouts: 1-4 column responsive grids
• Smart Content Selection: Filter by categories, order by date/title/popularity
• Customizable Display: Toggle images, titles, excerpts with adjustable length
• Multiple Image Ratios: 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, or auto
• Performance Optimized: Built-in caching, lazy loading, efficient queries
• Gutenberg Block: Native block editor support with live preview
• Theme Integration: Template override support, theme-agnostic styling
• Accessibility: Semantic markup, proper ARIA labels, keyboard navigation
• Developer Friendly: Hooks, filters, and extensible architecture

Installation

1. Upload the post-poster folder to /wp-content/plugins/
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
3. Go to Settings → Post Poster to configure and generate shortcodes

Basic Usage

Using the Admin Interface

1. Navigate to Settings → Post Poster in your WordPress admin
2. Configure your desired settings:
   • Select categories to include
   • Choose number of columns (1-4)
   • Set posts per page
   • Toggle display options (image, title, excerpt)
   • Adjust layout settings (gutter, image ratio)
3. Click "Generate Shortcode" to create your shortcode
4. Copy and paste the shortcode into any page or post

Using the Gutenberg Block

1. In the block editor, add the "Post Poster Grid" block
2. Configure settings in the block sidebar
3. See live preview in the editor
4. Publish your page

Shortcode Reference

Basic Shortcode

[pp_posts]

Full Example

[pp_posts categories="news,features" columns="3" per_page="9" show_image="true" show_title="true" show_excerpt="true" excerpt_words="22" orderby="date" order="DESC" pagination="numeric" image_ratio="16x9" gutter="16" cache_minutes="60"]

Shortcode Attributes

Examples

News Section

[pp_posts categories="news" columns="3" per_page="6" show_excerpt="true" excerpt_words="25"]

Featured Posts Grid

[pp_posts categories="featured" columns="2" per_page="4" image_ratio="4x3" gutter="24"]

Simple Title List

[pp_posts columns="1" show_image="false" show_excerpt="false" per_page="10"]

Random Posts Showcase

[pp_posts orderby="rand" columns="4" per_page="8" image_ratio="1x1" gutter="12"]

Styling and Customization

CSS Classes

The plugin uses scoped CSS classes that are safe to customize:

• .pp-grid - Main grid container
• .pp-cols-{1-4} - Column layout classes
• .pp-card - Individual post card
• .pp-card-image - Image container
• .pp-card-content - Text content area
• .pp-card-title - Post title
• .pp-card-excerpt - Excerpt text
• .pp-card-meta - Date and metadata

Template Overrides

You can override plugin templates by copying them to your theme:

wp-content/themes/your-theme/pp/templates/card.php
wp-content/themes/your-theme/pp/templates/wrapper-start.php
wp-content/themes/your-theme/pp/templates/wrapper-end.php

Custom CSS

Add custom styles in your theme's CSS:

.pp-grid {
    --pp-gutter: 20px; /* Custom gutter size */
}

.pp-card {
    border: 1px solid #e0e0e0;
    border-radius: 12px;
}

.pp-card:hover {
    transform: translateY(-4px);
    box-shadow: 0 8px 25px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15);
}

Developer Hooks

Actions

// Before grid starts
do_action('pp_before_grid', $atts);

// After grid ends  
do_action('pp_after_grid', $atts);

// Additional card content
do_action('pp_card_content', $post, $atts);

Filters

// Modify query arguments
add_filter('pp_query_args', function($args, $atts) {
    // Customize WP_Query arguments
    return $args;
}, 10, 2);

// Customize no posts message
add_filter('pp_no_posts_message', function($message) {
    return 'Custom no posts message';
});

Performance

Caching

The plugin includes built-in caching to improve performance:

• Query results are cached using WordPress transients
• Cache duration is configurable per shortcode
• Cache is automatically cleared when posts are updated
• Set cache_minutes="0" to disable caching

Optimization Features

• Efficient WP_Query with minimal meta/term cache
• Lazy loading images with loading="lazy"
• Responsive images with srcset and sizes
• Minimal, scoped CSS to avoid conflicts
• JavaScript only loaded on admin pages

Browser Support

• Modern browsers with CSS Grid support
• Graceful fallback for older browsers
• Mobile-responsive design
• Accessibility compliant (WCAG 2.1 AA)

Requirements

• WordPress 6.0 or higher
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• Modern theme with CSS Grid support (recommended)

Troubleshooting

No Posts Displayed

1. Check that the selected categories contain published posts
2. Verify category slugs are correct (not names)
3. Ensure posts have featured images if show_image="true"
4. Clear cache by setting cache_minutes="0" temporarily

Styling Issues

1. Check for theme CSS conflicts
2. Ensure your theme supports CSS Grid
3. Use browser developer tools to inspect CSS
4. Try adding !important to custom CSS rules

Performance Issues

1. Enable caching with cache_minutes="60"
2. Limit posts per page (per_page="6")
3. Optimize images in WordPress Media Library
4. Consider using a caching plugin

Support

For support and feature requests, please:

1. Check the documentation and examples above
2. Search existing issues on GitHub
3. Create a new issue with detailed information
4. Include WordPress version, theme name, and plugin settings

Changelog

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Core shortcode functionality
• Admin interface
• Gutenberg block support
• Template override system
• Performance optimizations
• Accessibility features

License

GPL v2 or later - see LICENSE file for details.

Credits

Developed with ❤️ for the WordPress community. Built using WordPress coding standards and best practices.