[Resolved] Linkfire Widget in Blog Posts

[troyw]

Hi team,

I am using your SOLO theme from the Site Library to build a website for a record label.
Part of my brief is to build a Release page, which presents all of the recent music releases. A bit like a Blog Page shows recent posts. This is where it gets complicated.

Of course, I can create a Post, but the client wishes to use Spotify and / or Linkfire to populate the release information, audio and image. Again, it is simple enough to embed Spotify or Linkfire using a link or HTML Widget, however this will not populate into the Posts Featured Image or add Audio to the Blog page. So I am not sure using the Posts is going to be the solution.

Is there a way that my client can simply embed their code on a Release Post and have this show up on the Latest Releases Page as well. Are you aware of any plugins or a method I could use to achieve a Page full of the latest Releases, with the Image and which allows track to be played and links to the release page?

I have added a link to a website that does this so you get the idea.

I didn’t realise this would be so difficult, so any suggestions would be massively appreciated.

[David]

Hi there,

if the posts were nothing more than say a spotify embed code, and the Post Format was set to Video then it should display the embeded player in the post archives.

But as you need other content in the post, it sounds like a Custom Post Type or Custom Fields may be required, to create both the single post and to create the archives. I would probably go with an Advanced Custom Fields solution to create the post fields for the customer to fill in.

Then use a Block Element – Content template for the single post and the post archive to create your layouts:

https://docs.generatepress.com/article/block-element-content-template/

It would need a custom shortcode though to grab the ‘spotify’ URL and output an embed code….

[troyw]

Hey guys,
The Block Element template is cool, but is way too difficult for my client to use when updating new releases. Ideally I need to stick with normal WordPress Post format as much as possible, in order to keep it simple for the client.

You mentioned the Video Post format which might help towards achieving my goal, but I have tried creating a post and setting it to Video, but nothing happens?
I was hoping that I would see a link field or something to add my Spotify link, but the Post doesn’t seem to change at all.
Do I need to add something to the PHP file to make this work?

I’ve added some links below so that you can see where I am up to. There is the ‘Releases’ page, which is essentially the Blog Page. This is pulling up the Posts I have created. Ideally i would like to present all the ‘Releases’ here nicely, as I have demonstrated on my ‘Sample Page’. But they are not presenting how I would like them to on the ‘Release’ page. In fact the entire Blog page is misbehaving terribly.

For a start, it is displaying the entire Blog content, when I only want the image?

I’ve tried customizer > Layout > Blog > Columns and added 3 columns, but need them to square, not these long columns.

Not sure what is happening, I have never had issue presenting Posts before?

Thanks

[David]

In my suggestion, the client would not have to go near the Block Element.
But before we go there….. I assume from the News link in the menu there would be some standard Posts ?

[troyw]

Hey David,

Yes, there will be a news link, more importantly there will be an ‘Artist’ page / post. This may be OK as a Standard Post, though it will have Spotify and Link Fire links within the content.

Would it be easier to keep the ‘Releases’ to a Page (instead of a Post)? I guess it gets complicated because there will be Artist Profiles, Releases and the occasional News post. If each type can utilise the Posts individually and it is simple for the client to add the content and Link Fire / Spotify Links, that would be cool. From the Releases page it would only need show the Spotify and Link Fire Feed, with a button to the Artist Page. I’m really just trying to keep it as simple as possible for the client, which is why Posts may be the way to go.

[troyw]

Not sure why, but I can’t seem to stop the entire contents of the post, appearing on the Blogs Page? I am trying to just get the excerpt to appear. In have added A Spotify Link to one of the Post excerpts and a Link Fire HTML to another and set Post format to Video? Still I get the whole Post appearing on Blog Page.

[David]

Sounds complicated lol – and would require custom development.
My approach would be to create Custom Post Types for the Releases and for your Artists.
Each of them could be built with Custom Fields, so the client has the necessary fields to complete.
Then use the Block Element – Content Template to design those posts / archives.

This methods means theres no shenanigans required to filter News posts from Releases and Artists.
And if you’re feeling really brave the check out the Pods plugin:

https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/pods/

This can create the post type and the custom fields and create relationships between them e.g Releases > Artists and Artists > Releases. The bonus of that is the user creates an Artist, and assigns an Artist to the Releases. Then you could have the Artists page automatically populate with there Releases. ( like Posts > Authors work but it bit more clever )

Its not a simple task and you may want to see a developer to do this.

[troyw]

Thanks David,

I will take a look at Pod as it may well be the perfect solution. Just as long as it doesn’t turn out to be more difficult to use than than writing the code from the ground up, as so many plugins are. The video looks promising though. Will Pods avoid me having to set up Custom Fields or will I still need to create these Custom Fields?

If not I will look into the Custom Fields thing, though I am still not clear on how this would work. I don’t suppose you have any examples of this in action do you? Not necessarily for the music business, but any website that use Custom Fields this way.
If I can see it in action, I can probably figure out how to implement it.

Thanks again

[David]

PODs allows you to add Custom Fields to your CPT.
Recent support topic here where one of our users was converting from Beaver Builder to GPP Content Templates using PODS.

https://generatepress.com/forums/topic/dynamic-options-in-gp-question/

Links still contains an example of a Portfolio post type built using PODs and the GPP Content Templates.

[troyw]

Hey David,
I have tried Pods out and in theory it is exactly what I am looking for. However making it work requires an entirely new skill set.

I’ve created some Pods, but they are not relating as they should. I’ve tried everything so probably will have to use a Pods developer to make it work.

I guess for anyone else looking for a similar solution, Pods is great, but is a very steep learning curve and the Youtube tutorials only seem to get you half way to completion.

Hopefully I can find someone who can use Pods!

Cheers

[David]

Theres an FB group that has PODs people in:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/151717165591310

And i recall PODs have their own Slack, and the support is given by the amazing Jim True.

And the OP of the topic i posted above knows what she is doing 🙂

[Author]

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