Unable to change template file and disable the post excerpt

Hi there,

you can use the Block Element - Content Template to design your own post cards:

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

Then you can choose what elements you do and do not want to display and style them using the GenerateBlocks plugin.

Hi David,
Thank you for your suggestion - it worked, I managed to set up a content template (I'm sorry, I thought GP was too complex for me, however it turns out I am too lazy for it).

However, I can't get the index.php to offset the first 8 posts (these are being displayed using different templates). Could you help me with that? This is the code I have in index.php:

<?php
/**
 * The main template file.
 *
 * This is the most generic template file in a WordPress theme
 * and one of the two required files for a theme (the other being style.css).
 * It is used to display a page when nothing more specific matches a query.
 * E.g., it puts together the home page when no home.php file exists.
 * Learn more: http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Hierarchy
 *
 * @package GeneratePress
 */

if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
	exit; // Exit if accessed directly.
}

get_header(); ?>

	<div <?php generate_do_attr( 'content' ); ?>>
		<main <?php generate_do_attr( 'main' ); ?>>
			<?php
			/**
			 * generate_before_main_content hook.
			 *
			 * @since 0.1
			 */
			do_action( 'generate_before_main_content' );

			
			//OFFSET X Posts w. pagination
			// via@ https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49227520/how-can-i-paginate-wp-query-results-when-theres-an-offset/49228080
			
			$current_page = get_query_var('paged');
			$current_page = max( 1, $current_page );
			$per_page = 30;
			$offset_start = 8;
			$offset = ( $current_page - 1 ) * $per_page + $offset_start;

			$post_list = new WP_Query(array(
				'posts_per_page' => $per_page,
				'paged'          => $current_page,
				'offset'         => $offset, // Starts with the second most recent post.
				'orderby'        => 'date',  // Makes sure the posts are sorted by date.
				'order'          => 'DESC',  // And that the most recent ones come first.
			));

			// Manually count the number of pages, because we used a custom OFFSET (i.e.
			// other than 0), so we can't simply use $post_list->max_num_pages or even
			// $post_list->found_posts without extra work/calculation.
			
			$total_rows = max( 0, $post_list->found_posts - $offset_start );
			$total_pages = ceil( $total_rows / $per_page );
			
			if ( generate_has_default_loop() ) {
				if ( $post_list->have_posts() ) :

					/**
					 * generate_before_loop hook.
					 *
					 * @since 3.1.0
					 */
					do_action( 'generate_before_loop', 'index' );

					while ( $post_list->have_posts() ) :

						$post_list->the_post();

						generate_do_template_part( 'index' );

					endwhile;

					/**
					 * generate_after_loop hook.
					 *
					 * @since 2.3
					 */
					do_action( 'generate_after_loop', 'index' );

				else :

					generate_do_template_part( 'none' );

				endif;
				wp_reset_postdata();
			}

			/**
			 * generate_after_main_content hook.
			 *
			 * @since 0.1
			 */
			do_action( 'generate_after_main_content' );
			?>
		</main>
	</div>

	<?php
	/**
	 * generate_after_primary_content_area hook.
	 *
	 * @since 2.0
	 */
	do_action( 'generate_after_primary_content_area' );

	generate_construct_sidebars();

	get_footer();

can i see the site, so i can get a better understanding of what should be happening ?

Hello David,
Thank you for your support, in the end I managed to get it to work.
All the best,
Vlad

Glad to hear that!