WordPress Template Placeholder Fields

WordPress placeholder fields found in your blog template pages and what they do

JT Pals avatar
Written by JT Pals
Updated this week

WordPress Placeholder Fields work by displaying a placeholder text that will be replaced by and/or linked to published content from your WordPress blog on your live site. In most cases (like for Post Title and Post Excerpt) this text is completely replaced by blog post content.

Note: WordPress content can only populate in Blog Template pages.

Placeholder Fields


Below you will find details about how each of the Placeholder Fields function in Showit and what content they will populate with on your live blog.

Post Title

Replaces text with the title of the associated WordPress blog post. When this placeholder is used in a Blog Template or Category template, it will automatically become a link to the associated blog post. When this placeholder is used in a Single Post template it will not become a link.

Post Author

Replaces text with name of the blog post's author.

Post Date

Replaces text with post date text.

Post Content

Replaces text field with entire blog post content.

Post Excerpt

Replaces text field with post excerpt.

Post Comments

Replaces text field with post comments.

Post Categories

Replaces text with a list of categories that are linked to this post.

Post Top Category

Replaces text with a single category with the lowest ID# in WordPress (ID's are auto-assigned and cannot be changed)

Comment Link

Wraps the placeholder text in a popup link to the comments when no comments. Once there are comments, replaces text with either “1 Comment” or “## Comments.”

Comments Form

Replaces entire text field with post comments form.

Comment Count

Will display a placeholder message until there are comments. Then it will display the comment count.

Previous Single Post Link

Used in the Single Post template, this placeholder replaces your text with the Post Title of the previous post, which will also become a link that will take you to the that post. If there is no previous post, this text box will display nothing.

Next Single Post Link

Used in the Single Post template, this placeholder replaces your text with the Post Title of the next post, which will also become a link that will take you to the that post. If there is no next post, this text box will display nothing.

Newer Posts Link

Used in the Blog and Category Templates, this placeholder turns the text into a link that will take you to a new page that will display more posts. If there are no newer posts to view, this text box will display nothing. See Pagination.

Older Posts Link

Used in the Blog and Category Templates, this placeholder turns the text into a link that will take you to a previous page that will display more posts. If there are no older posts to view, this text box will display nothing. See Pagination.

Category Title

Used on the Category Template, replaces this text with the Category Title.

Tags

Replaces text with tags that are linked to view the tag list.

Sidebar 1, 2, 3

Renders the selected sidebar content set in WordPress > Appearance > Widgets.

Comment Count

Renders the comment count for the associated post.

Search Bar

Replaces with a live search box with placeholder text at lower opacity.

Advanced Content Replace

Allows you to combine static text and replaced text fields in the same text box.  Supports the following fields:{post_title} {post_author} {post_date:} {post_tags} {post_categories} {comment_count} {previous_post_link} {next_post_link}  
Useful for something like “Tags: {post_tags} / Categories: {post_categories} Day:{post_date:D}” For dates add a colon and the PHP date format string. (see list below)

Advanced Content Replace Date Formats:

Here are some suggested date formats and their output if you’re using the Advanced Content Replace setting. You can customize the format by referring to WordPress's official date formatting options.

  • {post_date:F j, Y g:i a} – November 6, 2023 12:50 am

  • {post_date:F j, Y} – November 6, 2023

  • {post_date:F, Y} – November, 2023

  • {post_date:g:i a} – 12:50 am

  • {post_date:g:i:s a} – 12:50:48 am

  • {post_date:l, F jS, Y} – Saturday, November 6th, 2023

  • {post_date:M j, Y @ G:i} – Nov 6, 2023 @ 0:50

  • {post_date:Y/m/d \a\t g:i A} – 2023/11/06 at 12:50 AM

  • {post_date:Y/m/d \a\t g:ia} – 2023/11/06 at 12:50am

  • {post_date:Y/m/d g:i:s A} – 2023/11/06 12:50:48 AM

  • {post_date:Y/m/d} – 2023/11/06

  • {post_date:d} – 06 (two digit day)

  • {post_date:j} – 6 (one digit day)

  • {post_date:F} – January (Full month)

  • {post_date:M} – Jan (Shortened month)

  • {post_date:Y} – 2023 (Full year)

  • {post_date:y} – 23 (two digit year)

  • {post_date:l} – Sunday (lowercase 'L' = Full day)

  • {post_date:D} – Sun  (Three letter day)

WordPress Featured Image (Placeholder Images)


In case you are creating a new WordPress Canvas from scratch and you would like to include the featured image from a blog post, you can do so by first selecting the image that you would like to set as a placeholder for featured images. Then in the right side Properties Panel under the Image Tab, mark the box that says WordPress Featured Image.

Note: This feature will only be available if your WordPress Canvas Type is set to In Post Loop, Next Post Start, or Posts View Lookup. This feature is not available for the Static Content WordPress Canvas Type.

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