Solved Featured image and Recent posts questions

Hi there,

For the sake of blog post header, I'd like our blog banner to be the "featured image". But many posts will have their own images, that I want us to have as "featured image" for the sake of social sharing and for the blog slider module on our main website page (350seattle.org). Is there a way to set the banner header permanently in the Divi Ultimate Blog Plugin?

Also: I'd like to make it so the sidebar "recent posts" are ONLY the posts with the category "understory". Is that possible? This is a new launch of our blog, and I'd like to keep old blog posts, but separate.

 

I'm playing with the category widget, so thank you. But the image CSS didn't work--I took out the featured image (so it wouldn't confuse things) and added this to my custom css:

.free-blog-post-header-custom .free-du-blog-1 .free-blog-post-header-featured {
background-image: url('https://350seattle.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/unnamed-5.jpg')!important;
}

If you look at this page https://350seattle.org/2020/08/11/clarity-solidarity/ you'll see there's no header image at all. Any other ideas?

 

And one more question--I can get the category widget to work on a page no problem, by adding the sidebar. but the post page already has the sidebar built in, so I don't know how to swap that one out for the specialized one I've created.

thanks!

 

Is there a way for me to get chat help so there's not such a long delay? I have the Ultimate Blog Post installed and enabled. Still no image. I even tried to create a new post, in case that one was created before the DU Blog Post was enabled....still no clear way to pick a template or page that's connected to the DU Blog Post plugin.

In your second answer, are you implying that it's not possible to have 2 different sidebars on different pages--that I have to use the one with restricted categories ONLY if I want to use it at all?

 

1. also...your video has no sound:

 

I gave up on having 2 separate sidebars for different pages....was able to use the widget to make one that works for us. But the image still isn't showing up in the header, despite the hard coding above. Please let me know what else I can try!

 

I gave up on having 2 sidebars....was able to use the widget to make one that works. But the image still isn't showing up in the header, despite the hard coding above. Please let me know what else I can try!

 

Okay, this is really mysterious. My new posts do NOT have the banner image, but in fishing around I realized that our August monthly newsletter post DOES have it (though I don't want it to). So far, a little weird. But much weirder is that I created a new post using that as my template, and the new one DOES NOT.

All my other older ones do. Which is exactly the opposite of what I want....Ideally, I'd be able to keep the archived posts exactly as they were (no banner image), and add the banner image to the new ones.

so 1. Why are the new ones not taking it, even when I base them on the old ones?
and 2. Once I have the new ones using the image, is there a way to have the old ones revert to the old look?

 

Here's one of the new ones that I based on the existing August newsletter (with image) that still came out without it: https://350seattle.org/2020/08/13/understory-blog-post/

 

Okay, thanks, I'll try this shortly. Now one more question, associated. Is it possible to have the banner image be a link?

This seems like something a lot of folks would want, that should be an option in the DU ultimate plugin--a banner image for their blog, within the site's general layouts, that functions as a link back to the blog. Our blog is meant to be kind of like a magazine within our site; we didn't want a separate site, because the whole point is that people reading it then be connected to our activist work (by simply clicking on "Join Us" or one of the other menu items). But having it be visually distinct as the blog is useful (again, I assume this would be true for many many folks).

 

Yes, exactly. I can do that too, of course, but it's slicker when the image leads back to the main page.

 

One final question, please! The header on the blog posts is coming out way too big (see this: https://350seattle.org/2020/08/13/heart-know-right/ as opposed to this, on the main page https://350seattle.org/the-understory/). Is there a way for me to make it smaller, so it has the same look/feel as the banner on that main page?

thank you!

 

Argh. More questions, sorry.

1. In trying to figure this out I stumbled across the theme builder tutorial (https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/...mplate-with-divis-theme-builder-free-download) which indicates that one CAN have different headers for different categories of post. But I tried it, and it only added another (not very flexible) header above the other. Can I not use that, with DU blog plugin?

2. If not, how do I change the default template for posts more generally? Where do I even find it?

3. And: how do I get the author name on my header? It shows up in the post, and in the meta of the blog slider/page with many posts, but not in the header of the actual post

4. above, you suggest I use this code
.free-du-blog-1 .free-blog-post-header {
background-image: url(https://350seattle.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/understory-banner-sm.jpg)!important;
background-size: cover;
background-position: center;
}

to make the header into a consistent banner for all posts, whether or not they have a featured image. it works great if there's no featured image but as soon as I put a featured image in, it defaults to the featured image. The previous code you'd given me worked if there WAS a featured image, but not if there was none.

thanks! we're trying to go live tomorrow, so I'll be looking at all this again in the morning, but it's frustrating that this is so difficult--I'm trying to make minor changes.

 

This is all really great--thank you...it's much closer to what I was hoping for now.