Create a Custom Books Archive in Breakdance

Introduction

We’re almost done with the Book Archive Templates.

In this final lesson we are going to set up the main Books Archive

I’m going to show you how to do this 2 ways.

• Using the default query
• Fully customised Books Archive

Books Archive with Default Query

• From the main WordPress dashboard go to Breakdance > Templates
• Duplicate the Genre Archive
• Edit the settings
• Change the Title to Books Archive
• Location is Archive / Post Type Archive
• Conditions are
  • Post Type
  • Is
  • Books
• Click save
• Make the template active

Edit the Template in Breakdance

• Edit the template in Breakdance.

And we’re done!

Well, we could be.

The title is correct, the description is being pulled from the post type description we set up way back in the ‘Register the Books Custom Post Type’ lesson oh so long ago and the post loop builder is using the global block we set up and the default query to show all the content published under the Book custom post type.

If you only published Standalone books this may work for you. But let’s look at the alternative.

Fully customised Books Archive

Update the Hero Section

• Delete the Post loop builder from the Hero Section
• Add a Div element under the text element in the hero section
• Style the div as with a Horizontal layout, left aligned, a 3 rem gap and vertical at phone landscape
• Add a button inside the div
• Change the text to Dylan Danger Series
• Set the link to #dylandanger
• Style the button as primary
• Duplicate the Button
• Change the text to Village Detective Novels
• Change the link to #villagedetective

Add the Dylan Danger Section

• Add another section to the template
• I’ll name this the Dylan Danger Section
• Use the Wide Section preset
• In Advanced Settings give this section the ID of dylandanger

Now when a visitor clicks on the Dylan Danger button in the header it will bring them straight here.

• Add a H2 Heading
• Change the text to Dylan Danger Series

Because we are going to look at multiple series in this version I can’t map the heading or the text to archive title or archive description.

• Add a Post Loop Builder to the new section
• I’ll call this Dylan Danger Post Loop Builder
• This time I’m going to choose the Other Books Min Global Block we created in the previous module
• In the Design tab I’ll choose the Book Grid Preset
• Back in the configuration tab I’ll click on Query then custom
• I’ll edit the custom query
  • Post type is Books
  • Posts per page is 6
  • Conditions is
    • Has Taxonomy
    • Is all of
    • Series-name > Dylan Danger
    • Order by Ascending
  • Click Apply Query
• Add a button below the Post Loop
• Change the text to say ‘See Full Series’
• Change the link to /series/dylan-danger/
• Set the button’s style to primary.

Add the Village Detective Section

• Duplicate the Dylan Danger section
• I’ll rename it to Village Detective Section
• In Advanced Settings give this section the ID of villagedetective

Now when a visitor clicks on the Village Detective button in the hero section it will bring them straight here.

• I’ll edit the heading to read The Village Detective Novels
• I’ll change the label on the Post Loop Builder to Village Detective Post Loop Builder
• I’ll edit the condition in the query to look for Series-Name > Village Detective instead of Dirk Volcano

The Village Detective Novels are an ongoing venture from Dirk who has a budgeted plan to publish a new book every month for the next year.

Unlike the Dylan Danger Series which finished at 6 books this series is going to grow. 

• To accommodate that on this archive without having to resort to pagination I’m going to increase the posts per page for this query to 18
• Apply the query

• Then I’ll replace the current link in the button with /series/village-detective/
• Click Save
• Exit to front end

Test the Books Archive

Right away we can see the correct template is being picked up.

When I click on the buttons they take me down to the correct sections.

This, by the way, is prime real estate for author branding. If you pick up the Pro version of this course you can see walkthroughs on branding the core website for different genres and author brands.

Summary

You’ve successfully developed a customizable books archive template in Breakdance that streamlines navigation, highlights multiple series, and enhances your site’s SEO. By combining default and advanced options, you’ve ensured a dynamic, user-focused browsing experience. This approach empowers readers to discover, explore, and engage with your entire catalog, ultimately supporting stronger audience connections and improved visibility for your author brand.