Create Series Archive Templates in Breakdance

Introduction

Instead of using code to create a query to call up the correct series for the series name archive we are going to create a no-code solution using conditional templates.

When I say Conditional Templates what I mean is that when a visitor clicks to see the archive page for a specific series name Breakdance will check what series of books they want to see, check if it has a template and use that template to display the series.

When I go to the the Dylan Danger series archive page on the live dirk volcano site I get the title, description and books just like I did with the genre page. The big difference here are all the books are displayed from the oldest to newest instead of the other way around like in the default query.

When I went to the page Breakdance quickly checked, too fast for a human to notice, what template this archive uses and displayed the contents to match.

And when I go to the Village Detective series archive page it does exactly the same thing.

Create the Dylan Danger Archive Template

• Go to Breakdance > Templates
• Add new template
• Add custom template
• This template is titled Dylan Danger Archive

When setting this up for your site you’d name this to match the title of your series.

• Location is Taxonomy Archive
• The condition is
  • Is Taxonomy
  • Is 
  • Dylan Danger
• Click Add Template

Edit Template with Breakdance

• Edit the template in Breakdance
• Add a section
• Choose the Hero Section preset
• Add an Archive Title element
• Set the tags to H1
• Disable the Prefix
• Add a text element
• Map the text to Archive Description

I didn’t have to use the archive element or map to the archive description. This template is unique to the Dyland Danger series so I can anything I like.  That said using the archive elements makes it easier to reuse this archive template for other series.

• Add a post loop builder
• Choose the Other Books MAX global block
• Select the Book Grid Preset from the design tab

Configure the Query

• From the post loop builder configuration tab click on query
• Click custom
• Edit query
  • Post type is Books
  • Posts per page is 6
  • Conditions
    • Has Taxonomy
    • Is all of
    • Series Names > Dylan Danger
  • Order by Ascending date
• Click Apply
• Click Save
• Exit to the Front end

Now we have an archive page for the Dylan Danger Series with all the books in the order they were published on the website (oldest to newest) giving the reader the correct reading order (assuming you posted the books in order on the website).

Create the Village Detective Archive Page

We know we need another archive page for the village detective series so we’ll create that now.

• Go to Breakdance > Templates
• Duplicate the Dylan Danger Archive Template
• Click on Settings
• Rename to Village Detective Archive
• Change the Taxonomy from Dylan Danger to Village Detective
• Click Save

Edit the Village Detective Template with Breakdance

• Edit the template in Breakdance
• Check we are previewing the Village Detective taxonomy
• The title and description elements will already have changed
• Click on the post loop element
• Edit the query
• Change the conditions to Village Detective
• Apply Query
• The post loop will immediately update to the Village Detective series
• Click Save
• Exit to front end

Check the Archives

Wait a minute! That doesn’t look right at all!

Breakdance is still using the default archive template.

• Go to Breakdance > Templates
• Make the Village Detective Archive Active
• Hover your mouse over the Site Name in the top left of the WordPress admin dashboard
• Click on ‘Visit Site’
• Scroll down to the footer
• Click on the link to the Village Detective Cosy Mysteries
• That’s the series archive page we were expecting
• Go back to the footer
• Click on the Dylan Danger Thrillers link in the footer

That’s both archives created and the series links we added to the footer in a previous module tested. If you hadn’t already added your footer links to your series pages you could do that now.

Summary

You’ve learned to create no-code, series-specific archive templates in Breakdance, using custom taxonomy conditions to display books in the correct reading order. This approach elevates user experience, boosts SEO, and makes it simple for readers to locate and engage with entire series. As you continue refining these templates, you’ll maintain a professional, user-friendly author website that encourages visitors to explore and invest in your literary world.