Dynamic Book Layouts with WordPress Custom Post Types

Introduction

Creating dynamic book layouts in WordPress is a game-changer for authors looking to efficiently manage their websites while captivating readers. This lesson delves into using custom post types and templates to build flexible book pages that adapt to your publishing strategy. From automating updates for Kindle Unlimited titles to streamlining series displays, you’ll learn how to save time and deliver a seamless user experience with dynamic, customisable layouts.

Dynamic Layouts

When I go to the Village Detective series, which is an exclusive to Kindle Unlimited, the layout is the same BUT notice we now only have a single button with a DIFFERENT CALL TO ACTION. When I scroll down to the bottom of the post we have all the books in the Village detective series rather than the Dylan Danger books. This is still using the same custom post layout BUT the template is able to adapt to different conditions to decide what to show the visitor. 

These dynamic layouts are incredibly flexible. If we look at the first book in the Dylan Danger series you’ll see ALL the retailer calls to action buttons have gone. Instead we have a primary call to action button leading to the sign up page for a free copy of Adventure Danger.

All this is done with the same Books Custom Post Type setup.

If you’re looking at this example and thinking you might like to try a different layout with different sections or data types then you can! Everything I’m going to show you over the next few lessons is completely customizable to your tastes.

Time Saver

We COULD manually build each post for a book starting from a blank page every time, but that is going to take a lot longer and adds opportunities for error. Manually building each post also gives us a HUGE issue.

What if you want to change the layout or styling of your book posts?

For example, If you have 30 books on your website and decide you want to add a PRICE to each title? That’s 30 posts you have to update not just with the price but with the page styling and layout as well.

Or.

What if you have a series that’s wide then you decide to take it back into Kindle Unlimited to see how it performs with that audience? It’s back on to each page of that series to add a new button and remove all the old ones. That is not a fun day to have.

Instead we create a Books custom post type with associated custom fields for reviews, series details and more. Then we pull all that together into a Books post template that gives us full control over how to display our books to visitors.

That’s exactly what we are going to start doing from the next lesson.

Summary

In this lesson I showed you the layout of a Books Custom Post Type designed to encourage visitors to click on the primary call to action button. These custom post types not only show the book specific data but are dynamic reacting to pre-configured conditions to show the correct buttons, other books in the series, and even a sign up form for free first in series marketing campaigns.

All of this is done from a single custom post type linked to custom fields and a post template in WordPress.