Next to the previous tutorial on the seriescreating a simple listing’ using Meta Box and page builders, we’re going to find out a new way to do it with Breakdance. We use custom fields and taxonomies created by Meta Box to display information about products on an archive page and filter them as well.

We have an archive page that shows a list of restaurants as an example.

example of an archive page that shows a list of restaurants

Video Version

Before Getting Started

In this practice, we will divide the page into 2 sections: one to display the products and their information, and one for filters.

For the products (I meant restaurants), we will need a custom post type, and each one of them will be saved in a post. Your products may have some extra information, so you can use custom fields to save them. In my case, the restaurant’s name and image are the title and feature images of the post. Other information such as status, address, and logo will be saved in different custom fields.

Regarding the filter, it’s based on a custom taxonomy that I created as vouchers.

the page includes 2 sections: one to display the products and their information, and one for filters

To create custom post types, taxonomy and custom fields for products, we need the Meta Box core plugin. You can install it directly from wordpress.org. Besides, you may want some Meta Box extensions for the advanced features. You can install them individually or use Meta Box AIO.

Here are the extensions we may need:

  • MB Custom Post Type: to create a custom post type and custom taxonomy for the restaurants;
  • Meta Box Builder: to have a UI on the backend to create the custom fields efficiently;
  • MB Admin Columns (optional): to display custom fields as a column in the admin screen.

Also, Breakdance to build the page.

Create a New Custom Post Type

Go to Meta Box > Post Types to create a new post type for your products.

Go to Meta Box > Post Types to create a new post type for your products

After publishing, you will see a new menu in your dashboard, that’s your created custom post type.

Create a New Taxonomy

As mentioned, we’ll have a filter for the products based on a taxonomy as vouchers. The voucher will be divided into some discount levels, and each of them will be a term of this taxonomy.

Go to Meta Box > Taxonomies to create a new taxonomy.

Go to Meta Box > Taxonomies to create a new taxonomy

In the Advanced section, check the Hierarchical option if you want to show the taxonomy in a hierarchy.

You may want to check the Show admin column option to show it as an admin column. This setting is available when you have the MB Admin Columns extension.

In the Advanced section, check the Hierarchical option to show the taxonomy in a hierarchy, and Show admin column option to show it as an admin column

In the Post Types tab, choose your products post type that you’ve just created to apply this taxonomy to it.

In the Post Types tab, choose the products post type to apply taxonomy to it.

Now, you can add some term for your product’s taxonomy.

add some term for your product’s taxonomy

Create Custom Fields

Just go to Meta Box > Custom Fields > Add New to create some custom fields for your products’s extra information if any.

go to Meta Box > Custom Fields > Add New to create some custom fields for your products’s extra information

Here are some typical custom fields I created.

some typical custom fields I created

If you need more fields, freely choose any type of field for your case. Meta Box has more than 40 field types that you can benefit from.

After creating the fields, move to the Settings tab. Then choose the Location as Post type and select your products post type to apply these fields to it.

move to the Settings tab, choose the Location as Post type and select your products post type to apply these fields to it

After publishing, go to a post editor, you will see the terms of the created taxonomy and the custom fields displayed. Just add some information for your products.

the terms of the created taxonomy and the custom fields displayed in the post editor

Create a Global Block

To display information about each product, we should create a global block. Go to Breakdance > Global Blocks then create a new one.

Go to Breakdance > Global Blocks to create global block

Set a post for preview.

Set a post for preview

First, add an Image element to display the restaurant’s image.

add an Image element to display the restaurant’s image

Click on the Insert Dynamic Data button.

Click on the Insert Dynamic Data button

Then choose Featured Image in the Post section.

choose Featured Image in the Post section

Next, add a Text Link element for the product name.

add a Text Link element for the product name

It’s from the post title, so click on the Insert Dynamic Data button and look for it.

click on the Insert Dynamic Data button and look for post title

This element has a setting that allows you to embed a link into this title. There’s also an option to insert dynamic data to it.

embed a link into this title by using insert dynamic data in the Link box

Choose Post Permalink inside.

Choose Post Permalink inside

Go ahead, add a Text element for showing the address.

add a Text element for showing the address

This information is saved in a custom field created with Meta Box, so also insert dynamic data to this element.

click on the insert dynamic data button to choose the source of data

Look for the Metabox section, you will see the name of the custom field. Choose it.

Look for the Metabox section and choose Address

In the same way, add an Image element to show the logo, also insert dynamic data to get the image of logo.

add an Image element to show the logo, also insert dynamic data to get the image of logo

Do likewise for the status information. Add a Text element, insert dynamic data from the Status field.

for the Status information, add a Text element, insert dynamic data from the Status field

Now, you can style each element in this global block by changing their settings. I changed them to have this look.

style each element in this global block by changing their settings

Create the Page

Go to Pages and create a new page as usual, then edit it in Breakdance.

Go to Pages and create a new page as usual, then edit it in Breakdance

First, add a Section element to cover all the content of the page.

add a Section element to cover all the content of the page

Inside the section, add the Heading element to the page title.

Inside the section, add the Heading element to the page title

Get Posts

To display the list of posts, add the Post Loop Builder element.

To display the list of posts, add the Post Loop Builder element

In the Global Block box, choose the Restaurant Block that we’ve made in the previous step.

In the Global Block box, choose the Restaurant Block that we’ve made in the previous step

Then go to the Query section to set a custom query to get posts.

go to the Query section to set a custom query to get posts

Select the name of the post type you use for your products.

Select the name of the post type you use for your products

There are also some other settings for the query in this popup. You can customize the query as you want. In this case, I left them all as default.

Immediately, you will see the products displayed.

the products displayed

Now, let’s add a filter bar to this page.

Add Filters

In the settings of the Post Loop Builder element, there is the Filter Bar section. Click on the Enable button to enable a filter bar for this element.

In the settings of the Post Loop Builder element, Click on the Enable button to enable a filter bar for this element.

In the Type box, choose the taxonomy that we created for the products.

In the Type box, choose the taxonomy that we created for the products

A list of the discount levels that I set as the terms of the taxonomy will be displayed.

A list of the discount levels that I set as the terms of the taxonomy will be displayed.

Next, you can enable the All Filter option.

enable the All Filter option

That's how I complete adding the filter bar to the page.

Style the Page

You also can style each element on the page a little bit to have a better look.

style each element on the page a little bit to have a better look

All the status dots are green. We should use some JavaScript to automatically change the color of the dot following the value saved in the Status custom field. So, add a Code Block element to the page.

add a Code Block element to the page to automatically change the color of the dot following the value saved in the Status custom field

And, add some code into the block.

add some code into the block

Now go to the front end and you can see the final look of the simple listing page.

go to the front end and you can see the final look of the simple listing page

The filter also works well.

The filter works well

Last Words

It's easy to create a simple listing by using Meta Box and Breakdance. Furthermore, Breakdance supports creating filters in an effortless way. So, let’s give it a try and share the results with us.

Hopefully, this tutorial will make sense to you. If you are looking for creating a simple listing page with another page builder, please look for it in this series.

By the way, we also have a series for creating product pages that you may be interested in, just come and see.

If you have any suggestions for future tutorials, feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!

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