Post formats allow designers to designate different content types like images, galleries, links, and statuses. Themes need to support post formats for them to be useful. To use post formats, find a theme that displays the different formats well or modify a theme to do so. Key steps are testing themes to see how they handle various post formats and creating template files and CSS styles to customize display if needed.

1. WordPress
Post Formats
What, When, How
kristarella.com

2. What are Post Formats?
• Post Formats are a
new(ish) method of
designating content
types in posts
• Image
• Gallery
• Status
• Aside
• Link
• etc
codex.wordpress.org/Post_Formats

3. When to use Formats?
• The best time to use post formats is
when both:
a. your theme supports them
b. you intend to share useful content
in smaller (more manageable?)
chunks, rather than always using
long-form

4. How can you use them?
1.Find a theme that supports Post
Formats well, or modify your theme to
support them.
2.Assign formats to your posts.

5. Step 2 is easy!
Choose the format that
matches your post
(as you would any categories or tags)

6. Step 1 is slightly harder
• Trial & error
• Test themes to see how they display
different post formats (and if they
display them differently at all)
• OR Build your own child theme to
display post formats how you want to
NB Theme Unit Test is useful either way

7. Theme testing
Just because a theme says it supports
post formats doesn’t mean it does
anything with them!
The following themes, except
Genesis, are all freely available
from the WordPress theme
respository

8. Twenty Thirteen
Different colours Icons & borders Colours & meta
Icon & formatting Featured image ↑ title Featured image hidden
No page templates!

9. Esquire
No gallery title Epic image border Big link title
Bright quote No featured images Not responsive

10. Hum
Format labels 1 gallery image + number Quote typography
Simple link Image display Not all formats labelled

11. Pachyderm
Cute format icons... in a range of colours... for all tested formats!
Cute featured images
(not on single posts)
Attention to detail Clever sidebar

12. Path
No title for short formats Title links to Link Smooth quotes
Gallery “excerpt” Status avatar Nicely responsive

13. Preference Lite
Gallery with feature Subtle Aside label Duplicate images?!
Link is okay
Status: avatar, but
prominent title
Quote is nice, but out of flow

14. Expound
•Not much different for post formats ✘
•Asides don’t show title is the only change
•Nice featured image thumbnail display
•Responsive ✔
Genesis
•Post Format icons hook ✔
•No default featured image display
•No default post format display variations
Living Journal
•No titles for image & quote formats
•Featured image thumbnails, not on singles
•No featured image for image format ✔

15. Matala
•Featured image thumbnails show for image
formats too ✘
•Cool post format icons next to title ✔
•Not resposive
Montezuma
•Nothing different for post formats
•but simple enough design to suit formats
•Nice featured images, not on singles
Vertigo
•Nifty audio & video format styles
•Cassette tape & video projector rolling! ✔
•Link formats break PHP ✘

16. Else, make a child theme
• codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes
• Content templates
• Understanding get_template_part
• Create required template parts:
content-{post format name}.php
• Add needed CSS styles
• Framework hooks & actions