Post Excerpt
The excerpt of the current post, trimmed to a number of words, with an optional read more link.
On this page
The Post Excerpt widget shows the short summary of the post being viewed. Use it as an introduction under the title of a blog post, or as the teaser text in a Loop item card, with a "Continue reading" link.
Where the text comes from
The widget uses the post's Excerpt, which you write in the post sidebar when you edit a post in WordPress. When a post has no excerpt and Use the content when there is no excerpt is on, the widget uses the start of the post's content instead. Password-protected posts show no excerpt.
In the editor, the widget shows the excerpt of the post chosen in Preview with on the Template tab of the left panel (the latest post when it is empty).
Add a Post Excerpt
Open your blog post template, or a Loop item, in the Theme Builder. Then open Insert in the left panel, find Post Excerpt in the Site & theme group (or type "excerpt" in the search box) and drag it where the summary should go. See Add elements.
In a card, set Length (words) to about 20 so all cards have a similar height, and type a Read more link text such as "Continue reading".
Content tab settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Length (words) | Trims the text to this many words (0–300). 0 keeps the whole excerpt. Default: 30. |
| Use the content when there is no excerpt | Falls back to the start of the post. On by default. |
| Trimmed text suffix | Added when the text is cut. Default: …. |
| Read more link | The text of a link to the post, such as "Continue reading". Leave it empty for no link. Screen readers also hear the post title. |
| Alignment | Left, Center, Right or Justify. Can differ per device. |
Design tab settings
| Section | Settings |
|---|---|
| Text | Typography, Color, Max width. |
| Read more link | Typography, Color, Hover color, Spacing. Shown when there is read more text. |
The Design tab also has the sections every element shares: Spacing & position, Background & border and Mask. See Spacing, size & position.
Behaviour tab
The Behaviour tab has the settings every element shares: anchor and classes, entrance animations, motion effects, visibility per device, display conditions and interactions. See Visibility.
Tips
- Write excerpts by hand for your most important posts. A good excerpt is one or two sentences that make people want to read on.
- Under a post title, the Design System Lead text style makes the excerpt a natural introduction.