Post Dynamic Tags in Sky Addons for Elementor
Elementor post dynamic tags are the group you will reach for most, because almost everything on a blog or portfolio is a post. Sky Addons registers the whole Post group free: title, ID, slug, date, time, author, comments, excerpt, content, terms, status, type, custom fields and featured image, plus the matching URL and image tags. Each reads the post currently being rendered by default, so one template covers every record in the post type. This documentation lists each tag with its real controls and defaults, covers the custom-field behaviour that catches people out, and ends with a single-post header built from these tags.
Features:
- Complete Post Coverage: Every standard post field, from the title to the comment count.
- Works on Any Post Type: Pages, products, portfolios and custom post types read through the same tags.
- Current or Specific: Leave a tag on the current post, or pin it to one record with Search & Select.
- Rich Formatting: Date formats, author data types, comment phrasing and term separators, configurable per tag.
- Custom Field Access: Read any post meta value by picking it from a list or typing the key.
- Matching URL Tags: Permalinks, author, comment, term and navigation links, plus image addresses.
- Image Tags Too: The featured image, the author’s avatar and images stored in custom fields.
Requirements
- Elementor and Sky Addons, both active. The Post group needs no other plugin.
- A post to read. In a template or loop that is automatic; on a standalone page you may need to select one explicitly.
How to Insert an Elementor Post Dynamic Tag
- Select the widget and hover the control you want to make dynamic.
- Click the dynamic icon at the right of the control’s label.
- Find the Sky Addons – Post heading in the dropdown and choose a tag.
- Open the tag’s settings, then use the wrench icon for Word Limit, Before, After and Fallback.
The full mechanic, including which controls offer the icon at all, is covered in How to Insert a Dynamic Tag on Any Elementor Control.
Choosing Which Post a Tag Reads
Nearly every tag here opens with the same pair of controls. Post Type offers Current or Selected and defaults to Current, meaning the tag reads whichever post the template or loop is rendering. That default is what makes one template serve an entire archive. Switching to Selected reveals a Search & Select Post field that pins the tag to one record, which is useful on a landing page quoting a particular article and the usual cause of “every card shows the same title” when used inside a loop by mistake.
Post Dynamic Tags at a Glance
| Tag | Kind | What it outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Post Title | Text | The post’s title. |
| Post ID | Text, Number | The post’s numeric ID. |
| Post Slug | Text | The post’s URL slug. |
| Post Date | Text | Publish or modified date, formatted. |
| Post Time | Text | Publish or modified time, formatted. |
| Post Author | Text | Author name, bio, email, role or ID. |
| Post Comments | Text | A comment count, or a phrase built from it. |
| Post Excerpt | Text | The excerpt, trimmed, with optional read-more link. |
| Post Content | Text | The full post body. |
| Post Terms | Text | The post’s terms in one taxonomy. |
| Post Status | Text | The status slug, such as publish or draft. |
| Post Type | Text | The post type slug. |
| Custom Field | Text, URL | Any post meta value, by key. |
| Featured Image | Image | The featured image itself. |
| Post Author Avatar | Image | The author’s avatar. |
| Custom Field Image | Image | An image stored in a post meta value. |
| Post URL | URL | The post’s permalink. |
| Post Author URL | URL | The author archive or the author’s website. |
| Post Comments URL | URL | The comments area or the reply form. |
| Featured Image URL | URL | The featured image address, at a chosen size. |
| Post Terms URL | URL | One chosen term’s archive link. |
| Post Navigation URL | URL | Previous, next, parent or child link. |
Identity Tags: Title, ID, Slug, Status and Type
Post Title prints the title and nothing else, the natural binding for the main Heading in a single template. Post ID returns the numeric ID and is the one tag here with no Advanced section, since there is nothing sensible to trim or prefix on a bare number. Post Slug returns the URL slug.
Post Status and Post Type return raw slugs rather than friendly labels, so you get publish and post, not “Published” and “Post”. For a human label, put the wording in the Before field; otherwise keep these two for editorial views where the slug is what you want.
Date and Time
Post Date has a Date Type of Post Date or Post Modified Date, and a Format offering the site default, several presets, Human Readable and Custom. Human Readable prints a relative phrase such as “3 days ago”. Custom reveals a Custom Format field taking a standard PHP date format string, with a link through to the WordPress reference.
Post Time mirrors that for the time portion: a Time Type of published or modified, a Time Format with presets and a Custom option, and its own custom format field.
Author, Avatar and Comments
Post Author carries a Data Type control offering ID, Display Name, Bio, Email, First Name, Last Name, Username and Role. It defaults to Display Name, the byline you want most of the time; Bio fills an author box, Role prints the author’s roles as a comma-separated list. Post Author Avatar supplies the picture, so an author box needs only these two plus Post Author URL.
Post Comments has a Data Type of Comments Count or Comments Number. Count prints the raw figure; Number prints one of three phrases you write yourself: No Comments Text, Single Comment Text and Multiple Comments Text, the last accepting a {{number}} placeholder. One tag, no conditional logic.
Excerpt and Full Content
Post Excerpt uses the manually written excerpt when there is one, and otherwise builds a summary from the body with tags and shortcodes stripped. Excerpt Length defaults to 55 words, End Text defaults to [Read More], and Link End Text is on so that end text becomes a real link to the post. End text only appears when the excerpt was actually trimmed.
Post Content returns the whole article body. Its Apply Content Filters switch is on by default, which is what lets blocks, shortcodes, embeds and Elementor-built content render properly; off gives the raw stored content. Because it outputs full markup, bind it to a control that prints unescaped HTML, such as the HTML widget’s code field. Password-protected posts render the password form instead.
Terms and Taxonomies
Post Terms lists the terms a post belongs to in one taxonomy. Taxonomy covers every public taxonomy and defaults to Category, Separator defaults to a comma and a space, and Link is on so each term links to its archive. Limit caps how many print, with 0 meaning no limit, and Offset skips the first few. Set Limit to 1 for a single primary category.
For a link rather than a label, Post Terms URL takes a taxonomy and a Term Index, where 0 is the first term. Term-level values such as a term’s own description or post count come from the Term group instead, documented in Term & User Dynamic Tags.
Custom Fields, and the Two Things That Catch People Out
Custom Field reads any post meta value. It gives you a Field Key dropdown built from the meta keys already in use on your posts, and a Custom Field Key box for typing one by hand; if both are filled in, the dropdown wins. The tag is offered on text and URL controls, so the same field can supply a caption in one widget and a link target in another.
The first gotcha: the dropdown hides any key beginning with an underscore, following WordPress’s protected-meta convention. Plenty of plugins store values under exactly those keys, so if a field you know exists is missing, type its full key into Custom Field Key — the tag reads it perfectly well, it is simply not offered for selection. The second: the dropdown only lists keys already saved somewhere, so a brand new field will not appear until one post has a value for it. Custom Field Image follows the same rules on the image side.
The Featured Image, in Two Forms
Two tags touch the featured image, and picking the wrong one is a common false start. Featured Image is the image tag: bind it to an Image widget or a media control and you get the picture. Featured Image URL is the URL tag, with an Image Size control listing your registered sizes and defaulting to Full; it returns an address, which is what a background or a link needs.
There is no featured image tag on a plain text control. A third tag exists in the plugin that would return the thumbnail’s alt text, caption, title, description or ID, but it shares an internal name with the image tag above, so the image tag takes its place and it never reaches the picker. To print a caption or alt line beside a hero image, use the Custom Field tag against the relevant meta key, or write the line into the widget directly.
The URL Tags in the Post Group
URL tags return a link, so their Advanced panel offers a Fallback and nothing else. Post URL is the plain permalink and needs no configuration. Post Author URL has a URL Type of Author Archive or Author Website, the second reading the profile’s website field. Post Comments URL offers Comments or Respond, jumping to the comment list or straight to the reply form.
Post Navigation URL is the most configurable of the set. Its Navigation Type offers Previous, Next, Parent and Child. Previous and Next walk the posts in date order and gain a Same Term switch which, with a Taxonomy chosen, restricts navigation to posts sharing a term — right for a series or a documentation section. Parent follows the post’s parent; Child picks the first child post, ordered by Child Order as Menu Order, Date or Title.
Example: A Single-Post Header That Works for Every Article
This is the classic use of Elementor post dynamic tags: one header, every article. Build it in a Single Post template so it applies site-wide.
- Create the template. Add a Single Post template in the Theme Builder and preview it against a real article. See Single Post for the template side.
- Category line. A Heading bound to Post Terms, Taxonomy set to Category, Limit 1, Link left on.
- Headline. A second Heading bound to Post Title, left on Post Type: Current.
- Date. A Heading bound to Post Date, Date Type on Post Date, a preset format, and Before set to
Publishedin the wrench panel. - Byline. A Heading bound to Post Author, Data Type on Display Name, Before set to
by, its link control bound to Post Author URL on Author Archive. - Comment count. A Heading bound to Post Comments, Data Type on Comments Number, with the three phrases set to “Be the first to comment”, “1 comment” and
{{number}} comments. - Hero image. An Image widget bound to Featured Image with a placeholder Fallback, plus a caption Heading typed in directly — there is no text tag for featured image metadata.
What visitors see: on one article the header reads “Interviews”, the headline, “Published 6 May 2024”, “by Priya Raman”, “12 comments”, and that article’s hero image with its own caption. On the next article every value differs, and none was typed twice. Adding a new post produces a correct header with no design work.
Full Settings Reference
Use this table when you know the tag but not the setting. It lists every option each tag in this group exposes, the exact wording you will see in the panel, the value it starts on, and the setting that has to be chosen before a dependent option appears. The Used on column says which kind of Elementor control the tag can be dropped onto. Alongside the settings below, the tags in this group offer a Post Type selector and a Search & Select Post field, so a tag can be pinned to one specific post instead of following the page; the Advanced panel — Word Limit, Before, After and Fallback — on the text tags; a Fallback field on the URL, image and gallery tags.
| Tag | Used on | Setting | Options | Default | Shown when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Field | Text, URL, Post meta | Field Key | List built from your site | — | — |
| Custom Field Key | Free text | — | — | ||
| Post Author | Text | Data Type | ID · Display Name · Bio · Email · First Name · Last Name · Username · Role | Display Name | — |
| Post Comments | Text | Data Type | Comments Count · Comments Number | Comments Count | — |
| No Comments Text | Free text | No Comments | Data Type is Comments Number | ||
| Single Comment Text | Free text | 1 Comment | Data Type is Comments Number | ||
| Multiple Comments Text | Free text | {{number}} Comments | Data Type is Comments Number | ||
| Post Content | Text | Apply Content Filters | Yes / No | Yes | — |
| Post Date | Text | Date Type | Post Date · Post Modified Date | Post Date | — |
| Format | Default · Human Readable · Custom · plus preset formats sampled from your site settings | Default | — | ||
| Custom Format | Free text | F j, Y | Format is Custom | ||
| Post Excerpt | Text | Excerpt Length | Number | — | — |
| End Text | Free text | [Read More] | — | ||
| Link End Text | Yes / No | Yes | — | ||
| Post ID | Text, Number | Only the shared controls listed above — the tag prints the value straight from the current context. | |||
| Post Slug | Text | Only the shared controls listed above — the tag prints the value straight from the current context. | |||
| Post Status | Text | Only the shared controls listed above — the tag prints the value straight from the current context. | |||
| Post Terms | Text | Taxonomy | List built from your site | category | — |
| Separator | Free text | , | — | ||
| Link | Yes / No | Yes | — | ||
| Limit | Number | — | — | ||
| Offset | Number | — | — | ||
| Post Time | Text | Time Type | Post Time · Post Modified Time | Post Time | — |
| Time Format | Default · Custom · plus preset formats sampled from your site settings | Default | — | ||
| Custom Format | Free text | g:i a | Time Format is Custom | ||
| Post Title | Text | Post Type | Current Post · Selected Post | Current Post | — |
| Search & Select Post | Search field | — | Post Type is Selected Post | ||
| Word Limit | Number | — | — | ||
| Before | Free text | — | — | ||
| After | Free text | — | — | ||
| Fallback | Free text | — | — | ||
| Post Type | Text | Only the shared controls listed above — the tag prints the value straight from the current context. | |||
| Featured Image URL | URL | Image Size | List built from your site | full | — |
| Post Author URL | URL | URL Type | Author Archive · Author Website | Author Archive | — |
| Post Comments URL | URL | URL Type | Comments · Respond | Comments | — |
| Post Navigation URL | URL | Navigation Type | Previous Post · Next Post · Parent Post · Child Post | Next Post | — |
| Same Term | Yes / No | No | Navigation Type is Previous Post or Next Post | ||
| Taxonomy | List built from your site | category | Same Term is Yes; Navigation Type is Previous Post or Next Post | ||
| Child Order | Menu Order · Date · Title | Menu Order | Navigation Type is Child Post | ||
| Post Terms URL | URL | Taxonomy | List built from your site | category | — |
| Term Index | Number | — | — | ||
| Post URL | URL | Only the shared controls listed above — the tag prints the value straight from the current context. | |||
Best Practices
- Keep Post Type on Current in templates and loops. Selected is for one-off references on standalone pages.
- Set a Word Limit on excerpts and custom fields feeding cards, so one long entry cannot break a grid.
- Choose the right featured image tag. Image for the picture, URL for a background or link, text for the caption or alt.
- Write all three comment phrases. An empty zero-comment phrase leaves a blank space under unanswered posts.
- Give the featured image a fallback before publishing; every site eventually gets a post without artwork.
Troubleshooting
- My custom field is not in the Field Key dropdown. Its key starts with an underscore, or nothing has saved a value for it yet. Type the exact key into Custom Field Key.
- Post Status prints “publish” instead of “Published”. That is the raw slug the tag returns; put the friendly wording in the Before field.
- You cannot find a featured image tag on a text control. That is expected: the featured image is available on image controls (Featured Image) and on URL controls (Featured Image URL), not on text ones. For a caption or alt line, use Custom Field against the meta key you need.
- Every post in a grid shows the same title. A tag in the repeated item is on Post Type: Selected. Set it back to Current and clear the selection.
More context-related issues are collected in Dynamic Content: Common Issues and Limitations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do post dynamic tags work on custom post types?
Yes. The Post group reads whatever post object is current, so products, portfolio items, events and any other registered post type are covered. Pages work too, which is why Post Title is a valid binding on an ordinary page.
How do I show a post’s category as a clickable link?
Use Post Terms with Taxonomy set to Category and the Link switch on, which links each term to its archive automatically. If the link belongs on a button instead, bind that button’s Link control to Post Terms URL with a Term Index of 0.
Why is my read-more link missing from the excerpt?
End Text only appears when the excerpt was actually shortened. If the post is shorter than the Excerpt Length there is nothing left to read, so nothing is appended. Lower the Excerpt Length to make it show on shorter posts.
Where should I put the Post Content tag?
On a control that prints unescaped markup, such as the HTML widget’s code field, since the tag returns a full article body. It works on a description or heading control too, but the output is then wrapped in that widget’s own element.
Can I link to the next post in the same category?
Yes. Bind a button’s Link to Post Navigation URL, set Navigation Type to Next, turn on Same Term and choose the taxonomy. Navigation is then restricted to posts sharing a term with the current one.
Conclusion
The Elementor post dynamic tags in Sky Addons cover a post from every angle: its identity, dates, people, taxonomy, custom fields, image and links. Bind them once inside a single template and the whole post type inherits the design. For how the tag system fits together, read Dynamic Content in Elementor with Sky Addons, and if a tag is not producing what you expect our team is available at https://wowdevs.com/support/.
