In this article, you’ll learn how Dynamic Content actually works in Thrive Architect, see a glossary of the content elements available to you, learn what to check when an element isn’t displaying correctly, and find out how to build a styled directory-style listing page.
Dynamic Content: Use Cases and Limitations
“Dynamic Content” isn’t a single feature – it’s a few distinct mechanisms, each with its own use case and its own limitations. Knowing which one you’re using helps you understand what it can and can’t do.
Dynamic Text
Dynamic Text is the main way to show dynamic data on a page. Inside any Text element, click the dynamic data icon (the database icon) in the text toolbar to insert a value that’s filled in automatically – for example, the post title or date, details about the logged-in user, a value from the page URL, or a custom field. For a full walkthrough, see How to Use Dynamic Links and Dynamic Text in Thrive Architect.
Dynamic Links
Links can be dynamic too. When you add a link to text, a button, or an image, you can choose a dynamic link instead of typing a fixed URL, so the link is filled in from your site’s data – such as a URL stored in a custom field. The same Dynamic Links and Dynamic Text article covers the setup.
Dynamic Images and Other Custom Field Content
The Image element can pull its picture from the post’s featured image, the author’s image, the logged-in user’s image, or a custom field instead of a fixed upload. Backgrounds, video, audio, maps, countdowns, numbers, and colors can also be pulled from custom fields.
The WordPress Content Element
Despite its name, the WordPress Content element isn’t a dynamic content picker. It lets you add classic WordPress content – including shortcodes from other plugins – to a Thrive Architect page. Click the element’s placeholder to open the classic editor and add your content. Learn more in How to Use the WordPress Content Element in Thrive Architect.
Post List Components
When you add a Post List element to a page, it comes with its own set of dynamic components (listed as Article Components) that you use inside it, such as the post title, featured image, date, author name, author image, categories, tags, post content, and a Read More link.
Theme Builder Dynamic Elements
If you’re working in Thrive Theme Builder, you have access to a further set of dynamic elements designed specifically for templates, including About the Author, Breadcrumbs, Comments Section, Post Meta, Taxonomy Term Description, Previous/Next Content, Widget Area, No Results, and author and business social links.
Custom Fields and ACF (Advanced Custom Fields)
Dynamic Text and Dynamic Links can show any regular custom field saved on a post, no matter which plugin created it. For other plugins’ fields, you’ll see the field’s internal key name in the list rather than a friendly label.
For richer field types – images, video, audio, maps, colors, numbers, and countdowns – you need Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) or ACF Pro. ACF also shows your fields by their labels, which makes them easier to find.
WooCommerce Product Elements
When WooCommerce is active, you can add the Shop, Mini Cart, and Product Categories elements. Inside the Shop element, each product is built from its own components: Product Title, Product Price, Product Image, Product Star Rating, Add to cart, and Product Sale. Thrive Theme Builder product templates offer additional product elements.
Glossary of Content Elements
Here’s an organized reference of the content elements available in Thrive Architect.
Structural & Static Elements
Text, Button, Image, Columns, Section, Divider, Icon, Table, Tabs, Video, Testimonial, Pricing Table, Countdown, Progress Bar, and similar layout and display elements.
Forms
Lead Generation, Login & Registration Form, and Search.
Menu System
Menu, Mega Menu, and Hamburger Menu, along with their related sub-elements (menu items, dropdowns, and icons).
Social
Social Share and Social Follow.
Dynamic Elements
- Dynamic Text and Dynamic Links – dynamic data inside text and links
- Post List and its Article Components (post title, featured image, date, author, categories, tags, post content, Read More)
- Post List Filter – for filtering a Post List
- Theme Builder dynamic elements – About the Author, Breadcrumbs, Comments Section, Post Meta, Taxonomy Term Description, Previous/Next Content, Widget Area, and No Results
- Custom field content – images, backgrounds, video, audio, maps, countdowns, numbers, and colors
- WooCommerce elements – Shop (with its product components), Mini Cart, and Product Categories
Troubleshooting Common Content Display Issues
If a content element isn’t appearing, or isn’t displaying the way you expect, a few specific things are worth checking.
Conditional Display rules. This is the most direct, checkable cause of an element that seems to have vanished. If you’ve set up Conditional Display rules on an element, the current conditions may be hiding it – even if you don’t remember setting that up. Check the element’s Conditional Display settings first. Learn more in How to Use Conditional Display in Thrive Architect.
Post List isn’t available on some content types. When you’re editing certain internal WordPress and Thrive content – such as media attachments, lightboxes, or Thrive Leads forms – the Post List element isn’t offered. This is expected behavior, not a bug.
Custom field content is empty. Check that the field has a value on the post you’re viewing. If you’re using an image, video, map, color, number, or countdown field, confirm that ACF or ACF Pro is active.
Known issue, already resolved: Thrive Architect’s own built-in optimization feature, Project Lightspeed (unrelated to the third-party LiteSpeed Cache plugin), had a bug that could make elements set to show only on desktop, tablet, or mobile appear on the wrong devices. This was fixed in Thrive Architect 11.0.0.1. If your pages were affected, update Thrive Architect, then open each affected page and save it again.
Creating a Styled Directory-Style Listing Page
What Thrive Architect can do is help you build a styled, human-readable directory or listing page using the Post List element. Here’s the setup path:
- Add the Post List element to a page.
- Set the post type to whichever content you want to list – this isn’t limited to blog posts; you can list pages or a custom post type as well.
- Choose a display type – Grid, Masonry, List, or Carousel – then set the number of columns, the ordering, and how many posts to show.
- Optionally, add the Post List Filter element so visitors can filter the results – for example, by category or tag.
- Choose a pagination type: None, Load More, or Numeric.
- Style each component (title, featured image, date, author, and so on) individually, since each one is its own element inside the list.
That’s it! You’ve successfully learned how Dynamic Content works across its different mechanisms, what elements are available to you, what to check when something isn’t displaying correctly, and how to build a styled directory-style listing page with the Post List element.