Add a related posts block to your posts
The Silotree related posts block ends a post with up to three posts on the same subject, picked by Silotree’s scan. The plugin keeps its own copy of the list, so your pages never wait on Silotree. It is free, and needs a connected site.
The block is part of the free plugin and works on every Silotree plan, Free included. It needs your site connected to a Silotree account, because the list comes from Silotree’s scan. See pair the plugin with your account.
Steps
See which posts will be shown
At each scan, Silotree picks up to three related posts for every post: posts in the same topic, or in the same section when the post has no topic. The posts other posts link to most come first. A related post is always in the same language as the post, and never its own translation. Pages that are not indexed, do not load, or only list other posts are left out.
In the app, open Site settings and find Related posts block for a preview of a few posts and the related posts each one will show. Until your first scan it says Worked out at your next scan.
Place the block in a post
In the block editor, open the post, press + (the block inserter) where the list should go, usually at the end, and search for Silotree related posts. It sits with the widgets. The block shows the list readers will see for this post; when the post has no list yet, it says so in the editor and readers see nothing. Update the post to keep it. A post can hold the block once.
The block is in the inserter from plugin version 0.8.4. On an older version, update the plugin first. To show it on every post, on a block theme add it to the single post template in the site editor, or put
<!-- wp:silotree/related /-->in the template.Check it on the published post
Open the published post. Where the block sits, readers see Related and a list of up to three linked post titles. It takes your theme’s own text and list styles; a developer can style it with the
silotree-relatedclass.The block reads a copy of the list that the plugin keeps in your WordPress database, so a reader’s page never waits on Silotree and nothing is sent to Silotree when it loads. The block has no settings: the heading, the number of posts and their order are fixed.
Let the list refresh on its own
The plugin fetches a fresh copy of the list at most every six hours. It does so in the background through WP-Cron, after somebody who can edit posts has opened wp-admin, so a site nobody logs into keeps the list it has. If Silotree cannot be reached, the plugin tries again 15 minutes later.
Silotree works the list out again at each scan, so a new post joins it after the next scan and the next fetch. If Silotree sends back no pairs, the plugin keeps the list it already has.
What you should see
Each post where you placed the block ends with up to three posts on the same subject, in the reader’s language, picked from your whole site and updated after every scan. They are ordinary links to your own posts, so they help readers move on from a post. The plugin’s own counts leave them out, since they are not part of what you wrote.
If it doesn’t work
- Nothing shows where the block is
The block shows nothing at all, not even its heading, until there is a list for that post. That happens when:
- the site is not connected, or has not been scanned yet;
- the list has not been fetched since the scan: open wp-admin and give it a few minutes;
- the post has no other post in its topic or section, or nothing else in the same language;
- Silotree has not matched the post to WordPress yet: on Silotree → Reports, press Match posts to your scan.
- The list shows an old post or misses a new one
The list changes only after a scan and the next fetch. Run a scan in the app, then open wp-admin. Which posts belong together comes from your topics and sections.
- I disconnected the site
The plugin stops fetching, and the block keeps showing the last list it copied. Deleting the plugin removes the list, and the block then shows nothing.
Questions
Is the related posts block free?
Yes. It is part of the free plugin and works on every Silotree plan, Free included. It needs the site connected to a Silotree account, because the list comes from Silotree’s scan.
Does the block slow my pages down?
No. It reads a list the plugin keeps in your own database, and a reader’s page never contacts Silotree. The list is fetched in the background through WP-Cron, at most every six hours.
Can I choose how many posts it shows?
No. The block has no settings: up to three posts, the ones other posts link to most first, under the heading Related.