What is Divi Loop Extender?

Divi Loop Extender takes the powerful Loop Builder in Divi 5 and extends it with advanced filtering and sorting options. While Divi’s Loop Builder handles the basics beautifully, Loop Extender gives you precision control over how your data displays.

Here’s what makes it powerful:

• Advanced post status filtering – Show pending, scheduled, draft, or published posts
• Date-based queries – Filter by publish date, modified date, or custom date ranges
• Relative date filtering – Display content from “last 30 days” or “next 7 days”
• Enhanced sorting options – More control over how content displays
• Seamless integration – Works directly inside Divi’s Loop Builder interface

Built specifically for Divi 5’s beta and designed to work with the stable release when it launches.

Learn more about Divi Loop Extender

What you’ll build

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a functional editorial dashboard with:

1. Pending review section – Shows all posts waiting for editorial approval
2. Scheduled posts section – Displays content scheduled for future publication
3. Recently published section – Lists posts published in the last 30 days

Each section includes featured images, post titles, author names, and action buttons. The entire dashboard will be protected with user role restrictions so only editors and administrators can access it.

Before you start

Here’s what you need:

• Divi 5 installed (beta version or stable release)
• Divi Loop Extender plugin installed and activated
• A WordPress site with multiple posts in various states (pending, scheduled, published)
• Editor or administrator access to your site

Don’t have test content? Create a few draft posts, schedule some for future dates, and set a couple to pending review. This gives you real data to work with.

Free WordPress Posts Import file

PRO TIP: If you’re following along without Divi Loop Extender installed, grab it from DiviEngine.com or the Elegant Themes marketplace. It’s affordably priced and includes updates and support.

Step 1: Set up your page foundation

Start with a fresh Divi page. You can build this on an existing page or create a dedicated editorial dashboard page.

Open the Divi Builder and choose how you want to start:

• Build from scratch – Start with a blank canvas
• Use a pre-made layout – Pull in a Divi 5 layout pack and customize it

For this tutorial, we’ll use a pre-made layout as the foundation. This speeds up the design process since we’re focusing on functionality, not styling from scratch.

1. Open your page in the Divi Builder
2. Click the “+” icon to add a new section
3. Browse the pre-made layouts and choose one that fits your aesthetic
4. Delete any unnecessary elements to clean up your workspace

PRO TIP: Keep your page structure simple. Three main sections work well for this dashboard: one for each post status category.

Step 2: Create the pending review section

Let’s build the first section showing posts that need editorial review.

Add the section heading

Create a text module above where your loop will go:

1. Add a new heading or text module
2. Type “Pending review” as your heading
3. Style it to match your site’s design

This gives context to editors about what they’re looking at.

Add a row and group carousel module

Now you’ll add the module that displays your posts:

1. Below your heading, click to add a new row
2. Choose the “Flex equal columns” layout
3. Inside that row, add the Group Carousel module

The Group Carousel module is perfect for editorial dashboards because it displays multiple items in a scrollable carousel format. It keeps your dashboard compact while showing lots of content.

Activate the loop

Here’s where the magic happens:

1. Click on your Group Carousel Slide module to open its settings
2. Look for the loop settings in the Loop accordion on the Content tab
3. Toggle Loop Element to activate it

When you enable the loop, Divi automatically adds a Group Carousel Slide inside your module. The contents of this slide becomes the template that repeats for each post.

Add loop item elements

Inside the Group Carousel Slide, add the elements you want to display for each post:

1. Click to add a new module inside the slide
2. Add an Image module – This will show the featured image
3. Add a Heading module – This will display the post title
4. Add a Text module – This will show the author name
5. Add a Button module – This creates a link to view or edit the post

Make sure to wire up each modules content to the loop by Inserting the Dynamic Content.

Now each module you added here will automatically display the dynamic content from your posts when the loop runs.

PRO TIP: Work in the layers view (the panel on the left side of the builder). It makes managing nested elements way easier, especially when you’ve got multiple modules inside carousel slides.

Step 3: Configure Loop Extender for pending posts

This is where Loop Extender shines. You’ll set up precise filtering to show only posts with “pending” status.

Inside your Group Carousel Slide settings:

Set the post status filter

Inside your Group Carousel Slide settings:

1. Expand the Loop accordion
2. Scroll down to the Post Status dropdown
3. Select Pending Review
4. Leave other settings at their defaults for now

Divi Loop Extender will now filter your loop to show only pending review posts. If you have pending posts in your site, you’ll see them populate the carousel on the frontend.

PRO TIP: You can select multiple post statuses if needed. For example, you might want to show both “pending” and “draft” posts in the same section.

Step 4: Customize your loop item design

Make your posts look good and provide the information editors need.

Style the featured image

1. Click on your Image module
2. Set a consistent size (like 400px width)
3. Add rounded corners or borders if desired
4. Enable the featured image dynamic content option

Format the post title

1. Click on your Heading module
2. Connect it to the post title dynamic content
3. Style the typography (font size, color, weight)
4. Set it to link to the post edit screen

Add author information

1. Click on your Text module
2. Connect it to the author display name
3. Style it as secondary information (smaller, lighter color)

Create an action button

1. Click on your Button module
2. Set the text to something like “Review post”
3. Link it to the post edit URL (use dynamic content)
4. Style it to match your site (colors, size, shape)

PRO TIP: Make your button text action-oriented. “Review post” is better than “View” because it tells editors exactly what they’ll do.

Step 5: Build the scheduled posts section

Now you’ll create the second section for posts scheduled for future publication.

Duplicate your first section

Save time by copying what you already built:

1. Click on your pending review section
2. Use the duplicate function
3. Drag the duplicate below your first section
4. Update the heading to “Scheduled for publication”

Change the post status filter

Update Loop Extender to show scheduled posts:

1. Open the Group Carousel Slide settings
2. Find the Loop Extender settings
3. Change Post Status from “Pending Review” to Scheduled

That’s it. Your second section now shows only scheduled posts.

Step 6: Create the recently published section

The third section shows content that just went live.

Duplicate your section again

1. Duplicate either your pending or scheduled section
2. Move it below the scheduled section
3. Update the heading to “Recently published”

Configure for published posts

1. Open the Group Carousel settings
2. In Loop Extender, set Post Status to Published

Add the “last 30 days” date filter

This is where Loop Extender really proves its value:

1. Find the Order by dropdown
2. Choose Publish Date as your order type
3. Scroll to the Published Date Method option
4. Set it to Yesterday and past x days
5. Enter “30” as your Custom Day Count
6. That is it!

Divi Loop Extender calculates the date range dynamically, so your dashboard always shows the most recent 30 days without you touching it again.

PRO TIP: Adjust the timeframe based on your publishing frequency. High-volume blogs might use 7 days, while slower sites might show 60 or 90 days.

Step 7: Add user role restrictions

Protect your editorial dashboard so only authorized users can access it.

Divi 5 includes built-in conditional logic for this exact purpose.

Set up the editor access section

Your dashboard needs two versions:

1. The dashboard content (for editors and administrators)
2. A message for everyone else

Create a new section above your dashboard:

1. Add a section
2. Add a text module
3. Write something like “This page is for editorial staff only”
4. Style it as a notice or alert

Configure conditional logic for editors

On your main dashboard section (the one with all three post sections):

1. Click on the section to open settings
2. Go to the Advanced tab
3. Find Display Options
4. Click Add a condition
5. Under User, select User Role
6. Choose is equal to
7. Select Editor and Administrator
8. Click Apply

Now your dashboard only shows to editors and administrators.

Set up the restricted access message

On your “editorial staff only” message section:

1. Open section settings
2. Go to Advanced > Display Options
3. Add a condition
4. Under User, select User Role
5. Choose is not equal to
6. Select Editor and Administrator
7. Apply the rule

This message shows to everyone except editors and administrators.

PRO TIP: Test this with a non-admin account. Log out and create a subscriber account, then view the page to confirm the restriction works.

Step 8: Test your dashboard

Before considering this done, verify everything works correctly.

Check each section

1. Pending review section – Should show only pending posts
2. Scheduled section – Should show only scheduled posts
3. Recently published section – Should show only posts from the last 30 days

Create test posts

Verify the filters work:

1. Create a new post and set it to “pending review”
2. Refresh your dashboard – it should appear in the pending section
3. Schedule a post for next week
4. Refresh – it should appear in the scheduled section
5. Publish a post
6. Refresh – it should appear in the recently published section

Test user role restrictions

1. Log in as an editor – dashboard should be visible
2. Log in as a subscriber – should see the “staff only” message
3. Log out completely – should see the “staff only” message

Next steps: Expand your dashboard

Once your basic dashboard is working, consider these additions:

Add more sections:

• Posts by specific author
• Posts in specific categories
• Custom post types (if you’re using them)
• Posts needing updates (older than X days)

Include additional information:

• Word count
• SEO score (if using an SEO plugin)
• Number of comments
• Last modified date

Create multiple dashboards:

• One for editors
• One for authors (showing only their own posts)
• One for administrators (showing site-wide statistics)

Integrate with other Divi Engine plugins:

• Use Divi Machine for custom field data
• Add Divi Ajax Filter for real-time filtering
• Combine with Divi Form Builder for submission dashboards

Why this matters for editorial teams

A custom editorial dashboard transforms how content teams work. Instead of digging through WordPress’s default posts screen, editors see exactly what needs attention. Authors know what’s coming up. Administrators get a high-level view of content flow.

This saves time, reduces missed deadlines, and keeps everyone aligned on content priorities.

The beauty of building it in Divi with Loop Extender is that you control everything. Need to show more information? Add more modules. Want different date ranges? Adjust the filters. Need separate views for different user roles? Duplicate and customize.

You’re not locked into someone else’s dashboard design. You build exactly what your team needs.

Get Divi Loop Extender

Ready to build your own editorial dashboard? Grab Divi Loop Extender from DiviEngine.com or the Elegant Themes marketplace.

Get Divi Loop Extender

It works with Divi 5 beta now and will be fully compatible with the stable release when it launches. The plugin includes regular updates, documentation, and support.

Want access to all our Divi plugins? Check out our All Access Pass for the best value.

Questions about building your dashboard? Drop them in the comments. We’re here to help.