---
title: "How to Add a Category Wise Filter in Blog Post in Elementor?"
url: https://theplusaddons.com/docs/add-category-wise-filter-in-blog-post-in-elementor/
date: 2023-05-04
modified: 2026-09-11
lang: en
author: "Aditya Sharma"
description: "Do you want visitors to filter your blog posts by category? A row of category buttons above the listing lets people jump straight to the topic they care about, without..."
image: https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/How-to-Add-a-Category-Wise-Filter-in-Blog-Post-in-Elementor_-1024x536.jpg
word_count: 744
---

# How to Add a Category Wise Filter in Blog Post in Elementor?

## 

- The Plus Addons for Elementor Blog/Post Listing widget builds a category-wise filter from existing WordPress categories, with no extra plugin and no code.
- Category Wise Filter is Pro only, and the free plugin shows the option with an upgrade notice instead of its settings.
- Blog/Post Listing supports Category Wise Filter only on Normal Page layouts using Grid, Masonry, or Metro, not on Carousel, Archive Page, or Single Page Related Posts listings.
- Filter Type offers Normal and AJAX, and AJAX fetches matching posts from the whole blog when Maximum Post Display is lower than the total post count or when the listing is paginated or limited.

Do you want visitors to filter your blog posts by category? A row of category buttons above the listing lets people jump straight to the topic they care about, without leaving the page.

The Blog/Post Listing widget in The Plus Addons for Elementor builds that filter from your existing WordPress categories. No extra plugin, no code.

*To check the complete feature overview documentation of The Plus Addons for Elementor Blog Listing widget, [click here](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/blog-listing-widget-settings-overview/).*

***Requirement - This widget is a part of The Plus Addons for Elementor, make sure it's installed & activated to enjoy all its powers.***

[LIVE WIDGET LINK](https://theplusaddons.com/elementor-listing/?utm_source=tpae&utm_medium=docs&utm_campaign=text#blog-post-wgts)

## Before You Start

- **Edition:** **Pro** — Category Wise Filter is part of The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro. In the free plugin the option is visible but shows an upgrade notice instead of its settings.- **Posts with categories.** The filter lists the categories your posts are actually assigned to. A category with no posts will not appear.- **Widget to enable:** Blog/Post Listing, switched on under **ThePlus Settings > Widgets**.

## Step 1: Add the widget and pick a layout

Drag the **Blog/Post Listing** widget onto the page. In **Content > Layout**, keep **Post Listing Types** on **Normal Page** and choose Grid, Masonry or Metro.

> *The filter is not available with the **Carousel** layout, or with the **Archive Page** and **Single Page Related Posts** listing types. On those, the Category Wise Filter section does not appear.*

![The Layout section of the Blog Listing widget with the Grid layout selected](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/tp-blog-listout-layout-wide-grid.webp)

## Step 2: Turn on Category Wise Filter

Open the **Content > Category Wise Filter** section and switch on **Category Wise Filter**. A row of category buttons appears above the posts straight away.

![The Category Wise Filter toggle switched on in the Content tab](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/tp-blog-listout-category-wise-filter-wide-filter.webp)

## Step 3: Choose how the filter searches

**Filter Type** decides which posts a click can reach:

- **Normal** (default) — filters only the posts already on the page.- **AJAX** — fetches matching posts from your whole blog, even ones not loaded yet.

If **Maximum Post Display** (labelled *Maximum Posts Display* in the free plugin) is lower than your total post count, Normal can show an empty category simply because its posts are not on the first page. Use AJAX in that case. The difference is shown step by step in [display posts using an AJAX filter](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/display-posts-using-an-ajax-filter-in-blog-listing/).

**Select Taxonomy** lets you filter by tags or post format instead of categories.

## Step 4: Set the All button and the look

- **All Filter** — on by default. Adds a button that shows every post again.- **Category Text** — the label on that button, default *All*.- **Category Filter Style** and **Filter Hover Style** — four preset designs each, for the normal and hover states.- **Filter Alignment** — left, centre or right.

![The All Filter toggle and Category Text field in the Category Wise Filter section](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/tp-blog-listout-category-text-wide-filter.webp)

![The Category Filter Style dropdown with four preset styles](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/tp-blog-listout-category-filter-style-wide-filter.webp)

Colours, typography and spacing for the buttons are on the **Style** tab, in the **Filter Category** section.

![A blog listing with category filter buttons above the posts](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/blog-listing-category-filter-demo.gif)

## Settings Reference

| Setting | Where | Options | Default |
| ------- | ----- | ------- | ------- |
| Category Wise Filter | Content > Category Wise Filter | Show / Hide | Hide |
| Filter Alignment | Content > Category Wise Filter | Left, Center, Right | Center |
| Select Taxonomy | Content > Category Wise Filter | Category, Tag, Post Format | Category |
| Filter Type | Content > Category Wise Filter | Normal, AJAX | Normal |
| Search Type | Content > Category Wise Filter | ID, Slug | Slug |
| All Filter | Content > Category Wise Filter | Show / Hide | Show |
| Category Text | Content > Category Wise Filter | Free text | All |
| Category Filter Style | Content > Category Wise Filter | Style 1 to 4 | Style 1 |
| Filter Hover Style | Content > Category Wise Filter | Style 1 to 4 | Style 1 |

## Limitations

- **Pro only.** In the free plugin the toggle is visible but shows an upgrade notice.- **Not on Carousel**, Archive Page or Single Page Related Posts listings.- **Normal filtering is page-bound.** It only sees the posts already loaded. Use AJAX when the listing is paginated or limited.- **Empty categories are skipped.** A category appears only if at least one post in the listing uses it.

## Troubleshooting

### I cannot find the Category Wise Filter section

Check the Layout is not Carousel and **Post Listing Types** is Normal Page. On the free plugin the section shows an upgrade notice, because the feature is Pro.

### A category shows no posts when clicked

With **Filter Type** on Normal, the filter only searches posts already on the page. Switch to **AJAX**, or raise **Maximum Post Display** (labelled *Maximum Posts Display* in the free plugin).

### A category is missing from the filter

No post in the current listing is assigned to it. Assign the category to at least one post, and check it is not excluded in **Content > Content Source**.

## Related Docs

- [Blog Listing widget: settings overview](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/blog-listing-widget-settings-overview/) — every control in the widget.- [Display posts using an AJAX filter](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/display-posts-using-an-ajax-filter-in-blog-listing/)- [Create a shareable URL with the category filter](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/create-a-shareable-url-with-category-filter-for-blog-posts-in-elementor/)- [Create a category archive page in Elementor](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/create-category-archive-page-in-elementor/)- [Exclude blog posts by category and tags](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/exclude-blog-post-based-on-category-and-tags/)

The same kind of category filter is available in other The Plus Addons listing widgets, including [the Gallery Listing widget](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/create-filterable-image-gallery-in-elementor/).