What Is a Post Format in WordPress?

Post formats are meta information (a label saved with a post) that a theme can use to change how that post is displayed. WordPress introduced them in version 3.1, released on February 23, 2011. Assigning a format changes presentation only: the post's content never changes, and if the theme doesn't support the format you chose, WordPress falls back to the default Standard display.

The 9 standardized post formats

WordPress core defines the complete list, documented in the WordPress Theme Handbook, and the list is fixed: neither themes nor plugins can add new formats. Each theme chooses which of the 9 it will support and style:

• Aside: a short note, typically styled without a title
• Gallery: a gallery of images
• Link: a link to another site
• Image: a single image
• Quote: a quotation
• Status: a short update, similar to a Twitter status
• Video: a single video or video playlist
• Audio: an audio file or playlist, such as a podcast episode
• Chat: a chat transcript

Standard isn't on the list because it isn't a format. It's the default label for a post with no format assigned, and the fallback whenever a post's format is invalid.

Post format vs. post type

The names sound alike, but they describe different things:

• Post format: a display label on an ordinary blog post, picked from the fixed core list. It changes how the post looks, never what it contains.
• Post type: a structurally different kind of content. Posts and pages are built-in post types, and a custom post type adds a new one, such as products, portfolio items, or testimonials.

Use a post format to vary how blog posts look. Create a custom post type when the content itself is different.

How a theme declares support

A theme opts in with one line in its functions.php file, passing only the formats it plans to style: add_theme_support( 'post-formats', array( 'aside', 'gallery', 'quote' ) ); The call must run before the init hook fires; the Theme Handbook recommends the after_setup_theme hook. From then on, the theme can check a post's format with conditional tags like has_post_format( 'video' ) and style each format differently.

How to set a post format

Open the post for editing and pick a format from the post format option in the post's settings. The block editor lists it in the post's settings sidebar; the classic editor shows a radio-button list in the Publish box. Update the post and the theme applies the matching display.

If you don't see the option, nothing is broken: the picker only appears when the active theme declares post format support.

Post formats on block themes

Post formats date from the classic-theme era, and WordPress now files their documentation under the classic themes section of its Theme Handbook. Block themes don't ship with format support: a block theme can still opt in through its functions.php file, but the Full-Site Editor has no format-specific templates or archives. The proposal to add them (Gutenberg issue #53049, opened in July 2023) is still open as of August 2026.

In practice, Gutenberg blocks and block patterns now cover the ground post formats were invented for. If your classic theme styles formats, keep using them. On a block theme, reach for block patterns instead.