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Live content reference guide

Live content is how pages built with Uncanny Page Builder stay current on their own — a footer whose copyright year is always right, a “latest posts” section that updates itself, a welcome message that greets logged-in members by name. This guide explains how live content works under the hood, then lists every live element available, with a short description of each.

For a practical introduction with examples, see Adding live content to your pages.

How live content works: data bindings

Under the hood, every live element is powered by a data binding — a declared link between an element on your page and a piece of WordPress data.

Here’s the key idea: instead of copying today’s value into the page (the way static text would), the element stores which data it’s bound to — “the site title,” “the current user’s name,” “the three most recent posts.” When a visitor requests the page, Page Builder resolves each binding on the server and renders the current value directly into the page’s clean HTML. Because resolution happens server-side, no extra scripts are shipped to the browser for the data itself — the visitor just receives finished HTML and CSS.

Each of the 91 built-in bindings declares three things:

  1. What data it connects to — a site setting, the current post, the visitor, a list of posts, a menu, and so on.
  2. How it renders — as text, an image, a link, a form, a card grid, or a wrapper that shows or hides its contents.
  3. How it behaves without the plugin — its offline-snapshot behavior, described below.

Bindings render inside your design like any other element, so they can be styled — per device and per state — exactly like static content. You add them the same way you build everything else: ask Uncanny Agent (“add a section showing my three latest posts”) or work in the Manual editor.

Offline snapshots vs. live-only bindings

Bindings come in two classes, and the difference matters for the no-lock-in promise:

  • Snapshot-capable bindings (✓ in the tables below) keep their last-published content in the page’s markup. If the plugin is ever deactivated, the page still renders with those last-published values — they simply pause updating until the plugin returns.
  • Live-only bindings depend on request-time data — most often who is viewing the page — so they need the plugin active to display. Note that a page containing a live-only element doesn’t get the offline fallback, so if plugin-off portability matters for a particular page, build it from snapshot-capable elements.

Privacy and governance by design

Two safety properties are built into the binding system:

  • Visitor-specific data is never stored. Bindings like Current User Name are always resolved at request time; personal details are never frozen into your saved page content.
  • Open-ended bindings are governed. Bindings that could reach arbitrary data — WP Option, Post Meta, User Meta, WordPress Shortcode, and WP Embed — only expose allowlisted or governed values and approved providers, so a page can’t leak site internals.

The full catalog

Reading the “Offline snapshot” column: ✓ means the element’s last-published content stays visible even if the plugin is deactivated (it just stops updating). Live-only means the element needs the plugin active to display.

Site identity and branding (12)

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
Site TitleThe WordPress site name
Site TaglineThe site tagline/description
Site LogoThe site logo (from the Customizer or Page Builder branding)
Site URLThe site home URL
Home LinkThe linked site name pointing home
Site LanguageThe site language code (e.g., en-US)
Copyright YearThe current year, for footers
Privacy Policy URLLink to the site’s privacy policy page
RSS Feed URLThe site’s RSS feed link
Atom Feed URLThe site’s Atom feed link
Admin EmailThe site administrator email addressLive-only
WP OptionAn allowlisted public site setting value

Visitor-aware and membership (13)

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
Current User NameThe logged-in visitor’s display nameLive-only
Current User AvatarThe logged-in visitor’s profile photoLive-only
Current User EmailThe logged-in visitor’s emailLive-only
Current User BioThe logged-in visitor’s bioLive-only
Current User RoleThe logged-in visitor’s roleLive-only
Current User Posts URLLink to the visitor’s author archiveLive-only
User MetaA governed custom user profile fieldLive-only
Login FormA login form (or welcome message when logged in)Live-only
Registration FormA user registration formLive-only
Login URLLink to the login page
Logout URLLink to log outLive-only
Lost Password URLLink to password recovery
Register URLLink to the registration page

Conditional sections — show or hide by audience or context (18)

Each of these wraps other content and shows it only when its condition is met.

BindingShows its content only when…Offline snapshot
If Logged In…the visitor is logged inLive-only
If Logged Out…the visitor is NOT logged inLive-only
If Role…the visitor has a specific roleLive-only
If Capability…the visitor has a specific permissionLive-only
If Front Page…viewing the site’s front pageLive-only
If Home (Blog)…viewing the blog listing pageLive-only
If Page…viewing a static pageLive-only
If Single Post…viewing a single postLive-only
If Archive…viewing any archive pageLive-only
If Category Archive…viewing a category archiveLive-only
If Tag Archive…viewing a tag archiveLive-only
If Author Archive…viewing an author archiveLive-only
If Search Results…viewing search resultsLive-only
If 404 Not Found…on the 404 error pageLive-only
If Comments Open…comments are open on the current post
If Has Excerpt…the current post has a manual excerpt
If Has Menu…a menu is assigned to the given location
If Has Featured Image…the current post has a featured image

Current page and post details (17)

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
Page TitleThe current page/post title
Page PermalinkThe current page/post URL
Page DateThe publish date
Page Modified DateThe last-updated date
Page ExcerptThe excerpt/summary
Page Featured ImageThe featured image
Page AuthorThe author’s name
Page Author AvatarThe author’s photo
Author BoxAuthor bio box: avatar, name, bio, and link
Post Author URLLink to the author’s archive
Post CategoryThe post’s primary category
Post TagsThe post’s tag list
Post Comment CountNumber of comments
Post Reading TimeEstimated reading time (“5 min read”)
Post Type LabelThe content type’s name (e.g., “Post,” “Course”)
Post Type Archive LinkLink to a content type’s archive
Post MetaA governed custom field valueLive-only

Post-to-post navigation (5)

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
Next Post LinkLink to the next post
Previous Post LinkLink to the previous post
Post Prev/NextPrevious and next navigation together
WP PaginationArchive page numbers
WordPress BreadcrumbsBreadcrumb trail for the current page

Post and content lists — repeating card grids (11)

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
WordPress Recent PostsMost recent posts as cards
WordPress Popular PostsMost-commented posts as cards
WordPress Related PostsPosts sharing categories/tags with the current one
WordPress Sticky PostsFeatured (sticky) posts as cards
WordPress Post QueryAny posts/pages/custom content as card grids, with filtering and orderingLive-only
WordPress Child PagesSub-pages of a parent as cards
WordPress PagesTop-level pages as cards
WordPress CommentsA post’s approved comments as cards
WordPress UsersUser cards: name, avatar, bio, and profile link (team pages, author directories)
WordPress Taxonomy TermsCategories/tags/custom terms as card grids
WP GalleryA post’s attached images as a gallery grid

WordPress Post Query can list any content type on the site — courses or products appear as generic cards (title, image, link), without plugin-specific data like prices or course progress.

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
WordPress Navigation MenuA site menu, styled to match the page
WordPress Pages ListA hierarchical list of pages
WordPress Categories ListCategories, optionally with post counts
WordPress Archives ListMonthly/yearly archive links
WordPress Tag CloudA tag cloud from any taxonomy

Forms and embeds (3)

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
Search FormThe site search form
WordPress ShortcodeOutput of an allowlisted shortcode inside a designed sectionLive-only
WP EmbedEmbedded media from approved providers (e.g., YouTube)Live-only

Social sharing (4)

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
Share on FacebookFacebook share link for the current page
Share on Twitter/XX share link
Share on LinkedInLinkedIn share link
Share via EmailEmail share link

Site statistics (3)

BindingWhat it showsOffline snapshot
Total Posts CountNumber of published posts
Total Users CountNumber of registered users
Total Comments CountTotal approved comments

Related: Adding live content to your pages and Downloading, exporting, and moving your pages.

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