Group Posts in Pairs in WordPress Custom Query

Sometimes, when you build a website using WordPress, you may want to show posts in a clean layout. For example, imagine you are creating a blog or product page where you want to show 2 items in one row. But by default, posts come one after another, not in groups.

To do this, you need to group every 2 posts inside a single container. In this article, we will show you a simple way to do this using a counter in a custom query loop. This method helps you control the layout easily without using any extra plugins.

<?php
// Define your custom query
$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'post', // Change to your post type
    'posts_per_page' => -1, // Adjust the number of posts
);

$query = new WP_Query($args);

if ($query->have_posts()) :
    $counter = 0; // Initialize a counter
    echo '<div class="outer-container">'; // Optional: Wrap everything in an outer container
    while ($query->have_posts()) : $query->the_post();
        
        // Open a new div for every 2 posts
        if ($counter % 2 == 0) {
            echo '<div class="inner-container">'; // Start a new container
        }

        // Display your post content here
        ?>
        <div class="post-item">
            <h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
            <div class="post-excerpt">
                <?php the_excerpt(); ?>
            </div>
        </div>
        <?php

        $counter++; // Increment the counter

        // Close the div after every 2 posts
        if ($counter % 2 == 0) {
            echo '</div>'; // Close the container
        }

    endwhile;

    // Close the last div if it's not closed yet
    if ($counter % 2 != 0) {
        echo '</div>';
    }
    
    echo '</div>'; // Close the outer container
else :
    echo '<p>No posts found.</p>';
endif;

wp_reset_postdata();
?>