Wordpress single.php layout - php

Question

I am putting together my graphic design/portfolio blog using Wordpress theme 'Salient', I am having a problem with a setting within the theme which controls the layout of a blog post page (single.php), I have little experience with php and am hoping someone could tell me of a simple solution or rework my single.php file to display the way I want it.
I want my blog post page to look like this:
http://www.ravagedesign.com/freebies/greylime-hd-launcher-theme-icon-pack-released/
The blog-title/date/category & social icons are listed below the large feature graphic, I have achieved this by using a slider plugin however this isnt an option long term as I would end up with a huge list on my plugin and this also has a significantly slower page load time.
I dont want it to look like this:
http://www.ravagedesign.com/freebies/greyice-hd-launcher-theme-icon-pack-released/
The blog-title/date/category & social icons are placed inside the feature graphic, this post was made using more conventional methods built into the theme which incorporate the large feature graphic into each individual post.
Is there a modification I can make to my single.php file to use the feature graphic within the post options while placing all info below the feature graphic like the first page.
my single.php file (salient theme):
<?php get_header(); ?>
<?php
global $nectar_theme_skin, $options;
$bg = get_post_meta($post->ID, '_nectar_header_bg', true);
$bg_color = get_post_meta($post->ID, '_nectar_header_bg_color', true);
$fullscreen_header = (!empty($options['blog_header_type']) && $options['blog_header_type'] == 'fullscreen' && is_singular('post')) ? true : false;
$fullscreen_class = ($fullscreen_header == true) ? "fullscreen-header full-width-content" : null;
$theme_skin = (!empty($options['theme-skin']) && $options['theme-skin'] == 'ascend') ? 'ascend' : 'default';
$hide_sidebar = (!empty($options['blog_hide_sidebar'])) ? $options['blog_hide_sidebar'] : '0';
$blog_type = $options['blog_type'];
if(have_posts()) : while(have_posts()) : the_post();
nectar_page_header($post->ID);
endwhile; endif;
if($fullscreen_header == true) {
if(empty($bg) && empty($bg_color)) { ?>
<div class="not-loaded default-blog-title fullscreen-header" id="page-header-bg" data-alignment="center" data-parallax="0" data-height="450" style="height: 450px;">
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col span_6 section-title blog-title">
<h1 class="entry-title"><?php the_title(); ?></h1>
<div class="author-section">
<span class="meta-author vcard author">
<?php if (function_exists('get_avatar')) { echo get_avatar( get_the_author_meta('email'), 100 ); }?>
</span>
<div class="avatar-post-info">
<span class="fn"><?php the_author_posts_link(); ?></span>
<span class="meta-date date updated"><i><?php echo get_the_date(); ?></i></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<i class="icon-salient-down-arrow icon-default-style"> </i>
</div>
<?php }
if($theme_skin != 'ascend') { ?>
<div class="container">
<div id="single-below-header" class="<?php echo $fullscreen_class; ?> custom-skip">
<span class="meta-share-count"><i class="icon-default-style steadysets-icon-share"></i> <?php echo '<span class="share-count-total">0</span> <span class="plural">'. __('Shares',NECTAR_THEME_NAME) . '</span> <span class="singular">'. __('Share',NECTAR_THEME_NAME) .'</span>'; nectar_blog_social_sharing(); ?> </span>
<span class="meta-category"><i class="icon-default-style steadysets-icon-book2"></i> <?php the_category(', '); ?></span>
<span class="meta-comment-count"><i class="icon-default-style steadysets-icon-chat-3"></i> <?php comments_number( __('No Comments', NECTAR_THEME_NAME), __('One Comment ', NECTAR_THEME_NAME), __('% Comments', NECTAR_THEME_NAME) ); ?></span>
</div><!--/single-below-header-->
</div>
<?php }
} ?>
<div class="container-wrap <?php echo ($fullscreen_header == true) ? 'fullscreen-blog-header': null; ?> <?php if($blog_type == 'std-blog-fullwidth' || $hide_sidebar == '1') echo 'no-sidebar'; ?>">
<div class="container main-content">
<?php if(get_post_format() != 'quote' && get_post_format() != 'status' && get_post_format() != 'aside') { ?>
<?php if(have_posts()) : while(have_posts()) : the_post();
if((empty($bg) && empty($bg_color)) && $fullscreen_header != true) { ?>
<div class="row heading-title">
<div class="col span_12 section-title blog-title">
<h1 class="entry-title"><?php the_title(); ?></h1>
<div id="single-below-header">
<span class="meta-author vcard author"><span class="fn"><?php echo __('By', NECTAR_THEME_NAME); ?> <?php the_author_posts_link(); ?></span></span>
<?php if( !empty($options['blog_social']) && $options['blog_social'] == 1) { ?>
<span class="meta-date date updated"><?php echo get_the_date(); ?></span>
<?php } ?>
<span class="meta-category"><?php the_category(', '); ?></span>
<span class="meta-comment-count"><?php comments_number( __('No Comments', NECTAR_THEME_NAME), __('One Comment ', NECTAR_THEME_NAME), __('% Comments', NECTAR_THEME_NAME) ); ?></span>
</ul><!--project-additional-->
</div><!--/single-below-header-->
<div id="single-meta" data-sharing="<?php echo ( !empty($options['blog_social']) && $options['blog_social'] == 1 ) ? '1' : '0'; ?>">
<ul>
<?php if( empty($options['blog_social']) || $options['blog_social'] == 0 ) { ?>
<li>
<?php echo '<span class="n-shortcode">'.nectar_love('return').'</span>'; ?>
</li>
<li>
<?php echo get_the_date(); ?>
</li>
<?php } ?>
</ul>
<?php nectar_blog_social_sharing(); ?>
</div><!--/single-meta-->
</div><!--/section-title-->
</div><!--/row-->
<?php }
endwhile; endif; ?>
<?php } ?>
<div class="row">
<?php $options = get_option('salient');
global $options;
if($blog_type == 'std-blog-fullwidth' || $hide_sidebar == '1'){
echo '<div id="post-area" class="col span_12 col_last">';
} else {
echo '<div id="post-area" class="col span_9">';
}
if(have_posts()) : while(have_posts()) : the_post();
if ( floatval(get_bloginfo('version')) < "3.6" ) {
//old post formats before they got built into the core
get_template_part( 'includes/post-templates-pre-3-6/entry', get_post_format() );
} else {
//WP 3.6+ post formats
get_template_part( 'includes/post-templates/entry', get_post_format() );
}
endwhile; endif;
wp_link_pages();
$options = get_option('salient');
if($theme_skin != 'ascend') {
if( !empty($options['author_bio']) && $options['author_bio'] == true){
$grav_size = 80;
$fw_class = null;
?>
<div id="author-bio" class="<?php echo $fw_class; ?>">
<div class="span_12">
<?php if (function_exists('get_avatar')) { echo get_avatar( get_the_author_meta('email'), $grav_size ); }?>
<div id="author-info">
<h3><span><?php if(!empty($options['theme-skin']) && $options['theme-skin'] == 'ascend') { _e('Author', NECTAR_THEME_NAME); } else { _e('About', NECTAR_THEME_NAME); } ?></span> <?php the_author(); ?></h3>
<p><?php the_author_meta('description'); ?></p>
</div>
<?php if(!empty($options['theme-skin']) && $options['theme-skin'] == 'ascend'){ echo ' '. __("More posts by",NECTAR_THEME_NAME) . ' ' .get_the_author().' '; } ?>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
</div>
<?php } ?>
<div class="comments-section">
<?php comments_template(); ?>
</div>
<?php } ?>
</div><!--/span_9-->
<?php if($blog_type != 'std-blog-fullwidth' && $hide_sidebar != '1') { ?>
<div id="sidebar" class="col span_3 col_last">
<?php get_sidebar(); ?>
</div><!--/sidebar-->
<?php } ?>
</div><!--/row-->
<!--ascend only author/comment positioning-->
<div class="row">
<?php if($theme_skin == 'ascend' && $fullscreen_header == true) { ?>
<div id="single-below-header" class="<?php echo $fullscreen_class; ?> custom-skip">
<span class="meta-share-count"><i class="icon-default-style steadysets-icon-share"></i> <?php echo '<span class="share-count-total">0</span> <span class="plural">'. __('Shares',NECTAR_THEME_NAME) . '</span> <span class="singular">'. __('Share',NECTAR_THEME_NAME) .'</span> '; nectar_blog_social_sharing(); ?> </span>
<span class="meta-category"><i class="icon-default-style steadysets-icon-book2"></i> <?php the_category(', '); ?></span>
<span class="meta-comment-count"><i class="icon-default-style steadysets-icon-chat-3"></i> <a class="comments-link" href="<?php comments_link(); ?>"><?php comments_number( __('No Comments', NECTAR_THEME_NAME), __('One Comment ', NECTAR_THEME_NAME), __('% Comments', NECTAR_THEME_NAME) ); ?></a></span>
</div><!--/single-below-header-->
<?php }
if($theme_skin == 'ascend') nectar_next_post_display(); ?>
<?php if( !empty($options['author_bio']) && $options['author_bio'] == true && $theme_skin == 'ascend'){
$grav_size = 80;
$fw_class = 'full-width-section ';
$next_post = get_previous_post();
$next_post_button = (!empty($options['blog_next_post_link']) && $options['blog_next_post_link'] == '1') ? 'on' : 'off';
?>
<div id="author-bio" class="<?php echo $fw_class; if(empty($next_post) || $next_post_button == 'off' || $fullscreen_header == false && $next_post_button == 'off') echo 'no-pagination'; ?>">
<div class="span_12">
<?php if (function_exists('get_avatar')) { echo get_avatar( get_the_author_meta('email'), $grav_size ); }?>
<div id="author-info">
<h3><span><?php if(!empty($options['theme-skin']) && $options['theme-skin'] == 'ascend') { echo '<i>' . __('Author', NECTAR_THEME_NAME) . '</i>'; } else { _e('About', NECTAR_THEME_NAME); } ?></span> <?php the_author(); ?></h3>
<p><?php the_author_meta('description'); ?></p>
</div>
<?php if(!empty($options['theme-skin']) && $options['theme-skin'] == 'ascend'){ echo '' . __("More posts by",NECTAR_THEME_NAME) . ' ' . get_the_author().' '; } ?>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
</div>
<?php } ?>
<?php if($theme_skin == 'ascend') { ?>
<div class="comments-section">
<?php comments_template(); ?>
</div>
<?php } ?>
</div>
<?php if($theme_skin != 'ascend') nectar_next_post_display(); ?>
</div><!--/container-->
</div><!--/container-wrap-->
<?php get_footer(); ?>
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

you can use plugin : https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-post-template/
and now u have to copy the single.php and make another template suppose u named it blog.php then add this to top of ur file:
<?php
/** blog.php
*
* The Template for displaying all Blog posts.
*
* Template Name Posts: Blog Page
*/
get_header(); ?>
now copy your content-single.php and named it content-blog.php
and make all the changes in layout here in these two custom files.
make sure that when u change the template then u have to call the content-blog in place of content single in ur blog.php file template.
ex:
while ( have_posts() ) {
the_post();
get_template_part( '/partials/content', 'blog' );
comments_template();
} ?>