Custom Post Type in WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you eager to expand your horizons within WordPress, venturing beyond the realms of traditional posts and pages? Custom post types open the door to this uncharted territory. They empower you to create a variety of content formats, fine-tuning your WordPress site into an exceptionally versatile content management system (CMS).

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve deeply into the art of crafting custom post types in WordPress, ensuring you grasp the full extent of this powerful feature.

Alt: Illustration of Man Sitting Behind Landing Pages

Understanding Custom Post Types in WordPress

To begin, let’s demystify custom post types in WordPress. Essentially, post types serve as content categorization tools, allowing you to differentiate your content seamlessly. While posts and pages are the default post types, custom post types grant you the creative freedom to design content structures that align perfectly with your unique requirements.

WordPress inherently introduces several default post types, including:

Posts: The conventional format for blog entries;
Pages: Designed for static, non-blog content such as ‘About Us’ or ‘Contact’ pages;
Attachments: Reserved for media attachments like images;
Revisions: A historical record of post revisions;
Nav Menu: Dedicated to storing navigation menu data.

At WPBeginner, we strategically utilize custom post types for our Deals and Glossary sections, ensuring that these distinct content streams remain neatly separated from our regular blog articles.

Custom post types can be equipped with their unique custom fields and specialized category structures, offering an unparalleled level of content organization.

The Significance of Custom Post Types

Custom post types serve multiple critical purposes:

Structured Content: They facilitate the presentation of content in a structured manner, particularly valuable for content types that require unique formatting;

Data Organization: Custom post types play a significant role in maintaining well-organized data on your WordPress site, optimizing both user interaction and backend management;

Plugin Compatibility: Numerous widely-used WordPress plugins, such as WooCommerce for e-commerce, WPForms for form building, and MemberPress for membership sites, heavily rely on custom post types for data storage.

Now, let’s embark on a step-by-step journey to create custom post types in WordPress. We’ll explore two distinct approaches and shed light on effective methods for displaying them on your website.

Discover how to develop your custom plugin in the next video

Crafting a Custom Post Type Using WPCode (Recommended)

Usually, creating a custom post type involves adding code to your theme’s functions.php file, a task better suited for advanced users, as even a small error could disrupt your site’s functionality, especially during theme updates.

However, we recommend using WPCode, a user-friendly and secure method for adding custom code to your WordPress site.

Here’s your roadmap:

Install and activate the free WPCode plugin. To start, go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Code Snippets » Add Snippet;
In the ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ section, select ‘Use Snippet.’;
Provide your snippet with an appropriate title and enable the ‘Active’ switch;
Insert the code snippet below into the ‘Code Preview’ area. This code is designed to create a basic custom post type named ‘Movies,’ seamlessly compatible with any theme.

```php

// Our custom post type function

function create_posttype() {

  register_post_type('movies',

    array(

      'labels' => array(

        'name' => __('Movies'),

        'singular_name' => __('Movie')

      ),

      'public' => true,

      'has_archive' => true,

      'rewrite' => array('slug' => 'movies'),

      'show_in_rest' => true,

    )

  );

}

// Add our function to theme setup

add_action('init', 'create_posttype');

```

Click ‘Update’ to save your changes. If you aspire to create a more advanced custom post type, we have provided an alternative code snippet later in this guide.

By following these steps, you have successfully created a custom post type within your WordPress ecosystem, enhancing your content organization and management capabilities.

Creating a Custom Post Type Through a Plugin

For WordPress beginners, creating custom post types is straightforward, thanks to plugins. Here’s your roadmap:

Begin by installing and activating the ‘Custom Post Type UI’ plugin;
In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to CPT UI » Add / Edit Post Types, and access the ‘Add New Post Type’ tab;
In the ‘Post Type Name’ field, assign a unique slug for your custom post type (e.g., ‘movies’). Remember that this slug affects both the URL and queries related to your custom post type;
Specify plural and singular names for your post type;
Optionally, select ‘Populate additional labels based on chosen labels’ to automate additional label fields;
Scroll down to ‘Additional Labels,’ provide a description, and customize labels used within the WordPress interface;
Configure post type settings, where you can fine-tune attributes like hierarchy, post type support (e.g., revisions, custom fields), and taxonomy associations (e.g., categories);
Click ‘Add Post Type’ to finalize your creation and introduce your very own custom post type.

With these steps, you’ve successfully navigated the creation of a custom post type through a plugin, a user-friendly approach to enhancing your WordPress content capabilities.

Effectively Displaying Custom Post Types on Your Site

Now that you’ve given life to your custom post type, it’s time to showcase it to the world. WordPress offers various methods for this, each brimming with its unique advantages.

Default Archive Template Display

The simplest method involves adding a custom link to your website’s menu. If you’ve configured SEO-friendly permalinks, your custom post type’s URL will resemble: ‘http://example.com/movies’ (replace ‘example.com’ with your domain name and ‘movies’ with your custom post type name).

Alternatively, without SEO-friendly permalinks, it will adopt the structure ‘http://example.com/?post_type=movies.’

This straightforward approach ensures that your custom post type archive page is easily accessible to visitors directly from your menu, utilizing the archive.php template from your theme.

Crafting Custom Post Type Templates

For those seeking complete control over their custom post type’s appearance, custom templates are the answer. Create a new file within your theme directory, naming it ‘archive-movies.php’ (replace ‘movies’ with your custom post type name).

Copy the contents of your theme’s archive.php file into this template and then customize it to your exact requirements.

Additionally, for single post entry displays, generate ‘single-movies.php’ within your theme directory and tailor it accordingly. This provides a streamlined approach to creating customized templates for your custom post type.

Displaying Custom Post Types on the Front Page

If you wish to showcase your custom post type content on your website’s front page, you can use a code snippet as demonstrated below. Utilize the free WPCode plugin to add this snippet, ensuring that your custom post type is seamlessly integrated.

```php

add_action('pre_get_posts', 'add_my_post_types_to_query');

function add_my_post_types_to_query($query) {

  if (is_home() && $query->is_main_query())

    $query->set('post_type', array('post', 'movies'));

  return $query;

}

```

Remember to replace ‘movies’ with your custom post type’s name.

Querying Custom Post Types

For those proficient in coding, querying custom post types directly in your templates provides complete control. Utilize the code snippet below to retrieve items from your custom post type and incorporate it into your chosen template.

```php

<?php 

$args = array('post_type' => 'movies', 'posts_per_page' => 10);

$the_query = new WP_Query($args);

if ($the_query->have_posts()) :

  while ($the_query->have_posts()) : $the_query->the_post(); ?>

    <h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>

    <div class="entry-content">

      <?php the_content(); ?>

    </div>

  <?php endwhile;

  wp_reset_postdata();

else : ?>

  <p><?php _e('Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.'); ?></p>

<?php endif; ?>

```

This code snippet empowers you to define the post type and the number of posts to display, providing complete control over the loop query in your templates.

Displaying Custom Post Types in Widgets

By using the ‘Custom Post Type Widgets’ plugin, you can effortlessly display your custom post type entries in widgets. Once installed and activated, visit Appearance » Widgets and drag the ‘Recent Posts (Custom Post Type)’ widget into your desired sidebar.

Configure the widget by selecting your custom post type from the ‘Post Type’ dropdown and defining your preferred options. After clicking ‘Update,’ your custom post type content will be seamlessly integrated into your site’s widgets.

This plugin offers a range of custom post type widgets, including archives, calendars, categories, recent comments, search, and tag clouds, catering to various display needs.

Conclusion

Custom post types are an invaluable asset in your WordPress toolkit, empowering you to create content structures that align seamlessly with your website’s objectives. Whether you’re an experienced developer or a newcomer, you now possess the knowledge to create and showcase custom post types in WordPress.

Through this extensive guide, we’ve navigated the intricate process of crafting custom post types using two distinct methods: the secure, user-friendly approach through WPCode and the effortless plugin-based route. Additionally, we’ve explored a multitude of techniques for effectively displaying custom post types on your website.

With custom post types as your ally, you unlock boundless potential for optimizing content organization and user engagement on your WordPress site. Whether it’s a hub for movie reviews, a portfolio showcase, or any other creative endeavor, custom post types serve as your gateway to a more organized and potent WordPress presence.