Tutorial : Mastering Custom Post Types and Taxonomies in WordPress

[sumitsinghwp]

Details

• Content type (Online Workshop, Lesson, Course, Tutorial, or Lesson Plan): Tutorial
• Content title: Mastering Custom Post Types and Taxonomies in WordPress
• Topic description: Custom Post Types and Taxonomies in WordPress, crafted for beginners. I'll break it into steps, provide instructions for each, and sample code and placeholder suggestions for screenshots.
• Audience (User, Developer, Designer, Contributor, etc.): Developer
• Experience Level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Any): Any

Learning Objectives

With this tutorial, you’ve created a custom post type, added hierarchical and non-hierarchical taxonomies, and displayed the data on your site. This setup is perfect for creating tailored content structures in WordPress.

Related Resources and Other Notes

Automation Code

Introduction

WordPress allows users to create custom post types (CPTs) and taxonomies to organize and display content beyond standard posts and pages. In this tutorial, you'll learn to:

1. Register a Custom Post Type (CPT).
2. Add custom taxonomies (hierarchical and non-hierarchical).
3. Display custom post type data on your site.

Step 1: Understanding Custom Post Types
WordPress includes default post types such as Posts, Pages, and Attachments. However, for more complex websites, such as a recipe blog or a portfolio, you may need custom types like "Recipes" or "Projects."

Step 2: Registering a Custom Post Type
Custom Post Types are registered using the register_post_type() function. Let's create a CPT called "Books."

Code Example:
Add this code to your theme's functions.php file or a custom plugin:

function create_books_cpt() {
    $labels = array(
        'name'               => 'Books',
        'singular_name'      => 'Book',
        'menu_name'          => 'Books',
        'name_admin_bar'     => 'Book',
        'add_new'            => 'Add New',
        'add_new_item'       => 'Add New Book',
        'edit_item'          => 'Edit Book',
        'new_item'           => 'New Book',
        'view_item'          => 'View Book',
        'all_items'          => 'All Books',
        'search_items'       => 'Search Books',
        'not_found'          => 'No books found.',
        'not_found_in_trash' => 'No books found in Trash.',
    );

    $args = array(
        'labels'             => $labels,
        'public'             => true,
        'has_archive'        => true,
        'rewrite'            => array('slug' => 'books'),
        'supports'           => array('title', 'editor', 'thumbnail'),
        'menu_icon'          => 'dashicons-book', // Add a relevant Dashicon
    );

    register_post_type('book', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'create_books_cpt');

What This Code Does:

• Creates a "Books" post type.
• Adds it to the WordPress admin menu with a custom icon.
• Supports Title, Editor, and Thumbnail features.

Screenshot:

Step 3: Adding a Hierarchical Taxonomy (Categories)
Now, let’s add a taxonomy called "Genres" to categorize books. This will behave like "Categories" for posts.

Code Example:
Add this code to functions.php:

function create_genres_taxonomy() {
    $labels = array(
        'name'              => 'Genres',
        'singular_name'     => 'Genre',
        'search_items'      => 'Search Genres',
        'all_items'         => 'All Genres',
        'parent_item'       => 'Parent Genre',
        'parent_item_colon' => 'Parent Genre:',
        'edit_item'         => 'Edit Genre',
        'update_item'       => 'Update Genre',
        'add_new_item'      => 'Add New Genre',
        'new_item_name'     => 'New Genre Name',
        'menu_name'         => 'Genres',
    );

    $args = array(
        'hierarchical'      => true,
        'labels'            => $labels,
        'show_ui'           => true,
        'show_admin_column' => true,
        'query_var'         => true,
        'rewrite'           => array('slug' => 'genre'),
    );

    register_taxonomy('genre', array('book'), $args);
}
add_action('init', 'create_genres_taxonomy');

What This Code Does:

• Creates a hierarchical taxonomy called "Genres."
• Associates it with the "Books" CPT.

Screenshot:

Step 4: Adding a Non-Hierarchical Taxonomy (Tags)
Let’s add another taxonomy called "Authors," which will work like tags.

Code Example:

function create_authors_taxonomy() {
    $labels = array(
        'name'              => 'Authors',
        'singular_name'     => 'Author',
        'search_items'      => 'Search Authors',
        'all_items'         => 'All Authors',
        'edit_item'         => 'Edit Author',
        'update_item'       => 'Update Author',
        'add_new_item'      => 'Add New Author',
        'new_item_name'     => 'New Author Name',
        'menu_name'         => 'Authors',
    );

    $args = array(
        'hierarchical'      => false,
        'labels'            => $labels,
        'show_ui'           => true,
        'show_admin_column' => true,
        'query_var'         => true,
        'rewrite'           => array('slug' => 'author'),
    );

    register_taxonomy('author', 'book', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'create_authors_taxonomy');

What This Code Does:

• Creates a non-hierarchical taxonomy called "Authors."
• Associates it with the "Books" CPT.

Step 5: Displaying CPT Data on Your Site
To display "Books" on the front end, create a custom template file.

Example: Archive Template for Books
Save this file as archive-book.php in your theme folder:

<?php get_header(); ?>

<h1>Books Archive</h1>

<?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
    <div>
        <h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
        <div><?php the_content(); ?></div>
        <p>Genres: <?php the_terms(get_the_ID(), 'genre', '', ', '); ?></p>
        <p>Authors: <?php the_terms(get_the_ID(), 'author', '', ', '); ?></p>
    </div>
<?php endwhile; endif; ?>

<?php get_footer(); ?>

Step 6: Testing and Verifying

1. Navigate to Books > Add New in the WordPress admin.
2. Add a few books, assigning genres and authors.
3. Visit /books/ on your site to view the archive page.

[ironnysh]

Hi team, have you considered presenting alternative, block-based methods to custom post types and taxonomies?

• There's Automattic’s experimental Create Content Model plugin that lets you define custom post types and fields in the Block Editor.
• I've also created a custom block that adds two custom meta fields and displays them in the editor and frontend (see the demo here).

[kaitohm]

@sumitsinghwp The team is no longer making Tutorials. Could you make this as a Lesson instead? Please modify the issue title and description. You can then follow https://make.wordpress.org/training/handbook/lessons/lesson-creation-process/ .

I've updated the GitHub issue template so that Tutorials are no longer shown as an option.

[sumitsinghwp]

Thank you @kaitohm