How to Implement Custom Post Types in WordPress Plugin
Posted on 20th June 2023
Introduction
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that enables you to create a website or blog from scratch, or to improve an existing website.
One of the key features that makes WordPress so popular is its extensibility. This is achieved through the use of plugins. Plugins are pieces of software that add new features or functionality to WordPress.
There are two types of plugins: those that add new features to WordPress and those that implement custom post types. Custom post types are a way of extending the functionality of WordPress by creating new content types.
In this article, we will show you how to implement custom post types in a WordPress plugin.
What is a Custom Post Type?
A custom post type is a way of extending the functionality of WordPress by creating new content types. WordPress comes with a number of built-in content types such as posts and pages. Custom post types are similar to these, but they are created by plugins or themes.
Custom post types can be used to create any kind of content, such as:
Products
Services
Portfolios
Testimonials
Why Use Custom Post Types?
Custom post types are a powerful way to extend the functionality of WordPress. They can be used to create any kind of content, and they offer a number of advantages over the built-in content types.
Some of the advantages of using custom post types include:
They offer a more flexible way of organizing your content.
They can be used to create custom fields and taxonomies.
They can be integrated with other plugins and themes.
They can be used to create an online store or a membership site.
How to Implement Custom Post Types in WordPress Plugin
Creating a custom post type is a two-step process. First, you need to register the custom post type. Second, you need to create the templates for the custom post type.
We will show you how to do both of these things in this section.
Registering a Custom Post Type
Registering a custom post type is a simple process. You just need to add a few lines of code to your plugin or theme.
The first thing you need to do is to add the following code to your plugin or theme:
function my_custom_post_type() {
$labels = array(
‘name’ => _x( ‘My Custom Post Type’, ‘post type general name’ ),
‘singular_name’ => _x( ‘My Custom Post Type’, ‘post type singular name’ ),
‘add_new’ => _x( ‘Add New’, ‘book’ ),
‘add_new_item’ => __( ‘Add New My Custom Post Type’ ),
‘edit_item’ => __( ‘Edit My Custom Post Type’ ),
‘new_item’ => __( ‘New My Custom Post Type’ ),
‘all_items’ => __( ‘All My Custom Post Type’ ),
‘view_item’ => __( ‘View My Custom Post Type’ ),
‘search_items’ => __( ‘Search My Custom Post Type’ ),
‘not_found’ => __( ‘No My Custom Post Type found’ ),
‘not_found_in_trash’ => __( ‘No My Custom Post Type found in the Trash’ ),
‘parent_item_colon’ => ”,
‘menu_name’ => ‘My Custom Post Type’
);
$args = array(
‘labels’ => $labels,
‘description’ => ‘Holds our My Custom Post Type and My Custom Post Type specific data’,
‘public’ => true,
‘menu_position’ => 5,
‘supports’ => array( ‘title’, ‘editor’, ‘thumbnail’, ‘excerpt’, ‘comments’ ),
‘has_archive’ => true,
);
register_post_type( ‘my-custom-post-type’, $args );
}
add_action( ‘init’, ‘my_custom_post_type’ );
This code registers a custom post type called “My Custom Post Type”.
The ‘labels’ array contains the labels for the custom post type. These are the labels that will be used in the WordPress admin area.
The ‘description’ parameter is a short description of the custom post type.
The ‘public’ parameter indicates whether the custom post type should be public. If set to ‘true’, the custom post type will be public.
The ‘menu_position’ parameter sets the position of the custom post type in the WordPress admin menu.
The ‘supports’ parameter sets the features that the custom post type supports. In this case, the custom post type supports the title, editor, thumbnail, excerpt, and comments.
The ‘has_archive’ parameter indicates whether the custom post type should have an archive page. If set to ‘true’, an archive page will be created.
The last parameter is the name of the custom post type. This should be a unique name.
Creating the Templates for the Custom Post Type
Once you have registered the custom post type, you need to create the templates for the custom post type.
The templates for the custom post type are similar to the templates for the built-in content types.
The templates for the custom post type are located in the ‘/my-custom-post-type/’ folder.
The following templates are available for the custom post type:
‘my-custom-post-type.php’ – This is the main template for the custom post type.
‘single-my-custom-post-type.php’ – This template is used for individual custom post type items.
‘archive-my-custom-post-type.php’ – This template is used for the custom post type archive.
‘search-my-custom-post-type.php’ – This template is used for the custom post type search results.
You can create these templates by copying the existing templates and renaming them.
For example, to create the ‘my-custom-post-type.php’ template, you would copy the ‘index.php’ template and rename it to ‘my-custom-post-type.php’.
Once you have created the templates, you need to add the following code to the ‘my-custom-post-type.php’ template:
This code tells WordPress to use the ‘My Custom Post Type’ template for the custom post type.
You can now start adding content to the custom post type.
Conclusion
Custom post types are a powerful way to extend the functionality of WordPress. They can be used to create any kind of content, and they offer a number of advantages over the built-in content types.
In this article, we showed you how to implement custom post types in a WordPress plugin.
If you want to add custom post types to an existing plugin, you can use the register_post_type() function. This function takes two arguments:
The first argument is the name of the post type. This should be a unique name, so it’s best to use a prefix to avoid any conflicts.
The second argument is an array of options for the post type. The most important option is the ‘labels’ array, which is used to specify the labels for the post type. Other options include ‘public’, ‘show_ui’, ‘show_in_menu’, ‘supports’, and ‘taxonomies’.
Here’s an example of how to register a custom post type:
function my_plugin_register_post_type() {
$labels = array(
‘name’ => ‘Books’,
‘singular_name’ => ‘Book’,
‘add_new’ => ‘Add New Book’,
‘add_new_item’ => ‘Add New Book’,
‘edit_item’ => ‘Edit Book’,
‘new_item’ => ‘New Book’,
‘all_items’ => ‘All Books’,
‘view_item’ => ‘View Book’,
‘search_items’ => ‘Search Books’,
‘not_found’ => ‘No books found’,
‘not_found_in_trash’ => ‘No books found in Trash’,
‘parent_item_colon’ => ”,
‘menu_name’ => ‘Books’
);
$args = array(
‘labels’ => $labels,
‘public’ => true,
‘show_ui’ => true,
‘show_in_menu’ => true,
‘supports’ => array( ‘title’, ‘editor’, ‘thumbnail’, ‘excerpt’, ‘comments’ ),
‘taxonomies’ => array( ‘category’, ‘post_tag’ )
);
register_post_type( ‘book’, $args );
}
add_action( ‘init’, ‘my_plugin_register_post_type’ );
This would create a custom post type called ‘book’. It would have all the default labels, and it would be visible in the admin interface. It would also support the title, editor, thumbnail, excerpt, and comments fields. Finally, it would be registered with the ‘category’ and ‘post_tag’ taxonomies.
You can also use the register_taxonomy() function to register custom taxonomies for your custom post type. For more information, see the WordPress Codex.
