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How to Create Custom Post Types and Taxonomies

WordPress is an incredibly flexible platform, allowing you to create a variety of content types. While the default “Posts” and “Pages” are sufficient for many websites, you might want to create custom content types that better suit your needs. This is where Custom Post Types (CPTs) and Custom Taxonomies come into play.

In this guide, we’ll explain what Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies are, why you might need them, and how to create and use them effectively in WordPress.

What are Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies?

Custom Post Types (CPTs)

By default, WordPress provides a few content types such as “Posts,” “Pages,” and “Attachments.” However, sometimes you need to create content that doesn’t fit into any of these categories. Custom Post Types (CPTs) allow you to create new types of content that suit your site’s needs. For example, you might need a “Portfolio” post type for showcasing your work or a “Product” post type for an eCommerce site.

Custom Taxonomies

Taxonomies are ways to group or categorize content in WordPress. While WordPress comes with built-in taxonomies like “Categories” and “Tags,” you may need custom taxonomies to organize your content in a more specific way. Custom Taxonomies help you categorize your CPTs more efficiently. For instance, for a “Books” post type, you might want to create a “Genres” taxonomy to categorize books by their genre.

Why Use Custom Post Types and Taxonomies?

Custom Post Types and Taxonomies help you organize and manage content more effectively, particularly for sites that require more complex content structures. Some benefits include:

  • Better content management: CPTs allow you to structure content in a way that makes sense for your business or website, keeping everything organized and easy to manage.
  • Enhanced user experience: Custom Taxonomies help users filter and find content faster by categorizing it in specific ways.
  • Increased flexibility: You can tailor the WordPress back-end and front-end to suit your needs, offering a unique user experience.

How to Create Custom Post Types in WordPress

There are two primary ways to create Custom Post Types in WordPress: using code or a plugin. If you’re comfortable with coding, you’ll want to create CPTs manually, but if you’d prefer a simpler approach, plugins like Custom Post Type UI can help.

1. Create Custom Post Types Using Code

To create a Custom Post Type in WordPress, you need to add a function to your theme’s functions.php file. Here’s an example of how to create a “Portfolio” CPT:

phpCopyEditfunction create_portfolio_post_type() {
    $args = array(
        'labels' => array(
            'name'               => 'Portfolios',
            'singular_name'      => 'Portfolio',
            'add_new'            => 'Add New',
            'add_new_item'       => 'Add New Portfolio',
            'edit_item'          => 'Edit Portfolio',
            'new_item'           => 'New Portfolio',
            'view_item'          => 'View Portfolio',
            'search_items'       => 'Search Portfolios',
            'not_found'          => 'No portfolios found',
            'not_found_in_trash' => 'No portfolios found in Trash',
            'menu_name'          => 'Portfolios',
        ),
        'public' => true,
        'has_archive' => true,
        'rewrite' => array('slug' => 'portfolio'),
        'supports' => array('title', 'editor', 'thumbnail', 'custom-fields'),
    );
    register_post_type('portfolio', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'create_portfolio_post_type');

Key Elements:

  • 'labels': Defines the labels for your CPT in the admin area.
  • 'public': Set this to true if you want your CPT to be publicly visible on the website.
  • 'has_archive': Allows WordPress to create an archive page for the CPT.
  • 'rewrite': Customizes the permalink structure for your CPT (e.g., yoursite.com/portfolio).
  • 'supports': Determines what features the CPT will support, such as the editor, thumbnail, or custom fields.

Once you add this code to your functions.php file, your new “Portfolio” post type will appear in the WordPress dashboard, and you can start adding content to it.

2. Create Custom Post Types Using a Plugin

If you’re not familiar with coding, a plugin like Custom Post Type UI makes it easy to create and manage custom post types without writing any code.

Steps to Create CPT Using Custom Post Type UI:

  1. Install and activate the Custom Post Type UI plugin.
  2. Go to the CPT UI menu in your WordPress dashboard.
  3. Select Add/Edit Post Types and fill out the necessary fields:
    • Post Type Slug: A unique identifier for your post type (e.g., portfolio).
    • Plural Label: The name used for the CPT in the admin area (e.g., “Portfolios”).
    • Singular Label: The singular version of the label (e.g., “Portfolio”).
  4. Click Add Post Type to create the CPT.

The plugin will automatically register the custom post type for you.

How to Create Custom Taxonomies in WordPress

You can create custom taxonomies in a similar way to creating custom post types. Custom taxonomies are perfect for grouping and categorizing your custom post types.

1. Create Custom Taxonomies Using Code

Here’s an example of how to create a custom taxonomy for the “Portfolio” CPT called “Project Type”:

phpCopyEditfunction create_project_type_taxonomy() {
    $args = array(
        'labels' => array(
            'name'              => 'Project Types',
            'singular_name'     => 'Project Type',
            'search_items'      => 'Search Project Types',
            'all_items'         => 'All Project Types',
            'edit_item'         => 'Edit Project Type',
            'update_item'       => 'Update Project Type',
            'add_new_item'      => 'Add New Project Type',
            'new_item_name'     => 'New Project Type Name',
            'menu_name'         => 'Project Type',
        ),
        'hierarchical' => true, // Set to true if you want the taxonomy to behave like categories (parent-child structure)
        'show_ui' => true,
        'show_admin_column' => true,
        'query_var' => true,
        'rewrite' => array('slug' => 'project-type'),
    );
    register_taxonomy('project_type', array('portfolio'), $args);
}
add_action('init', 'create_project_type_taxonomy');

Key Elements:

  • 'hierarchical': Set this to true if you want the taxonomy to behave like WordPress categories, allowing parent-child relationships.
  • 'rewrite': Allows you to customize the URL structure for the taxonomy (e.g., yoursite.com/project-type/branding).

Once you add this code to your functions.php file, you’ll have a “Project Type” taxonomy associated with your “Portfolio” CPT.

2. Create Custom Taxonomies Using a Plugin

You can also create taxonomies using the Custom Post Type UI plugin:

  1. After activating the plugin, go to CPT UI and select Add/Edit Taxonomies.
  2. Enter the taxonomy name (e.g., “Project Type”) and select the post type(s) you want to associate it with (e.g., “Portfolio”).
  3. Click Add Taxonomy to create it.

Using Custom Post Types and Taxonomies

Once you’ve created custom post types and taxonomies, you can start adding content and organizing it:

  • Add Content to Custom Post Types: In your WordPress dashboard, you will now see the custom post type (e.g., “Portfolio”) in the admin menu. You can start adding content just like you would with regular posts or pages.
  • Categorize Content with Custom Taxonomies: When creating or editing a custom post type, you can assign custom taxonomy terms (e.g., “Web Design” or “Graphic Design”) to organize your content.

Conclusion

Custom Post Types and Taxonomies are powerful tools that allow you to extend WordPress functionality and organize content in a way that makes sense for your website. Whether you’re managing a portfolio, creating a custom product catalog, or building any specialized content structure, CPTs and Taxonomies provide the flexibility to structure content as needed.

You can create these custom types and taxonomies manually using code, or you can use plugins for an easier, no-code approach. By leveraging CPTs and Taxonomies, you’ll improve content organization and create a more intuitive experience for both website admins and users.

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