{"id":133085,"date":"2014-10-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/premium.wpmudev.org\/blog\/?p=133085"},"modified":"2016-05-18T06:43:32","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T06:43:32","slug":"create-wordpress-custom-post-types","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/create-wordpress-custom-post-types\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create WordPress Custom Post Types"},"content":{"rendered":"

The custom post type feature is what transforms WordPress from a blogging platform to a fully-fledged content management system.<\/p>\n

Post types cannot be created and managed from the admin but can be exposed very easily using a little code.<\/p>\n

In this article, I’ll show you how to create a custom post type for recipes and take you from the very basics to some more complex cases. Let’s begin.<\/p>\n

What is a Post?<\/h2>\n

Before getting into custom post types I think we should clarify some terminology since the naming convention results in a bit of confusion.<\/p>\n

It is best to think of a post<\/strong> as a unit of content stored in the database. Each post has a post_type<\/strong> property, which defines what type of content it is. Here’s where things get tricky. One of the most commonly used built-in post types is named “post.”<\/p>\n

This means that “post” can refer to any post entered into WordPress (whether this is a blog post, a page or a custom type), but it can also refer to a regular ol’ blog post.<\/p>\n

For the purposes of this article I will be using “post” in its general meaning of an entry in the database. When talking about posts with a post type of post I will use the “blog post” convention.<\/p>\n

Custom Post Types<\/h2>\n

In essence, a custom post type is nothing more than a change in the post_type<\/code> attribute of a post. If you publish a blog post on your website and go into the database to\u00a0rewrite the post type from “post” to “page” the post will now show up in the pages section in the admin.<\/p>\n

WordPress defines a bunch of properties for each post type. Is the particular post type searchable? Is it visible in the admin? Can categories and tags be assigned to it, does it allow comments? A number of these features\u00a0can be set for each custom post type.<\/p>\n

So what is a good example of a custom post type? Let’s assume you love food and cooking. Chances are you have a website where you write about your personal things, but now and then you publish a recipe. A recipe is a very different type of content than a personal blog entry. In this case it may be appropriate to create a “recipe” post type.<\/p>\n

\"Recipes<\/a>
A newly created recipes post type.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When To Use Custom Post Types<\/h2>\n

It may be difficult to figure out when a custom post type is needed. Sometimes you can get by with categories. In our previous example we could have created a “Recipes” category.<\/p>\n

So where’s the line? When should we use categories and when are custom post types more appropriate?<\/p>\n

There really isn’t a set-in-stone rule here. It comes down to practicality, personal preference and how your theme is built. There are some good guidelines though; if it seems like some of these apply to you, a custom post type might be in order:<\/p>\n