{"id":30045,"date":"2021-09-22T17:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T15:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/?p=30045"},"modified":"2024-01-30T15:00:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T14:00:13","slug":"create-wordpress-custom-post-type-archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/create-wordpress-custom-post-type-archive\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a WordPress Custom Post Types Archive"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Custom post types are a great solution for publishing content that wouldn\u2019t be shown in its best light with a default post type. This could be because the default post type lacks some custom features or fields that would make it stand out from other pages and posts. Examples where a custom post type can really make a difference include portfolios, events, albums, properties, and many more. Fortunately, creating custom post types is easier than ever, whether you prefer using WordPress plugins or code.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]Besides creating custom post types, we mustn\u2019t forget to create their archives as well. Without a custom archive template file, the content that is displayed on the archive pages is determined by your theme\u2019s default archive.php file. This means the archives for your custom posts might appear blog-like, with key features missing for each custom post item or needlessly long sidebars with unrelated content. So, if you put in the effort to make a custom post type, you shouldn\u2019t falter before making a WordPress custom post type archive to match. Using the information in this article, you\u2019ll be able to edit the archive of any custom post type and realize your planned design.
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How to create a WordPress custom post types archive<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Before we begin, we need to mention that this article represents a coding overview of a custom post archive page. As such, it\u2019s best suited for intermediate and advanced WordPress users. Nevertheless, we will thoroughly explain all the key points so the article will be easy to follow along. We split the main part of the article into two sections, the first explains the steps that need to be taken beforehand, and the second showcases a simple coding example of a custom post type archive. So, let\u2019s dive in.
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Understanding the prerequisites<\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]To be able to create a WordPress custom post type archive, you need to have several things already sorted. To start, you need to register your custom post type using the register_post_type()<\/a> function. When doing so, you must add at least the $post_type<\/strong> argument, which serves as the default slug of your custom post type. You also need to set the has_archive<\/strong> argument to true, to enable an archive page for this custom post type. And, to make it all work, you should put the code into a separate function and hook it onto a suitable hook. The register_post_type()<\/strong> function description indicates that post type registration shouldn\u2019t be hooked before the init<\/a> action hook.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]To illustrate all this, we\u2019re sharing a very basic example of how you can register a movie as a custom post type. You can see the code below.
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function qode_register_custom_post_type() {\r\nregister_post_type( 'movie',\r\narray(\r\n'labels' => array(\r\n'name' => esc_html__( 'Movies', 'your-translate-domain' ),\r\n'singular_name' => esc_html__( 'Movie', 'your-translate-domain' )\r\n),\r\n'public' => true,\r\n'has_archive' => true,\r\n)\r\n);\r\n}\r\nadd_action( 'init', 'qode_register_custom_post_type' );<\/pre>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]Within it, we set the $post_type to movie<\/em>, made the custom post publicly viewable, and enabled the archive page functionality.<\/strong> Doing this made the archive page available for us to use. This page will have your-website-url\/movie<\/em> (where the movie<\/em> is the slug of our custom post type) as its URL. If you register a custom post type with a different slug, your URL will show the appropriate slug<\/strong> in place of the movie<\/em> from our example.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]After enabling the archive page for your custom post type, you need to create the custom code that displays content on that page. To do this properly, you\u2019ll need to have some understanding of the WordPress template hierarchy. The appropriate template hierarchy for custom post archives is given below in descending order.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”22px”]