Custom Post Types in Depth at WordCamp Montreal

WordPress Custom Post Types In-Depth
Colin Vernon & Joachim Kudish

Organizing Content of
Different Types

• It’s about Content: websites usually have
content of different types: posts, pages,
articles, videos, newsletters, products,
books, anything

• A question of content and information
architecture
vs data structure

Back in the day...

• Websites were simpler... ?

• Created custom architecture with pages

• Different content types could be “faked” with
categories and category navigation

What are custom post
types?

• Introduced in WordPress 2.9, much
simpliﬁed in 3.0 and expanded upon in 3.1

• Classic blog format used categories to
classify content

• Custom post types allow for more in-depth
ﬁne-grained control and separation of
content

• Better name = custom content type

Advanced uses of CPTs

• Products (WP E-Commerce uses it -
http://getshopped.org/)

• Job Postings

• Testimonials

• Newsletters

• Possibilities are endless!

Registering Custom Post
Types
Graphical/easy way:

• Plug and play, simple interfaces

• Custom Post Type UI - http://
wordpress.org/extend/plugins/custom-
post-type-ui/

• GD Custom Posts And Taxonomies Tools
- http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/
gd-taxonomies-tools/

• More Types - http://wordpress.org/
extend/plugins/more-types/

• Lots of other examples

GRAPHICAL

≠
USER
INTERFACE

Code Method

register_post_type();

• http://codex.wordpress.org/
Function_Reference/register_post_type

• core function

• lots of $args for lots of possibilities

http://pastie.org/2169751 (taken from the WP Codex)

$args = customization
Admin:

• labels, show_ui, show_in_menu,
menu_position, menu_icon,
capability_type, capabilities,
map_meta_cap, register_meta_box_cb,
can_export, show_in_nav_menus

Front-end:

• public, publicly_queryable,
exclude_from_search, hierarchical,
taxonomies

Permalinks:

Code = Good ☺

• versionable (svn, git, etc...)

• core WordPress way

• easy to edit at any time

• you keep full control

• similar to what GUI plugins do,
but without relying on the database

• only a few lines of code

Some Shortcomings of
WP API

• lots of repetition in the code

• not good enough defaults (labels!)

• now has good support for archives (since
3.1) but still no built-in support for feed
permalinks, etc.

Alternate Code Methods
• Smarter Custom Post Types by Matt Wiebe:

• http://somadesign.ca/projects/smarter-
custom-post-types/

• now obsolete because of 3.1’s archive/
permalinks abilities

• Our own SLD Custom Content & Taxonomy

• https://github.com/jkudish/SLD-
Custom-Post-Types-Taxonomies-for-
Wordpress

• wrapper plugin/class for

Taking CPTs even
further
• Taxonomies

• further way of classifying content

• group different content types together
based on taxonomies

• use built-in taxonomies (categories &
tags) or custom taxonomies

• register custom taxonomies with code,
not GUI plugins

• use the core WP function
register_taxonomy()
http://codex.wordpress.org/
Function_Reference/register_taxonomy

http://pastie.org/2170028

Taking CPTs even
further

• Meta ﬁelds / meta boxes / custom ﬁelds:

• allow you to store any information

• extremely expandable

• WordPress API requires a lot of code, no
good defaults:

• add_meta_box()

• http://codex.wordpress.org/
Function_Reference/add_meta_box

Meta Boxes
• similarly to content types & taxonomies,
there are GUI plugins to register meta
boxes

• More Fields: http://wordpress.org/
extend/plugins/more-ﬁelds/

• Advanced Custom Fields: http://
wordpress.org/extend/plugins/
advanced-custom-ﬁelds/

• Verve Meta Boxes: http://
wordpress.org/extend/plugins/verve-
meta-boxes/

Easier Meta Fields

• Custom Metadata Manager by Mohammad
Jangda

• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/
custom-metadata/

• easy wrapper functions for adding meta
boxes and custom ﬁelds

Custom Metadata
Manager
x_add_metadata_ﬁeld(
$slug,
$object_types = 'post',
$args = array()
)
x_add_metadata_group(
$slug,
$object_types = 'post',
$args = array()
)

Even Further...
• complex post to post (content to content)
relations

• allows web app functionality à la Rails/
Django

• posts 2 posts plugin: http://
wordpress.org/extend/plugins/posts-to-
posts/

• different page/content templates = different
set of ﬁelds

✔ Lessons Learned

• use custom content types for anything that
isn’t a blog post and isn’t a static page

• if you’re a developer, don’t rely on the
database to register CPTs

• if you’re not a developer, hire a developer,
learn to code (copy/paste) or use a plugin

• best way to learn = read the codex, code and
make mistakes

Extra links

• Custom post type & custom taxonomy
generator: http://themergency.com/
generators/

• Joachim’s WP.org profile page (the SLD
helper class plugin will appear here once it’s
live): http://profiles.wordpress.org/users/
jkudish

• Colin’s WP.org profile page: http://
profiles.wordpress.org/users/cvernon

• WordPress.tv (recorded presentation will
appear here): http://wordpress.tv/

Thanks!
Any Questions?

http://stresslim.it/welovewp

@stresslimit / http://stresslimitdesign.com

@jkudish / http://jkudish.com

Custom Post Types in Depth at WordCamp Montreal

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