Are you wondering if you should be using custom post types or taxonomies on your WordPress website? If so, you‘re not alone. Many WordPress site owners aren‘t sure exactly when custom content types are needed or how they can enhance a website.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive deep into custom post types and taxonomies in WordPress. You‘ll learn what they are, signs that you need them, and plenty of real-world examples of how they can be used to better organize your website content. We‘ll focus particularly on the different types of taxonomies and when each one makes sense to use.
By the end, you‘ll have a crystal clear understanding of custom post types and taxonomies and how you can leverage them on your own WordPress site. Let‘s get started!
What Are Custom Post Types and Taxonomies?
Before we explore when to use custom post types and taxonomies, let‘s make sure we‘re on the same page about what they are.
In WordPress, a "post type" refers to a type of content. WordPress comes with several default post types including:
- Posts
- Pages
- Attachments
- Revisions
- Navigation Menus
A "custom post type" is simply a post type that you define yourself to meet the specific needs of your website. For example, if you run a movie review site, you might create a "Movie Reviews" custom post type to keep your reviews separate from your other content.
"Taxonomies" in WordPress are ways to group and classify post types. The two default taxonomies are:
- Categories
- Tags
But just like with post types, you can create your own custom taxonomies. For the movie review site example, you might create "Genre" and "Release Year" custom taxonomies to organize your reviews.
So in a nutshell, custom post types let you add new types of content to your site, while custom taxonomies provide ways to sort and filter that content.
Signs You Need a Custom Post Type
So how do you know if you actually need a custom post type on your WordPress site? Here are some common signs:
You‘re adding content that doesn‘t fit well into a standard post or page format. Maybe you need extra data fields or want the content displayed differently.
The content doesn‘t belong in your regular chronological post feeds. For example, you probably don‘t want staff bios or product pages mixed in with your blog posts.
You need to use categories and tags in a different way than your blog posts. Custom post types can have their own unique taxonomies.
You want an easy way for visitors to view all content of a certain type, separately from posts and pages. A common example is a portfolio custom post type that displays all your work.
If any of those sound familiar, there‘s a good chance that you could benefit from setting up a custom post type. We‘ll look at some specific examples shortly.
Signs You Need a Custom Taxonomy
Custom taxonomies are all about organization and filtration. Some signs you should consider a custom taxonomy are:
You‘re using categories and tags inconsistently because they don‘t quite fit your content. Custom taxonomies can be much more targeted and relevant.
You want to filter a custom post type in very specific ways. Remember, custom post types don‘t have to use categories and tags.
Visitors would benefit from being able to quickly sort and navigate through content based on certain attributes. Taxonomies make this possible.
You want control over the URL structure and permalinks for filtered content. Custom taxonomies can be included in permalinks.
Often, you‘ll want to use custom taxonomies in combination with custom post types. But you can also add custom taxonomies to default post types like regular posts or pages.
Types of Taxonomies in WordPress
When it comes to custom taxonomies, you have a few important choices to make. Understanding the different types of taxonomies will help you choose the right setup for organizing your content.
Categories vs Tags
Categories and tags are the default taxonomies in WordPress. So what‘s the difference?
Categories are meant for broad grouping of post topics. If a post can belong to multiple categories, you can pick a primary category.
Tags are meant to describe specific details of your posts. They provide a useful way to group related content together based on very specific criteria.
In general, you‘ll use categories to organize content by high-level topics and tags to call out more granular details. Your custom taxonomies can serve similar purposes to categories and tags.
Hierarchical vs Non-Hierarchical Taxonomies
One of the key decisions you‘ll need to make when registering a custom taxonomy is whether it will be hierarchical or not. Categories in WordPress are hierarchical, while tags are non-hierarchical.
Hierarchical taxonomies can have parent-child relationships. For example, "Apples" could be a child category to "Fruit" which is also a child of "Food". Content can be assigned to any level and will automatically inherit the higher levels as well.
Non-hierarchical taxonomies are flat. They don‘t support parent-child relationships between terms. Each term stands alone.
In most cases, hierarchical taxonomies are a better choice for primary organization, while non-hierarchical taxonomies are useful for secondary filtering and cross-referencing. Of course, it depends on your specific content structure.
Internal vs Public Taxonomies
By default, any custom taxonomies you create will be public and visible to site visitors. The taxonomy terms will be included in URLs and visitors can click to filter content by terms.
However, you can also register private taxonomies that are only used internally. These function the same way but are hidden from the public-facing side of your site.
Internal taxonomies can be useful for backend organization or custom search/filtering for admins or editors. But in most cases, custom taxonomies are registered as public.
Examples of Custom Post Types and Taxonomies
Let‘s take a look at some real-world examples of effective custom post types and taxonomies. These should give you ideas for your own site:
Portfolio
Many creatives like designers, photographers, or agencies use a portfolio custom post type to showcase their work separately from their blog posts and pages.
Common custom taxonomies for a portfolio post type include:
- Project Type (web design, logo design, print design, etc.)
- Client Industry (technology, retail, non-profit, etc.)
This allows visitors to filter the portfolio by the type of work they are interested in or clients similar to their own business.
Real Estate Listings
Real estate websites are a perfect use case for custom post types and taxonomies. Each property listing can be registered as a custom post type with details like price, square footage, bedrooms, etc.
Useful custom taxonomies for real estate listings include:
- Property Type (single-family, condo, townhouse, etc.)
- Neighborhood
- Amenities (pool, gym, pet-friendly, etc.)
With these taxonomies in place, prospective buyers or renters can easily search for properties that meet their exact needs and preferences.
Courses
If you run an online course or e-learning website, you‘ll want to keep your course content separate from the rest of your site. A course custom post type lets you do this.
Helpful custom taxonomies could include:
- Subject (JavaScript, Python, SEO, etc.)
- Difficulty (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)
- Lesson Type (text, video, quiz, etc.)
You can display courses in a dedicated archive, allow filtering by taxonomy, and even use taxonomies to suggest related courses to students.
Products
If you‘re running an eCommerce store with WordPress, you‘ll definitely want to use a product custom post type. In fact, WooCommerce and other eCommerce plugins do this automatically.
Product category and tag taxonomies are also a must for eCommerce. You might consider additional taxonomies like:
- Brand
- Size
- Color
- Material
- Compatibility
The easier you make it for shoppers to find the exact product they need, the more likely they are to make a purchase.
Those are just a few examples, but hopefully you can see how custom post types and taxonomies can enhance many different types of websites. The key is to consider the unique needs of your content and audience.
How to Create Custom Post Types and Taxonomies
If you‘re convinced that you need a custom post type or taxonomy on your WordPress site, there are two ways to create them:
- Use a plugin
- Manually register them in your theme or plugin code
Using a plugin is the easiest option, especially for beginners. Some of the most popular options are:
- Pods
- Toolset
- Custom Post Type UI
These plugins provide user-friendly interfaces for creating custom post types and taxonomies without any code.
If you‘re comfortable with PHP and WordPress development, you can also register custom post types and taxonomies programmatically. This gives you more control and flexibility.
To register a custom post type, you‘ll use the register_post_type() function. For custom taxonomies, you‘ll use register_taxonomy().
Here‘s a quick example of registering a custom post type for real estate listings:
function create_listing_post_type() {
register_post_type( ‘listing‘,
array(
‘labels‘ => array(
‘name‘ => __( ‘Listings‘ ),
‘singular_name‘ => __( ‘Listing‘ )
),
‘public‘ => true,
‘has_archive‘ => true,
)
);
}
add_action( ‘init‘, ‘create_listing_post_type‘ );And here‘s how you would register a custom "Property Type" taxonomy for that post type:
function create_property_type_taxonomy() {
register_taxonomy(
‘property_type‘,
‘listing‘,
array(
‘label‘ => __( ‘Property Type‘ ),
‘hierarchical‘ => true,
)
);
}
add_action( ‘init‘, ‘create_property_type_taxonomy‘ );There are many additional arguments you can pass to customize the behavior and display of your custom post types and taxonomies.
SEO Considerations
Finally, it‘s important to consider the SEO implications of using custom post types and taxonomies.
In general, custom post types and taxonomies can be great for SEO because they:
- Help create a clear site structure
- Provide opportunities for targeted keyword optimization
- Make it easier for search engines to understand your content
However, there are a few potential SEO pitfalls to watch out for:
- Avoid using too many custom post types or taxonomies as this can get confusing for both users and search engines.
- Be sure to include your custom post types and taxonomies in your XML sitemap so search engines can easily discover them.
- Use descriptive, keyword-rich names for your custom post type and taxonomy labels and slugs.
- Choose the appropriate "public" and "publicly_queryable" settings to control how search engines index your custom content.
By keeping these SEO considerations in mind, you can ensure that your custom post types and taxonomies are an asset to your site‘s search engine performance.
Conclusion
Custom post types and taxonomies are incredibly powerful tools for organizing and presenting content on your WordPress site. Understanding when and how to use them effectively is essential for many WordPress site owners.
The key is to think critically about your own unique content and how your visitors need to interact with it. Custom post types are great for any content that is distinct from your regular posts and pages, while custom taxonomies allow you to sort and filter content in meaningful ways.
If you suspect that your site could benefit from a custom post type or taxonomy, don‘t be intimidated! You can get started quickly using a plugin or dive into the code for more advanced customization.
Used strategically, custom post types and taxonomies will take your WordPress site to the next level by enhancing both the admin and visitor experiences. So start brainstorming how you can put these tools to work on your own site.
