In WordPress, a “post type” refers to the different content types that can be created and displayed on your website. WordPress provides several post types by default, such as posts, pages, attachments, revisions, menus, custom CSS, and changesets. You can also create custom post types to suit your specific needs.
Default Post Types
WordPress comes with the following default post types:
- Posts: This is the default post type used for blog posts. It is typically used for regularly published content, such as articles, news updates, or any time-based content.
- Pages: Pages are static content that is not typically associated with a specific date or time. They are commonly used for creating static pages like the homepage, about us, contact page, and other informational content.
- Attachments: Attachments refer to media files such as images, videos, or audio files attached to posts or pages.
- Revisions: WordPress automatically creates modifications whenever a post or page is saved. Revisions allow you to restore previous versions of your content.
- Menus: Menus are used for managing and displaying navigation menus on your website. You can create custom menus and add links to different pages or URLs.
- Custom CSS: Custom CSS is a post type introduced by the WordPress Customizer. It allows you to add custom CSS code to modify the appearance of your website.
- Changesets: Changesets are used in the WordPress Customizer to store the changes made to your website’s settings before they are published.
Custom Post Types
In addition to the default post types, you can create custom post types to organize and display specific types of content on your website. Custom post types allow you to define your content structure with custom fields, taxonomies, and other attributes. This gives you more flexibility in managing and displaying different kinds of content, such as portfolios, events, testimonials, or any other content specific to your website.
Template Files
Each post type has its template file(s) that control the layout and design of the content. By default, WordPress uses templates like single.php and page.php for displaying posts and pages, respectively. Custom post types can have their own unique template files, such as single-{posttype}.php, where {posttype} is the name of your custom post type.
Post Type Queries
When working with post types, you can use post type queries to retrieve and display specific types of content on your website. The WordPress API provides functions and parameters to customize the query parameters and retrieve posts based on post types, taxonomies, or other criteria.
The Posts Query
The Posts Query is the primary method for retrieving posts from the WordPress database. It allows you to specify various parameters to filter and sort the posts, including the post type. You can retrieve posts of that specific type by selecting the desired post type in the query parameters.
Understanding post types and how they work in WordPress will help you effectively organize and manage different types of content on your website. Whether you are working with default post types or creating custom post types, they provide the flexibility to structure and display content that best suits your website’s needs.
