Building Web Apps with WordPress

Chapter 5. Custom Post Types, Post Metadata, and Taxonomies

Custom post types (CPTs) are what really make WordPress a content management system. With CPTs, you can quickly build out custom functionality and store data in a consistent way.

Default Post Types and Custom Post Types

With a default installation of WordPress, you have several post types already being used. The post types you may be most familiar with are pages and posts, but there are a few more. These post type values are all stored in the database wp_posts table, and they all use the post_type field to separate them.

Page

WordPress pages are what you use for your static content pages like home, about, contact info, bio, or any custom page you want. Pages can be indefinitely nested under each other in any hierarchical structure. Pages can also be sorted by menu_order value.

Post

Your posts are your blog or news or whatever you want to call your constant barrage of content to be indexed by search engines on the Internet. You can categorize your posts, tag them with keywords, set publish dates, and more. In general, posts are shown in some kind of list view in reverse chronological order on the frontend of your website.

Attachment

Any time you upload an image or file to a post, it stores the file not only on the server but also as a post in the wp_posts table with a post_type attachment.

Revisions

WordPress has your back and saves your posts as revisions every time you or anyone edits a post. This feature is on by default and can ...