![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.lodestardigital.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Blog-CPT-hero.jpg\")
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WordPress began as a simple blogging platform, but over time it has exploded into a powerful content management system that is responsible for a large chunk of websites existing today. Part of the reason for this success is because WordPress implemented custom post types (CPT), allowing developers to create more complex websites while maintaining organization and easy to navigate structures. This makes data entry easier for <\/strong><\/span>editors and web administrators.<\/strong><\/p>\n WordPress uses post types to divide different types of content. For instance, every WordPress site usually has a standard blog called \u201cPosts\u201d which is a post type, along with \u201cPages\u201d and \u201cAttachments\u201d and a few others. For a site that has more <\/span>content and needs more complex structures, you can create custom post types (CPT).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To put it simply, custom post types are just like regular post types, only with a different value set in the database which you can customize to your specifications.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To create a CPT as a developer, you could go the more complex coding route (there are many tutorials online) and make changes in the file structure and database, or with plugins like CPT UI, they can be made quick and easy with no in-depth coding required. <\/span>Once a CPT is added, it creates a new item on the back-end menu, with the name, icon, and even the menu position you created for it.<\/span><\/p>\n CPTs are useful for organizing and categorizing repetitive content. For example, if you had a site that recommends books, movies, and tv shows – each of these categories could be a new custom post type. You could also use custom post types to categorize anything else such as team members, products\/services, partners, or case studies, and implement these post types in a variety of ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Depending on the needs of your site, you can create a custom template to change the look and feel of your CPTs. Each CPT could potentially have a completely different look and function on the front-end of your site.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By default your CPT, could be accessed by going to a url like: websitename.com\/cpt-name where it will display an archive of all your custom post content, just like a regular blog post archive. Alternatively, you could customize that archive template to function the way you need it to, or implement CPTs on different sections of your site. For example, on your \u201cAbout Us\u201d page, you could have a carousel that displays the content from a Partners CPT (such as logo, name, website link)<\/span><\/p>\n Just like regular posts, within these custom post types, you can also create custom taxonomies. By default, WordPress has two taxonomies: \u201cCategories\u201d and \u201cTags\u201d. These taxonomies make it easier to connect related content within your posts using common groups, making organization for your users (and yourself) easier.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Your \u201cBooks\u201d CPT could have taxonomies like \u201cGenre\u201d or \u201cAuthor\u201d. Alternatively, if you created a more general CPT like \u201cProducts\u201d, you could categorize it by adding taxonomies like \u201cProduct type\u201d, \u201cBrand\u201d, or \u201cUses\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Within each of those taxonomies, you can separate content into groups called \u201cTerms\u201d (think of them like sub-categories, within the taxonomy category). Using our \u201cBook\u201d CPT example, under the \u201cGenre\u201d taxonomy, you can have the terms like \u201cHorror\u201d, \u201cSci-fi\u201d, \u201cBiography\u201d,\u201dHistory\u201d etc, and select which category each of your books falls into. In this case, you could use this categorization to create an incredibly user-friendly navigation system on the front end of your site. If your user wants to find all the horror sci-fi books, created by *insert-author-name-here*, they could easily narrow things down and find what they\u2019re looking for.<\/span><\/p>\nSo what exactly are custom post types?<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"Custom](\"https:\/\/blog.lodestardigital.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/awards-custom-post-type.png\")
Why are CPTs useful and how do we use them?<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"Awards](\"https:\/\/blog.lodestardigital.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Awards-Section-on-front-end-1024x330.png\")
Custom Post Type organization with taxonomies.<\/b><\/h3>\n