in this tutorial we will use ACPT to create Custom Post Type (CPT) , before we start we need to understand what is custom post type.
A Custom Post Type (CPT) in WordPress is a content type that allows you to create and manage different types of content beyond the default types (like posts and pages). Custom Post Types are particularly useful for organizing and displaying unique content that doesn’t neatly fit into the typical post or page structure.
Key Points about CPT
Purpose: They help in structuring content in a way that makes sense for your website’s needs. For example, if you have a movie review site, you might create a Custom Post Type called “Movies” to include all the attributes relevant to a movie, such as title, director, release date, and genre.
Examples: Common examples of Custom Post Types include:
- Testimonials (for customer feedback)
- Products (for e-commerce websites)
- Portfolios (for showcasing work)
- Events (for listing events)
Creating Custom Post Type
To create a Custom Post Type (CPT), first, install and activate the ACPT plugin. Once your license is activated, navigate to the left side of the menu, hover over the ACPT plugin, and you will see the available options.
Click on “Custom Post Types” to access the page displaying the available custom post types. Since no custom post types have been created on this website yet, you’ll only see the default WordPress posts and pages.
To create a new custom post type, navigate to the top right corner and click on “Register New Post Type.”
At the top, you will see three steps to configure in order to have a fully working custom post type: minimum configuration, additional labels, and other settings. In the minimum configuration section, you’ll find several fields to fill out and we will fill out as required.
Minimum Configuration
Post name: this is the identifier for your custom post type, it typically forms the “slug” used in the URLs and is essential for various queries.
Singular Label: this label is used when referencing a single instance of your custom post type.
Plural Label: this label is applied when referring to multiple instances of your post type such as in menu.
Icon: Click on “choose icon ” to select an icon that represents this post type in the WordPress admin panel. this helps to visually distinguish it from other types of content.
Support: You’ll find various options that enable additional features for your CPT.
- Title: Includes the title field.
- Editor: Enables the content Editor.
- Thumbnail: allows the use of featured images.
- Excerpt: Includes the excerpt field.
- Author: Enables author attribute.
- Comments: Allows comments to be added.
- Revision: Save revision of the post.
- Custom Fields: Enable Custom Fields for additional metadata.
- Page Attribute: allow for parent and order attributes in the admin Ui.
- Post Formats: Enables different formats (like video, aside, etc.).
Additional Labels
After completing the minimum configuration, you can set additional labels for your custom post type. These labels improve the overall user experience and offer clear guidance on the purpose of each area of the CPT, and you can customize the CPT’s Label for better user experience. You can modify each label as needed or keep the default settings.
Other Settings
This step allows you to configure settings such as whether the post type is public, hierarchical, and its menu position. You can choose to keep the default settings or customize them by toggling the options on or off as desired.
Below are explanations and details for some of the options
- Hierarchical: Determines if the post type is hierarchical or not.
- Is Public: Indicates whether the post type should be visible to everyone.
- Publicly Querable: If queries can be performed on the frontend for this post type.
- Show in UI: Choose whether to display this post type in the admin interface.
- Show in Menu: Define if this post type should appear in the admin menu.
- Show in nav menu: Make this post type available for selection in navigation menus.
- Show in Admin Bar: Choose whether this post type is available via the admin bar.
- Menu Position: Specify the position in the admin menu for this post type.
- Capability Type: Define the capabilites associated with this post type (e,g., Edit, Delete).
- Has Archive: Specify whether an archive should be generated for this post.
- Rewrite: Control URL rewriting options for this post type.
- Custom Rewrite Rules: Enter custom rewrite rules if needed.
After you finish, click on ‘Save.’ The page will reload within five seconds, and you will see the newly created custom post type on the left side of the menu.
Congratulations! You have successfully created a Custom Post Type (CPT) using the ACPT plugin in WordPress.