Post types in WordPress: Everything You Need to Know!

Post types are one of the less understood and highly-underrated elements of WordPress. As we go through the different personalities of it, you will know it’s more than an integral part, it’s what gives life to the WordPress software.

If you’re thinking that I’m taking it too far with the above statement, let’s hold it for a minute. WordPress Post types are what enable you to distinguish between different content types on your website. For example, posts, pages, attachments, etc. It is this feature that transforms WordPress from a blogging platform to a CMS!

If you wish to become a WordPress developer or just want to know All-Thing-Everything WordPress, like us, then you have to know post types. Because from here on things start getting spicier and WordPress even more intriguing and glamorous.

Incoming….

What is WordPress Post Type?

Well, post type is a term that describes different types of content on a WordPress website.

You must wonder why it is called post type and not something else.

Umm, I’ll just put out what I think is the reason (in my whole and sole opinion!). We all know WordPress’s journey from a repository to a blogging platform. The term that is most relevant and used in a blog is what – Post!   

So, as WordPress evolved and different types of content came into the picture. Yes, they all have their separate names but one common name that stuck with everyone….you know it…..Post! That is how different content on a WordPress website got the name.. Post Type. 

So, now when you say posts or attachment, the ideal or technical way of saying it is Post Type: ‘post’ and Post Type: ‘attachment’.

Why are Post Types needed?

Let’s understand why WordPress post types are so important, and I can’t stop fussing over it. You know, without representing different types of content on a website like articles, photos, videos, portfolio, etc. there is no website.

But, in addition to being a website there is no sort of content management without different types of content, right?

And that’s where WordPress post type supports the whole software and redefines it into a CMS from a blogging platform. Don’t worry bloggers, it is still one of the best and most popular blogging platforms, with lots of other gizmos and features! 🤩

As WordPress evolved into a CMS, this led to the foundation of it going into the direction of becoming a website builder.

Post types are needed because they allow you to have different types of content on your website. Imagine a website, where you can have just articles, no images, videos, or any other content of any sort.

Moreover, you can have custom post types, i.e., create post types as per your requirement. For example, a blog can have a separate post type, like reviews, portfolio, etc. Thus, enabling you to completely customize your website and each content available on it! Keep reading, you’ll understand everything and an example at the end to clear any clouds of confusion 🌤️.

Built-in/Default post type in WordPress and what they offer?

WordPress comes bundled with a lot of features and functionalities right out of the box, to give users a complete and holistic CMS and website building experience.

Let’s get familiar with default WordPress post types and what they offer. I’ll be writing another article followed by this where I’ll cover every post type in detail:

Post (Post Type: ‘post’)

A post type: ‘post’ in WordPress is the backbone of the blogging platform, for which WordPress is highly popular and famous for. Posts show up in reverse sequential order (newer posts to display first). You can always change this order. Some people may call it WordPress post type ‘blog’, but that’s incorrect, period! 😛

They come with a date and time stamp. You can also use taxonomies; categories and tags, to make accessibility and readability ever so fluent on your blog. You must be thinking great, but what is it 🤔?

Posts also play a vital role in creating RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. RSS is an XML file that holds all information, i.e., title, description, and link for each post on the site. This is easily copied by readers/visitors on an RSS reader, which enables to see all the website’s content in one place. This allows you to stay updated with the latest notifications from all your favorite blogs, websites in one place.

Today, RSS has become a thing of the past, with the dawn of email newsletters (subscribe to ours if you haven’t yet!). Well, RSS is quite an interesting topic, and if you would like to read more about it, drop your comments below, and I’ll write a dedicated article for it!

Pages (Post Type: ‘page’)

A post type: ‘page’ in WordPress is somewhat similar to posts, but they have some very important differences. Page is not displayed in a reverse sequential order. They are basically the main pages of your website, like About, Contact, Get in Touch, etc. Date and time stamp is also not on display.

Pages can have a hierarchical order where a page can be the parent or child of another page, thus, allowing you to create a page structure. For eg. in the About page of an organization’s website, you can have many pages like, Who We Are, Team, What Sets Us Apart, etc.

Normally, pages do not make use of Categories and Taxonomies but with plugins you can have that functionality at your disposal. Why?

Note:
You might get confused between differentiating and understanding the separation between post and page.

Look closely and understand, post type = ‘post’ is non-hierarchical, i.e., you cannot have sub-posts or a hierarchy of an article, right?….right?
Now, a post type = ‘page’ can have a hierarchy. For example, the About Us page of a website can have separate pages for information like The Team, The Culture, Approach, What Sets Us Apart, etc. All under one main page, i.e. About Us.

Attachments (Post Type: ‘attachment’)

A post type: ‘attachment’ is a special post type that holds information about any media that is uploaded to your WordPress website. You may also know it as Media library. So, all the pictures, videos, gifs, infographics, etc. with all of its information, like alt text, size, format, etc. Attachments make use of the wp_postmeta table for storing extra information like metadata for images, videos, etc. You can find them all in one place, i.e. attachments.

Revision (Post Type: ‘revision’)

A post type: ‘revision’ is a special post type, which creates a history of any specific post type(s). For bloggers, revision helps you rollback changes made to a current post to a previous version of that post type. The same process is followed for any other post type. Technically speaking, you cannot edit a revision directly unless you restore a revision. The wp_posts table stores all Revisions, like every post type.

What do Post Types offer?

In simple terms, it is post types that turn WordPress into a CMS from a blogging platform. WordPress post type supports you to organize and display content in a way that makes it easy for visitors/readers to understand the content on your website.

Also, you get to create and sort different types of content that provides greater flexibility and freedom to showcase and manage your content digitally.

Example of Post Types and its Uses

Let’s take an example of a blog about All-Thing Everything Books 😉. This blog will have different pages talking about the blog itself, the reviewers, featured, etc. This will require creation of separate pages. All praises to post type = ‘page’!

Now, in this book blog you will write different types of articles on publications, writing styles, genres, etc., thus, post type = ‘post’ to the rescue!

All of the images, covers, infographics, videos, etc. will be stored in post type = ‘attachment’. Thus, all your content, managed and neatly stored under one post type.

Now, you must wonder, a blog on books will require more post types like books, authors, reviews, etc. Guess what, you’re right! This can be achieved with custom post types (I will be talking about this in detail in the coming article).

I hope this example helps you understand post types and how they offer a complete CMS experience in WordPress!

Conclusion

I hope that you have got an idea of what post types in WordPress are and their importance. There is a lot more ground to cover as we’ve just touched the surface of WordPress post types. So, this article sums it all up for you, understanding post types, what they are, and use-cases, and a bit more.

Let me know what your views are about post types, comments, ideas, thoughts or blog ideas are most welcome. In case of any doubts, feel free to comment or write to us at [email protected].

Those wondering about what comes next, well let me tell you, we’ve just touched the surface of WordPress post types. It really is a very vast concept and key-feature to understand, especially if you plan on getting into the development side of it. The next article to read after (Our content mill is on it, you’ll have detailed articles soooon!)

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