Custom Post Types Permalinks

In WordPress, you can use custom post types to extend the standard posts and pages. They can help you organize and manage content, whether it is a business website, store, documentation site, directory, or any other type of website.

The strength of WordPress is its flexibility, but default permalink settings cover only basic options. Each post type in WordPress has a predefined permalink structure, typically using the post type slug followed by the title.

You may want to change it when the default URLs do not clearly describe the content of your pages. Using Permalink Manager, you can configure custom permalinks easily from the dashboard and automatically redirects old URLs to the new ones.

What are Custom Post Types?

Most WordPress sites work with two main content types: pages and posts. When your content does not fit into them, you can create custom content types to keep it separate. Custom types can have their own fields, layouts, and rules, so you can treat them differently from standard posts.

They are extremely versatile and form the backbone of hundreds of plugins. WooCommerce, for example, uses custom types to manage products, while others handle events, courses, portfolios, testimonials, or job listings.

Do You Really Need a Custom Post Type?

While there are many situations where unique post types can be advantageous, they are not necessarily essential. Consider a few things before using them.

1. Blogs
   First and foremost, for traditional blog websites, the built-in "post" type is more than enough. Categories and tags are sufficient for most blogging needs.
2. Simple websites
   For websites with just a few static pages like "About Us" and "Contact", there is no point in using extra custom post types.
3. Content that is alike in structure and form
   When you have a lot of similar content items, like "apartments for rent", CPTs make it easier to organize and manage them. A notable example of this is the "products" post type used in WooCommerce for online stores.

Declaring Custom Post Types

There are many methods to define a custom post type. If you do not know much about coding or simply prefer not to deal with code, using a plugin is a the simplest way.

There are lots of freely available plugins, like ACF or Pods, which allow you to register new Custom Post Types (CPTs) and define extra custom fields for them.

The other popular way is to add a code snippet to your website and using the register_post_type() function.

function custom_post_type_registration() {
	 $args = array(
		 'public' => true,
		 'label' => 'Book',
		 'supports' => array('title', 'editor', 'thumbnail'),
		 'rewrite' => array('slug' => 'publication'),
	 );
	 register_post_type('book', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'custom_post_type_registration');

The with_front Parameter in register_post_type()

When you register a custom post type, the rewrite argument can include a parameter named "with_front". This controls whether the global permalink settings (defined in "Settings -> Permalinks") are applied to the custom post type URLs.

By default, WordPress may add a front base such as /blog/ to all post URLs. Setting 'with_front' => true means the custom post type slug will include this prefix.

function register_publication_cpt() {
	 $args = array(
		 ...
		 'rewrite' => array( 'with_front' => true ),
		 ...
	 );
	 register_post_type('publication', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'register_publication_cpt');

For example, if your site uses a permalink structure that includes /blog/ and your custom post type has the slug publication , the URL for their items would be:

https://example.com/blog/publication/sample-post

If you do not set 'with_front' parameter, or set it to false, the /blog/ prefix is not applied. The URL will then be:

https://example.com/publication/sample-post

Custom Post Types Permalinks

Default Permalink Format

The rewrite slug is an optional parameter when registering post types. It sets the default URL pattern for the custom post type items and gives some control over their format.

It is often ignored, but understanding it helps avoid conflicts in rewrite rules that could prevent WordPress from processing URLs as expected.

The rewrite slug is specified as the 'slug' parameter under 'rewrite'. In the example above, it is set to 'publication'. Therefore, the custom post type's permalink structure will be as follows:

https://example.com/publication/post-title

Extra Customization Options

The built-in permalinks in WordPress are limited to basic structures. Using a plugin or a extra code snippet, you can remove default rewrite bases, add category names, or standardize URLs across post types.

For a detailed guide on how to set up and use custom permalinks to organize your site’s URLs, see our full article about custom permalinks.

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