Trusted WordPress tutorials, when you need them most.
Beginner’s Guide to WordPress
WPB Cup
25 Million+
Websites using our plugins
16+
Years of WordPress experience
3000+
WordPress tutorials
by experts

How to Create Custom Taxonomies in WordPress

Organizing your WordPress content is easy with categories and tags. But sometimes, they aren’t enough to organize everything the way you want. That’s where custom taxonomies come in.

With custom taxonomies, you can create your own ways to sort and group content. This gives you more control and flexibility over how your posts, products, or any other content are categorized.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create custom taxonomies in WordPress, whether you use a plugin or prefer to do it manually.

How to create custom taxonomies in WordPress

What is a WordPress Taxonomy?

A WordPress taxonomy is a way to organize groups of posts and custom post types.

By default, WordPress comes with 2 taxonomies called categories and tags. You can use them to organize your blog posts.

However, if you use a custom post type, then categories and tags may not look suitable for all content.

For instance, you can create a custom post type called ‘Books’ and sort it using a custom taxonomy called ‘Topics.’ Then, you can add topic terms like ‘Adventure,’ ‘Romance,’ ‘Horror,’ and other book topics you want.

This would allow you and your readers to easily sort and filter books by each topic.

Taxonomies can also be hierarchical, meaning that you can have main or parent topics like ‘Fiction’ and ‘Nonfiction.’ Then, you’d have subtopics, or children, under each category.

For example, the parent category ‘Fiction’ could have ‘Adventure,’ ‘Romance,’ and ‘Horror’ as children.

Now that you know what a custom taxonomy is, let’s learn how to create custom taxonomies in WordPress.

While creating custom taxonomies is powerful, there’s a lot to cover. To help you set this up properly, we have created an easy table of contents below:

Ready? Let’s get started!

Creating Custom Taxonomies With A Plugin (The Easy Way)

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Custom Post Type UI plugin. For details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

In this tutorial, we’ve already created a custom post type and called it ‘Books.’ So make sure you have a custom post type created before you begin creating your taxonomies.

Next, let’s head over to CPT UI » Add/Edit Taxonomies in the WordPress admin area to create your first taxonomy.

Creating custom taxonomy using plugin

On this screen, you will need to do the following:

  • Create your taxonomy slug (this will go in your URL)
  • Create the plural label
  • Create the singular label
  • Auto-populate labels

Your first step is to create a slug for the taxonomy to use in the URL and in WordPress search queries. Do note that a slug can only contain letters and numbers, and it will automatically be converted to lowercase letters.

Next, you will fill in the plural and singular names for your custom taxonomy.

From there, you have the option to click on the link ‘Populate additional labels based on chosen labels.’ If you do this, then the plugin will auto-fill in the rest of the label fields for you.

Now, you can scroll down to the ‘Additional Labels’ section.

In this area, you can provide a description of your post type.

Labeling your WordPress taxonomy

These labels are used in your WordPress dashboard when you edit and manage content for that particular custom taxonomy.

Next up, we have the settings option. In this area, you can set up different attributes for each taxonomy you create. Each option has a description detailing what it does.

Create custom taxonomy hierarchy

In the screenshot above, you’ll see we chose to make this taxonomy hierarchical.

This means our taxonomy ‘Subjects’ can have sub-topics. For instance, a subject called ‘Fiction’ can have sub-topics like ‘Fantasy,’ ‘Thriller,’ ‘Mystery,’ and more.

There are many other settings further down your screen in your WordPress dashboard, but you can leave them as-is for this tutorial.

You can now click on the ‘Add Taxonomy’ button at the bottom to save your custom taxonomy.

After that, you can edit the post type associated with this taxonomy in the WordPress content editor to start using it.

Using taxonomy in post editor

Creating Custom Taxonomies Manually (with Code)

This method requires you to add code to your WordPress website. If you have not done it before, then we recommend reading our guide on how to easily add code snippets in WordPress.

We don’t recommend directly editing your WordPress files because any tiny mistake can break your entire site. That’s why we recommend that everyone use WPCode, the easiest and safest code snippet plugin available.

To begin, you will need to install and activate the free WPCode plugin. For detailed instructions, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

1. Creating a Hierarchical Taxonomy

Let’s start with a hierarchical taxonomy that works like categories and can have parent and child terms.

Once you’ve installed and activated WPCode, you can navigate to Code Snippets » Add Snippet in your WordPress dashboard.

From here, you can hover your mouse over ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ and click ‘Use Snippet.’

Add a new custom snippet in WPCode

Next, you will be taken to the ‘Create Custom Snippet’ page.

Simply name your new code snippet and paste the following code into the text area:

//hook into the init action and call create_book_taxonomies when it fires
 
add_action( 'init', 'create_subjects_hierarchical_taxonomy', 0 );
 
//create a custom taxonomy name it subjects for your posts
 
function create_subjects_hierarchical_taxonomy() {
 
// Add new taxonomy, make it hierarchical like categories
//first do the translations part for GUI
 
  $labels = array(
    'name' => _x( 'Subjects', 'taxonomy general name' ),
    'singular_name' => _x( 'Subject', 'taxonomy singular name' ),
    'search_items' =>  __( 'Search Subjects' ),
    'all_items' => __( 'All Subjects' ),
    'parent_item' => __( 'Parent Subject' ),
    'parent_item_colon' => __( 'Parent Subject:' ),
    'edit_item' => __( 'Edit Subject' ), 
    'update_item' => __( 'Update Subject' ),
    'add_new_item' => __( 'Add New Subject' ),
    'new_item_name' => __( 'New Subject Name' ),
    'menu_name' => __( 'Subjects' ),
  );    
 
// Now register the taxonomy
  register_taxonomy('subjects',array('books'), array(
    'hierarchical' => true,
    'labels' => $labels,
    'show_ui' => true,
    'show_in_rest' => true,
    'show_admin_column' => true,
    'query_var' => true,
    'rewrite' => array( 'slug' => 'subject' ),
  ));
 
}

Be sure to change the ‘Code Type’ to ‘PHP Snippet’ and toggle the switch to ‘Active.’

Then, you can go ahead and click ‘Save Snippet.’

Add custom taxonomy with WPCode

Don’t forget to replace the taxonomy name and labels in the snippet with your own taxonomy labels. You will also notice that this taxonomy is associated with the Books post type. You’ll need to change that to whatever post type you want to use it with.

Next, you’ll want to scroll down and be sure that ‘Auto Insert’ and ‘Run Everywhere’ are selected in the Insertion box.

WPCode Run Everywhere

Once that’s done, you can scroll back to the top and click the ‘Update’ button to push your changes live.

2. Creating a Non-hierarchical Taxonomy

To create a non-hierarchical custom taxonomy like tags, you will use WPCode and follow the exact same steps as above.

Only, you will use this code instead:

//hook into the init action and call create_topics_nonhierarchical_taxonomy when it fires
 
add_action( 'init', 'create_topics_nonhierarchical_taxonomy', 0 );
 
function create_topics_nonhierarchical_taxonomy() {
 
// Labels part for the GUI
 
  $labels = array(
    'name' => _x( 'Topics', 'taxonomy general name' ),
    'singular_name' => _x( 'Topic', 'taxonomy singular name' ),
    'search_items' =>  __( 'Search Topics' ),
    'popular_items' => __( 'Popular Topics' ),
    'all_items' => __( 'All Topics' ),
    'parent_item' => null,
    'parent_item_colon' => null,
    'edit_item' => __( 'Edit Topic' ), 
    'update_item' => __( 'Update Topic' ),
    'add_new_item' => __( 'Add New Topic' ),
    'new_item_name' => __( 'New Topic Name' ),
    'separate_items_with_commas' => __( 'Separate topics with commas' ),
    'add_or_remove_items' => __( 'Add or remove topics' ),
    'choose_from_most_used' => __( 'Choose from the most used topics' ),
    'menu_name' => __( 'Topics' ),
  ); 
 
// Now register the non-hierarchical taxonomy like tag
 
  register_taxonomy('topics','books',array(
    'hierarchical' => false,
    'labels' => $labels,
    'show_ui' => true,
    'show_in_rest' => true,
    'show_admin_column' => true,
    'update_count_callback' => '_update_post_term_count',
    'query_var' => true,
    'rewrite' => array( 'slug' => 'topic' ),
  ));
}

Notice the difference between the 2 code snippets. Under the register_taxonomy() function, the value for the hierarchical argument is set to true for the category-like taxonomy and false for tags-like taxonomies.

Also, in the labels array for non-hierarchical taxonomies, we have added null for the parent_item and parent_item_colon arguments, which means that nothing will be shown in the UI to create a parent item or taxonomy that can have sub-topics.

Taxonomies in post editor

Again, be sure to edit the code to include your own custom taxonomy labels.

Displaying Custom Taxonomies

Now that we have created custom taxonomies and have added a few terms, your WordPress theme will still not display them.

To display them, you’ll need to add code to your WordPress theme or child theme. Specifically, this code must be added to template files where you want to display the terms.

You can manually add this snippet to your theme files, such as single.php, content.php, archive.php, or index.php. To figure out which file you need to edit, you can see our guide to WordPress template hierarchy for step-by-step instructions.

However, if not done correctly, this can break your site, so we once again recommend using the free WPCode plugin.

You will need to add the following code where you want to display the terms:

<?php the_terms( $post->ID, 'topics', 'Topics: ', ', ', ' ' ); ?>

Then, you can simply follow the steps above to paste the snippet into WPCode.

But under Insertion, you want to click the dropdown next to ‘Location’ and select where you want to display the taxonomy, such as before the post, after it, or even between paragraphs.

WPCode Insertion box

For this tutorial, we will select ‘Insert After Post.’

You can see in the image below how it will appear on your live site.

Custom Taxonomy Displayed

Adding Taxonomies For Custom Posts

Now that you know how to create custom taxonomies, let’s put them to use with an example.

We’re going to create a taxonomy and call it ‘Non-fiction.’ Since we have a custom post type named ‘Books,’ it’s similar to how you’d create a regular blog post.

In your WordPress dashboard, you can navigate to Books » Subjects to add a term or subject.

Adding a term for your newly created custom taxonomy

On this screen, you’ll see 4 areas:

  • Name
  • Slug
  • Parent
  • Description

In the name field, you’ll write out the term you want to add. You can skip the slug part and provide a description for this particular term.

Lastly, click the ‘Add New Subject’ button to create your new taxonomy.

Your newly added term should then appear in the right column.

Term added

Now, you have a new term that you can use in your blog posts. You can also add terms directly while editing or writing content under that particular post type.

Simply go to Books » Add New to create a post.

In the post editor, you’ll find the option to select or create new terms from the right column.

Adding new terms or select from existing terms

After adding terms, you can go ahead and publish that content.

All your posts filed under that term will be accessible on your website using their own URL. For instance, posts filed under the ‘Fiction’ subject would appear at the following URL:

https://example.com/subject/fiction/

Taxonomy template preview

Now that you have created custom taxonomies, you may want to display them in your website’s navigation menu.

You’ll want to head over to Appearance » Menus and select the terms you wish to add under your custom taxonomy tab that appears on the left side of the screen.

Adding terms to navigation menu

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Menu’ button to save your settings.

You can now visit your website to see your menu in action.

Adding custom taxonomy in navigation menu

For more details, you can refer to our step-by-step guide on how to create a dropdown menu in WordPress.

Video Tutorial

If you prefer to watch and learn how to create custom taxonomies, check out our video tutorial:

Subscribe to WPBeginner

Bonus: Take WordPress Taxonomies Further

Custom taxonomies allow you to do tons of things. For instance, you can show them in a sidebar widget or add image icons for each term.

You can also for custom taxonomies and allow users to subscribe to individual terms. That way, your readers will only receive updates about the specific content that matters to them.

If you want to customize the layout of your custom taxonomy pages, then you can check out SeedProd. It’s the best drag-and-drop WordPress page builder and theme builder that allows you to create custom layouts without any coding.

Select three column layout

To learn more, you can check out our article on how to create a custom page in WordPress.

We hope this article helped you learn how to create custom taxonomies in WordPress. You may also want to see our guides on how to add taxonomy images (category icons) in WordPress and how to properly change, move, and delete WordPress categories.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

Get FREE access to our toolkit - a collection of WordPress related products and resources that every professional should have!

Reader Interactions

112 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. joe barrett

    Don’t forget to add ‘show_in_rest’ => true,
    if you want to use your custom items in rest api to $args

    • WPBeginner Support

      Thanks for sharing this for those wanting to add this functionality.

      Admin

  2. Michael Morad-McCoy

    I tried putting this in a site-specfic plug-in and get the following in a box at the top:
    y() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback, function ‘create_topics_hierarchical_taxonomy’ not found or invalid function name in /home2/kaibabpr/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php on line 286

    Warning: Cannot modify header information – headers already sent by (output started at /home2/kaibabpr/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php:286) in /home2/kaibabpr/public_html/wp-admin/includes/misc.php on line 1198

    as this is the first time I tried this, I’m at a loss.

    • WPBeginner Support

      You may want to ensure your site-specific plugin is a php file after you added the code as sometimes your operating system can try to edit the file type.

      Admin

  3. Naji Boutros

    Do you have a different plugin to recommend?

  4. Ajeet singh

    this is very helpful tutorial …..thnks a lot.

  5. Suresh

    Thanks for sharing this code. I used non-hierarchy code, and admin part is working fine. I have created a separate template as well like taxonomy-[taxoName]-.php But while trying to access the URL, giving HTTP error 500. I have tried multiple things, like new cache starts, permalink re-save, new .htaccess and memory increase. even then page is not working. kindly help

  6. Rabby

    WOW, Amazing and helpful details. I’ve created my custom taxonomy using manual rules. Thanks

  7. Joseph Peter

    Hi,
    than you for this useful information, iam new to wordpress and i wanted to know the meaning thats i landed here, it was actually helpful.

    Best Regards

    Joseph Peter

  8. Cindi Gay

    I used the code for adding a tag to a custom post type. Luckily Topics is exactly the label I needed so all I needed to change was post to lesson (I am modifying the LifterLMS lesson post type).

    Now I want to display the tags. I tried using the default Wordpress Tag Cloud but it does not change to the newly added tag. It continues to show all my post tags even when I choose Topics

    Is there a step I am missing? How do I display the new tag: Topics?

  9. Ero

    Taxonomies don’t behave exactly like default posts’ categories. They don’t appear in the URL (especially for nested taxonomies). Is there any way to set a custom taxonomy associated to a custom post type to behave like posts’ categories ?

  10. Rangan Roy

    I have used this code in my gallery custom post type for category support. It shows the name of the category but when i click on the category name it shows 404:error not found. Please help me to solve it. I want the category posts to show on my archive.php page.

    • Utshab Roy

      I got this same problem that you are facing. The way I solved it is very easy. Go to your permalink settings and click the save button. Refresh the page. This simple step will save the issue.

      • Carol

        This worked! Thank you so much.

  11. Russell

    Hi, I created custom meta box with new category. I can also show it to the post page. But when I click to the newly created category item it gives a 404 page. I wan it to work like tags, default category or author. So that If I click it shows all the post under that category.

  12. Olivier

    Hello,

    I am new to WordPress and coding in general. This tutorial is very well explained, thank you.

    However I don’t understand how to display the terms of my taxonomy on my pages.
    Where do I have to go to “Add this single line of code in your single.php file within the loop” ?

    Thank you for your help
    Best,
    Olivier

  13. Azamat

    Thank you so much for this great tutorial!
    I created custom taxanomy on my website dedicated to books and now I’m able to filter books by authors!

  14. James Angel

    The trouble with some plugins is that they may not be compatible with all themes. I have found that it pays to have a qualified developer do his/her part and test and troubleshoot any Web site alteration after adding a plugin or updating Wordpress to a newer version to ensure everything works as it should.

  15. paul

    Man you are a legend,
    i struggled 3 days to get this, which i found in many websites, but not as clear as this.
    Thanks!

      • Rangan Roy

        I have used this code in my gallery custom post type for category support. It shows the name of the category but when i click on the category name it shows 404.php page. Please help me to solve it. I want the category posts to show on my archive.php page.

  16. Ayla

    I’ve created a custom post type and a taxonomy to go with it, but when I create a custom post and add tags to it they don’t show up like normal tags do on normal posts. How do I get them to display at the bottom of the post like normal so people can click on them and find more like it?

    Thank you!
    -Ayla

    • WPBeginner Support

      You will need to create a new template to display your custom post type and edit that template to show your custom taxonomy.

      Admin

  17. Giulia

    Hi everybody! First of all thank you for this article!
    I’ve found that “Simple Taxonomies” plugin is kind of out of date, since it hasn’t been updated since 2 years…. do you have any other plugin to suggest to create custom taxonomies?
    thanks :-)
    Giulia

    • Mario

      I’m not the author of this post, but I use “Custom Post Type UI” to create custom taxonomies. With 300k installs, I’m pretty sure this plugin is as close as you can get to industry standard.

      Hope this helps!

  18. Ryan Hall

    Amazing. thank you!

  19. Ryan

    How do you disassociate the posts with the “regular” categories?

  20. Sunny

    Hello,

    The description is not prominent by default; however, some themes may show it. But still show on front.

    How to hide taxonomy description from front ?
    I want to add description on taxonomy but i don’t want they show on front .

    Please tell me about what i can do.

    Thank You

  21. ajax

    How do one automate the population of the taxonomy value with the value in a custom field.

  22. Charles Hall

    The article is OK, but the video is very poor. The sound quality is bad, she talks way too fast, obvious things are elaborated on but the explanation of what you’re doing and why is missing, as is the other content in the lower portion of the article.

  23. Jennifer

    I am working on a WordPress website. I created categories using a plugin called “Categories Images”. One of the categories is named “Videos” so there is one folder/category that is supposed to show videos but images. The problem is, because the plugin is designed to upload images only, the YouTube videos do not show up. How can I edit the PHP files (create a custom taxonomy, edit single.php, edit taxonomy-{taxonomy-slug}.php, etc.) so that the post can show and play YouTube videos??

    • Jamie Wallace

      If you want more control over how things are pulled from the backend to the frontend look into using the Advanced Custom Fields plugin. This is a plugin for developers (so some code is involved) but its very powerful for things like what you ask

  24. Muhammad

    Hi I have followed the manual way of creating custom taxonomy and i just used Ads/Ad instead of Topics/Topic . But i don’t see any custom taxonomy in post editor though i checked the custom taxonomy form Screen Options.

    though the custom taxonomy(Ads) is showing in admin submenu under Posts.

    • Muhammad

      Here is my code snipped in functions.php file

      _x( ‘Ads’, ‘taxonomy general name’ ),
      ‘singular_name’ => _x( ‘Ad’, ‘taxonomy singular name’ ),
      ‘search_items’ => __( ‘Search Ads’ ),
      ‘all_items’ => __( ‘All Ads’ ),
      ‘parent_item’ => __( ‘Parent Ad’ ),
      ‘parent_item_colon’ => __( ‘Parent Ad:’ ),
      ‘edit_item’ => __( ‘Edit Ad’ ),
      ‘update_item’ => __( ‘Update Ad’ ),
      ‘add_new_item’ => __( ‘Add New Ad’ ),
      ‘new_item_name’ => __( ‘New Ad Name’ ),
      ‘menu_name’ => __( ‘Ads’ ),
      );

      // Now register the taxonomy

      register_taxonomy(‘ads’,array(‘post’), array(
      ‘hierarchical’ => true,
      ‘labels’ => $labels,
      ‘show_ui’ => true,
      ‘show_admin_column’ => true,
      ‘query_var’ => true,
      ‘rewrite’ => array( ‘slug’ => ‘ad’ ),
      ));

      }

      ?>

  25. Robert Herold

    How to show the number of posts on taxonomy-{taxonomy-slug}.php? :)

  26. Robert Herold

    How can I display my custom taxonomies list like the category list

  27. Abdul Rauf Bhatti

    Hy Dear WPBEGINNER SUPPORT,

    I have learned many things in this tutorial next time will you please elaborate functions parameter which you have used some time i got in trouble or confused with parameters.

    Thanks a lot Nice tutorial 5 rating

    • WPBeginner Support

      Thanks for the feedback, we will try to improve our code explanation in the future.

      Admin

  28. lee

    Is there a way to get multiple custom taxonomy to use the same slug or same url? Please show us how if you or anyone knows.

  29. pdepmcp

    It may sound obvious, but…remember to refresh the permalink cache or you can waste some hours trying to figure out why archive pages don’t work…

    • Ilya

      Thank you very much!!!
      I wasted hours in debug mode, but cannot determine why my permalink redirects to 404 page! But after flushing “permalink cache” all works fine.
      Thank you again!

  30. winson

    Hello.

    How can I get a different Posts Link? I mean I want to get 2 different links after I published a New Post.

    E.G:

    Category Name – > Facebook (theme template A)

    Topic Name – > Twitter (theme template B)

    Then I submit a post to these 2 Categories. I want get 1 link for “Facebook” and 1 Link for “Twitter”.

    Best Regards

  31. foolish coder

    how to create single pages / templates for taxonomies?

    I mean like single.php not like category.php

    • Alex

      Try taxonomy.php ()

  32. fatima

    what if we want to create more than 2 taxonomies, categories style (hierarchy true)

  33. Aalaap Ghag

    I’m building a site which has multiple item thumbnails, each of which leads to a page with multiple images for that item (i.e. product). Are taxonomies the way to go or should I be looking at something else?

  34. leona

    Hi This is a great tutorial. But what if I want to display a custom taxonomies as posts in my menu? for instance I have a custom post type called ‘poems’ and custom taxomies classic, modern, new wave. each poem post is assigned one of these taxonomies. In the menu I want to see a menu entitled poems with 3 subheadings (classic, modrn, new wave). Each will display only the poems tagged with one taxonomy. Is this possible?

  35. angel1

    This is great! How do I create “related posts” for the custom taxonomy?

    I’m assuming I need to put a conditional php code to display related posts for the new custom taxonomy to appear only when it’s a new taxonomy post and to hide when it is a basic category/tag post since they are both sharing the same content.php file.

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

  36. SteveMTNO

    I used the code above to create the custom taxonomy – everything worked great. The field was added to all of my posts, and I populated it accordingly.

    I’m using the “Taxonomy Dropdown Widget” plugin – that works too.. sort of.

    The dropdown is populated correctly, but when you click on one of the items to display those posts, I get a 404. However the plugin works for displaying tags.

    Any ideas? I’ll be happy to post my code, just wasn’t sure if I paste it in here or somewhere and link to it here instead.

    Let me know.. thanks!

    SteveMTNO

    • Ruben

      Go to Setting > Permalinks > Save Changes
      (don’t need to make any changes, this just rewrites your .htaccess file so the link works)
      This step should be included in the post?

  37. David

    Bad tutorial. You just expect people to copy/paste the code and don’t explain how it works.

    • WPBeginner Support

      No, we don’t want people to just copy paste the code, we want them to study it and modify if they want.

      Admin

  38. Cletus

    Hi, can you recommend a different taxonomy plugin that works?
    Even a premium version, the one you’ve posted hasn’t been updated in months and the author seems to have done one.

    • WPBeginner Support

      The plugin works great, and the author has 19 other plugins. It also has great reviews and we have personally tested and used it. However, if you would still like to try some other plugin, then you can look at GenerateWP which will allow you to generate the code for your custom taxonomy. You can then paste this code in your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin.

      Admin

  39. Dineshkumar

    I am beginner using classifieds wordpress theme my taxonomy list is not working correctly
    when i select country it shows correct bt when i select state it shows state list with city list when i select city i doesnot show below the parent how can i solve it without using plugin please help me

  40. Joe

    This is probably a newbie question, but I can’t find the answer anywhere. I want to display the hierarchical path of each page at the top of the page. This page for example has “WPBEGINNER» BLOG» TUTORIALS» HOW TO CREATE CUSTOM TAXONOMI…” at the top and each item is a link. I lack the web vocabulary to know what this is called. If anyone can tell me what terms to search for to figure out how to do this that would be excellent.

    • WPBeginner Support

      Joe these are called breadcrumbs. You can add breadcrumbs to your site using Yoast’s WordPress SEO Plugin. You can also search for breadcrumbs on WordPress plugin directory to find other plugins.

      Admin

  41. Mark

    I was getting 404 after manually setting up a custom taxonomy with your instructions and code. For anybody else who does, below is the solution I found on Codex.

    “If your site uses custom permalinks, you will need to flush your permalink structure after making changes to your taxonomies, or else you may see a “Page Not Found” error. Your permalink structure is automatically flushed when you visit Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard. “

    • SteveMTNO

      I was getting the same 404 issue after making the taxonomy change. Flushing the permalinks worked perfectly.. thanks!

  42. Pepper

    Hi,
    thank you so much for your awesome tutorials!

  43. Jordan

    Hello, thank you for the great article.

    Is there anyway to create a page for a custom taxonomy?

    Right now my custom taxonomy is called “issue” and I want to display all issue 1 posts on the home page. The problem is, the link looks like this example.com/issue/1 which is fine. Except that there is no way to make wordpress register this as the home page

    Thanks

    • WPBeginner Support

      You can replace your default index template with home.php inside home.php add this line just before the loop
      $query = new WP_Query( array( ‘issues’ => ‘issue 1’ ) );

      Admin

  44. Keisa

    How can I display each taxonomy on separate pages?

    For example//

    PSDS (page)
    —Vampire Diaries
    ——–Elena Gilberts
    ——–Stephen
    ——–Damon
    ——–Klaus

    —Teen Wolf
    ——–Derek Hale
    ——–Scott McCall
    ——–Stiles Stilinski
    ——–Lydia Martin

    How could I display each character on their own page using taxonomies?

    I used “psd_categories” for the taxonomy, then I added “Teen Wolf” as a category.
    I found a way to display links to the show’s page, but I have no idea on how to display all posts under each characters name…
    I’m extremely new to this so please bare with me lol.

    Can I send an email perhaps? >.<

    • WPBeginner Support

      If you are using permalinks then you should automatically have separate pages for each term in a taxonomy.

      For example if you create a taxonomy called characters, and mark some posts with term Stephen, then those posts will appear on

      http://example.com/characters/stephen/

      Admin

  45. Kiki

    Is there a way to make the categories not hyperlinks? I just want them listed. I don’t want them to link anywhere.

    • Photoreview

      Then consider creating custom fields instead of custom taxonomies.

  46. Azis

    thanks for the easy-to-understand tutorial :D

    and could you help me to insert those custom taxonomies into the post class? like, for example… when we put a category named ‘tutorial’ into the post, the category would normally get inserted in the post class as ‘category-tutorial’, right? but it seems the example from this article doesn’t do that.

    Once again, thanks for this great article.

    P.S: I choose the manual way to create the custom taxonomies, since I prefer not to use additional plugins for my site if possible.

  47. Robby Barnes

    Hello and thanks for this information.

    I am using the Responsive Child Theme on WP 3.5.1 on DreamHost.

    I am building a WordPress site for a small print publication. I am trying to get my WordPress pages (not posts) to display the names of authors of articles that are on the pages. I installed the Simple Taxonomy plugin and created a custom taxonomy. I set it to work on pages and media, but not on posts. Using the widget for Simple Taxonomies I was able to have the author names show up on the right sidebar.

    The custom taxonomy shows up on the Edit Page admin panel and seems to permit me to select authors to associate with a page… But, after updating the page the authors don’t appear on the HTML page.

    I followed your suggestion and pasted some code into what I believe is the Loop (not sure if pages have the loop) and it didn’t change anything.

    I would appreciate any suggestions for dealing with this. / Robby, Seattle, USA

    • Editorial Staff

      The pages do have loop, and yes you would have to paste the code to make sure the taxonomy appears on the HTML page. Email us the page.php file or where you added the code. Use our contact form.

      Admin

  48. Mattia

    Hi, in the code example, I am missing how you link the “topic” custom taxonomy to the “books” custom post type… Should I replace “post” with “books”?

      • Arpit

        How can i target categories of taxonomy?

        Just like i want to execute a function when products of only Books > Fiction category is shown…

Leave A Reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.