Custom post type queries in Wordpress

Introduction

Custom post type queries let you get specific groups of content in WordPress. This helps you show only the posts you want, like products or events.

You want to list all books if you have a 'book' post type.

You want to show only upcoming events from an 'event' post type.

You want to display portfolio items separately from blog posts.

You want to filter posts by a custom post type on a page.

You want to create a custom archive page for a special content type.

Syntax

Wordpress

$query = new WP_Query([
  'post_type' => 'your_post_type',
  'posts_per_page' => 5,
  'order' => 'ASC',
  'orderby' => 'date',
  // other query parameters
]);

Replace 'your_post_type' with the slug of your custom post type.

WP_Query returns posts matching your criteria, which you can loop through.

Examples

Get the latest 5 posts from the 'book' custom post type.

Wordpress

$query = new WP_Query([
  'post_type' => 'book',
  'posts_per_page' => 5
]);

Get all 'event' posts ordered by date from oldest to newest.

Wordpress

$query = new WP_Query([
  'post_type' => 'event',
  'orderby' => 'date',
  'order' => 'ASC'
]);

Get posts from both 'book' and 'movie' post types, up to 10 posts.

Wordpress

$query = new WP_Query([
  'post_type' => ['book', 'movie'],
  'posts_per_page' => 10
]);

Sample Program

This code gets the 3 newest posts from the 'product' custom post type and prints their titles line by line. If no products exist, it shows a message.

Wordpress

<?php
// Query 3 latest 'product' posts
$query = new WP_Query([
  'post_type' => 'product',
  'posts_per_page' => 3
]);

if ($query->have_posts()) {
  while ($query->have_posts()) {
    $query->the_post();
    echo get_the_title() . "\n";
  }
} else {
  echo "No products found.";
}
wp_reset_postdata();
?>

Important Notes

Always call wp_reset_postdata() after a custom query to restore global post data.

You can combine custom post type queries with other filters like taxonomy or meta queries.

Use pre_get_posts hook to modify main queries for custom post types if needed.

Summary

Custom post type queries help you get specific content types in WordPress.

Use WP_Query with the post_type parameter to fetch posts.

Loop through results and reset post data after to keep WordPress working smoothly.