Options API for site-wide settings in Wordpress - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Options API for site-wide settings

Define option name and value

↓

Use add_option() to save

↓

Option stored in database

↓

Use get_option() to retrieve

↓

Use update_option() to change value

↓

Use delete_option() to remove

↓

End

This flow shows how WordPress Options API stores, retrieves, updates, and deletes site-wide settings in the database.

Execution Sample

Wordpress

<?php
add_option('site_color', 'blue');
echo get_option('site_color');
update_option('site_color', 'red');
echo get_option('site_color');
delete_option('site_color');
?>

This code saves a color option, reads it, updates it, reads again, then deletes it.

Execution Table

Step	Function Called	Option Name	Value Before	Action	Value After	Output
1	add_option	site_color	none	Add 'blue'	blue	none
2	get_option	site_color	blue	Retrieve value	blue	blue
3	update_option	site_color	blue	Update to 'red'	red	none
4	get_option	site_color	red	Retrieve updated value	red	red
5	delete_option	site_color	red	Remove option	none	none
6	get_option	site_color	none	Try retrieve deleted	none	false

💡 Option deleted at step 5, so retrieval at step 6 returns false.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 3	After Step 5	After Step 6
site_color option value	none	blue	red	none	none

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does get_option return false after delete_option?

Because delete_option removes the option from the database, so get_option finds nothing and returns false as shown in step 6 of the execution_table.

What happens if add_option is called with an existing option name?

add_option will not overwrite an existing option. It only adds if the option does not exist, so if the option exists, the value stays unchanged as shown by the initial add_option in step 1.

How does update_option differ from add_option?

update_option changes the value if the option exists or adds it if missing. add_option only adds if missing. This is why update_option in step 3 changes 'blue' to 'red'.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the output of get_option at step 4?

A "blue"

B false

C "red"

D none

💡 Hint

Check the Output column at step 4 in the execution_table.

At which step does the option value change from 'blue' to 'red'?

A Step 1

B Step 3

C Step 5

D Step 6

💡 Hint

Look at the Value After column in the execution_table for the update_option call.

If we call add_option('site_color', 'green') after step 5, what will get_option('site_color') return?

A "green"

B "red"

C false

D none

💡 Hint

add_option adds a new option only if it does not exist, so after deletion at step 5, it will add 'green'.

Concept Snapshot

Options API stores site-wide settings in WordPress.
Use add_option(name, value) to save new settings.
Use get_option(name) to read settings.
Use update_option(name, value) to change existing settings.
Use delete_option(name) to remove settings.
get_option returns false if option missing.

Full Transcript

This visual trace shows how WordPress Options API manages site-wide settings. First, add_option saves a new option 'site_color' with value 'blue'. Then get_option reads it and outputs 'blue'. update_option changes the value to 'red'. Another get_option outputs 'red'. delete_option removes the option. Finally, get_option returns false because the option no longer exists. This step-by-step shows how options are stored, retrieved, updated, and deleted in WordPress.