WordPress is wonderful for creating websites because it is so flexible and versatile. Using custom post types for your business website allows for the publishing of specific content in a style or format that is very different from your normal blog posts. Custom content fields can be added to the back end (your editor or Add new screen) to make adding content more efficient. It also allows the content to be displayed consistently across your website.
The custom content types that many business websites use include:
- events
- portfolios
- directories
- real estate properties
- sliders
- testimonials
- ecommerce products
- recipes
- many more
Extra fields can be added to the WordPress editor screen (Add new) to make it easier for you to add the content necessary for your website. This saves you time, and also makes it easier to display the content in the format you need for your visitors.
Use a Plugin for Custom Post Types
You can use a plugin to add popular content types, like an events calendar or testimonials, or custom post types can be added by your website developer or designer to match your specific needs.
If you add a plugin to your website, the plugin is designed to add the content in a format that is useful to the most users. Each plugin will determine how the content is displayed using your theme. Some will display the custom field content with your single post template; some will use their own custom template; and some will use a shortcode or widget to display the content. It’s important to know how you want to use and display the content before choosing a plugin.
A good website designer or developer can help you with your custom post types so that the content is easy for you to add, and so that the content can be displayed by your theme in the manner you choose. Sometimes a developer will start with a plugin which they use often; this will save them time, and therefore save you money. Or they may may decide that your content requirements are unique enough that you will need something more custom both for content entry and display on your website.
Examples of Custom Content Types
Testimonials Using a Plugin
This is an example of the fields added with a plugin for a testimonial custom post type. You can see that it would make adding the same information for each testimonial consistent.
This testimonial content is displayed using the Twenty Fourteen theme with the single custom post type on the left and the sidebar display using a widget on the right. You can see that the single content does not show the client or business names while the sidebar display does. So this plugin would be most useful used in a sidebar or also added to a page with a shortcode. In the Twenty Fourteen theme, you would still need to add some styling for more readable display.
Events Calendar Using Customized Plugin
This simple, but powerful events calendar plugin adds just a few custom fields to make adding the event date and time easy and consistent.
This plugin displays a calendar to show the upcoming events. It uses your theme styles quite well.
It also displays the custom fields in the single custom post (left), and it also can display a list (upper corner) using a widget. But if you want the custom fields in the widget list, as well as the single post, you will need to customize this plugin. The location is sometimes included in an events plugin, but this one uses an additional plugin.
Directory Using Customized Form for Content Addition
This directory listing was developed using a customized form plugin. An online form is used by the members to complete their application. The application content then becomes the directory listing custom post type. There are many more fields in the application than just the contact info, making a nice custom directory. The information for each member is displayed as a directory listing to members only, as shown in the upper right corner of the image.
A Custom Events Listing
This custom events listing was developed for a website that needed to list event details, but did not need a calendar display. They wanted the details to show in a list and also on the single custom posts.
This is an example of the added fields for the events listing. The fields make it easy to add the event content consistently. The date fields include a date picker for ease and consistency.
Custom templates were developed to display both the archive listing and the single content types; both were also styled to display the added field content.
WordPress custom post types add value to your business website by saving you time adding content and by allowing for easy and consistent display or your content in just the format you need.
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