Have you noticed the Videos, Deals & downloads section of ShoutMeLoud? Ever wondered how they are made & why they look so different than the typical blog posts?
Welcome to the world of WordPress custom post type. A fresh installation of WordPress comes with some default post types; they are –
- Posts,
- Pages,
- Menu Items,
- Attachments,
- Links, etc.
Besides these regular post types, WordPress also allows you to add content in your own type. This custom content type is called ‘Custom Post Types.’ You can use custom post types to add different types of content like product review, recipe, testimonial, team member, etc.
Why Should You Use Custom Post Types?
I am sure some of you are thinking why the hell should I bother with this thing; I have got plenty on my plate already!
Well, if you are content with what you have, that’s okay. But what if you want more? What if you want to add more information in your posts in a structured way?
Let me give you an example before it gets too complicated. Let’s say, you are creating a recipe website. Unless you have chosen a premium theme that comes with a dedicated recipe post type, how will you add new recipes to your site?
Use the regular posts?
That’s one way to do it. But using a custom post type for the recipe will let you add ingredients, steps, time, user review, image gallery, etc. You can also create a dedicated area for the custom post types. Now that’s something useful, right?
Best Custom Post Type WordPress Plugins
While it is possible to create custom post types manually, that will require more than basic understanding of PHP. If you don’t have that expertise and simply don’t want to go through the hassle, you can use the custom post type plugins.
I have hand-picked the best custom post type plugins for you. Let’s see which they are, shall we?
1. Post Type Builder – WordPress Custom Post Types
This powerful WordPress plugin lets you create custom post types and custom taxonomies. The intuitive drag and drop interface allows you to complete the whole process without writing any code. For the custom post types, you can enable regular features like the title, description, categories, tags, featured image, excerpt, etc.
Post Type Builder lets you use custom taxonomies for each custom post type. You can choose from the ready-made options to create custom taxonomies. The meta box builder feature of the plugin lets you create fully customizable meta boxes for your custom post type. You can choose from the available input types – text, text area, select, radio, checkbox, dropdown, image, link, etc.
Check this video for more details:
It is possible to display the custom post type in any place by using the dedicated shortcode. You can also export and import your post types. The plugin is priced at $25.
Learn More/Download2. CustomPress
Developed by WPMU Dev, CustomPress is an excellent WordPress plugin for creating custom post types, custom fields, and unlimited taxonomies. By using the plugin, you can create custom post type for different types of requirements like movies, real estate listings, art galleries etc.
The new custom post types could be enhanced by adding custom fields. You can choose from text boxes, drop-down menus, checkboxes and radio buttons. Each field could be customized separately. The custom post types and their tags and categories will work perfectly in any WordPress theme.
You will also find options to add dashicon to your custom post types. The post types could also be exported to other websites. You can get the CustomPress plugin by paying $19 per month or by becoming a member for $24.5 per month. Members get unlimited access to all themes, plugins and professional support.
Learn More/DownloadWith more than two hundred thousand active installs, Custom Post Type UI is a very popular WordPress plugin for creating and managing custom post types. Once you install and activate the plugin, it will create a new menu item titled ‘CPT UI’.
To add a new post type, go to CPT UI > Add/Edit Post Types. In that page, you will find basic options like the slug, singular and plural label, description, menu name, etc. Then, you can provide the text for various actions like Add New, Add New Item, Edit, View, Search, etc. From the ‘Supports’ section, you can choose which sections to include. Available options include Title, Editor, Comments, Author, Featured Image, Author, Revisions, etc.
It is possible to add new taxonomies by going to the CPT UI > Add/Edit Taxonomies page. You can also import and export the post types to and from other websites.
Learn More/Download4. Types
Types is another highly popular custom post types plugin for WordPress. This one also has more than two hundred thousand active installs. This plugin allows you to create custom post types, custom taxonomies, and fields.
Once you have installed and activated the plugin, you will find a list of all the post types in the Types > Post Types page. To add a new post type, click the ‘Add New Custom Post Type’ button. In the resulting page, you will find separate fields for customizing the post type.
Besides the regular options like the post type name, slug, and description, you can choose a custom icon and customize the labels for different actions. From the ‘Custom Post Properties’ section, you can choose to enable basic options like title, editor, comments, excerpt, featured image, etc. for the post type. Similarly, you can create custom taxonomies and fields from the ‘Custom Taxonomies’ and ‘Custom Fields’ sub-menus.
Learn More/DownloadCustom Post Type Maker is a simple but effective WordPress plugin. Though this plugin does not come with extensive options like the other ones of this list, it still does the job perfectly. If you are looking for a no-nonsense solution for creating custom post types, you can rely on this one.
Once you install and activate the plugin, it will create a new menu item titled ‘Post Types’. To create a new post type, go to Post Types > Post Types and click the ‘Add New’ button. In the resulting page, you will find all the options for your custom post type.
Besides the regular options, Custom Post Type Maker comes with several advanced options too. For example, you can hide the post type from the menu, and the search results. Then, there are the options to choose editing options for the post type. You can create custom taxonomies by going to the Post Types > Taxonomies and clicking the ‘Add New’ button.
Learn More/Download
This plugin registers a custom post type for portfolio items and also registers separate portfolio taxonomies for tags and categories. The featured images will also be displayed in column view if selected.
To manage how portfolio items will be displayed in your theme, you need to add templates for archive-portfolio.php and single-portfolio.php
Learn More/DownloadBonus Plugin: Custom post type switcher
So, after reading this if you added few new custom post type like ShoutMeLoud and want to move few of your posts from default “posts” type to newly created post type, Custom post type switcher plugin is your best friend. Using this plugin, you can also convert a blog post into a page or a page into a blog post.
Learn More/DownloadAre you taking advantage of WordPress custom post type feature?
Features like custom post types have made WordPress more powerful. Having the power to create any website and to publish the posts in customized formats are advanced level options for any platform. And the custom post plugins described above allow you to do that in WordPress.
Do you use custom post types in your WordPress site? If yes, which plugin do you use? Let me know in the comments.
does this post plugin also add the schema markup for the rich snippet.what happen if i deactivate the plugin afterwords?what happens to my old posts which are added without the plugin
Hi Foysal,
this is a great list of custom post type and custom taxonomy plugin, it is very useful for Marketing and social media blogs as they need different types of video, podcast to arrange for better user experience.
hey Foysal,
You give a great step by step tutorial on how to use a custom type posts. I did’nt know about that their are plugins for custom type post also. And for now i will also use one of them. This is really gonna help me.
Thanks for sharing this.
Hi Foysal,
I thought it is customized theme option used by ShoutMeLoud, I never thought about the plugins which are catering this type of solutions to display different types of post formats, today I learned about this topic and I am very happy for that.
Thanks Foysal for sharing the valuable information which is useful to implement on our blogs just like professional s do, see you soon with another article from your
Dear Foysal,
This is really an informative post for every blogger. Every blogger must know about the custom post type plugins. I am also using one of them i.e. Custom Press and that plugin is working great for my blog to create custom pages for great products.
Thanks,
Dhruv Sharma
Hi Foysal,
Great article by the way. These five are probably the best custom post type plugins . I am using Custompress on one of my blog and I really do recommend it. You can create and customize custom post types suiting your blog needs. Blogging is actually fun with these plugins in action.
Hi FOYSAL ,
Nice article on custom posts type.
I was looking for such article on custom posts. Explanation is nice. I will try these plugins on WordPress blog.
Thanks for list.
Hey Foysal,
Awesome tutorial. This plugin can save a lot of your time rather then doing it yourself. Didn’t know about this plugin actually.
Thank you very much,
Yordi
This tutorial serves great for me because I am just starting to learn WordPress.
Hi Foysal,
I am not using this functionality…but I should be 😉 I have learned more about these plug ins through your post. Dressing things up through custom post types is super eye catching. That little attention grabbing moment makes all the difference when it comes to smart, successful blogging.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ryan
Hey Foysal..
What a great tutorial/article. As an intermediate user of WP, I had no idea that there were plugins for this…thank you for sharing..!
You can indeed do wordpress custom post by editing the code yourself but mistakes sometimes happens which may break your site. I will rather choose one of the above mentioned plugin to do wordpress custom post.
Hi,
Kudos to your article.
Good that you came up with a comprehensive article related to custom post type, it will be a good source for beginners to understand which plugin to use.
I am myself using Custom Post Type UI.
Thanks.
Hi Foysal,
Firstly thanks for sharing these plugins in one place. Yes, it can make easy for us using best custom post type WordPress Plugins.
Mostly Post Type Builder is one of my favorite plugin!
Anyway, thanks again for sharing this useful article with us. Keep it up.
Have a nice day!
Cutom post type is amazing feature introduced by WordPress. I use it in my every wordpress theme which I develop, it adds more functionality and flexibility to one’s website. But here is one question which bothers me, In my website we provide various resources to our users, we use default “post” type to add our freebies, we created two custom post type i.e “Interviews” and “blog”. I created custom post type via adding a function in my genesis theme functions.php. My question is if I change my theme and add new theme then there are chances maybe my custom post types are gone since I added via theme functions.php. Now, if I change theme and add same custom post types via these plugins again as you mentioned. Does it work properly? Will it retain my old posts (custom post type) or my data will be lost?
That’s good to see how custom post type plugins can change blog look.
Thank you for sharing this tip…
Hi Foysal,
I appreciate for your hard work.you guide very well. Thanks for this great information.
Very informative article.Would like to give it a try as soon as possible.
WordPress is best CMS available 🙂 I just love it.
Can we extend the Post Type Builder plugin to create custom meta fields for a Genesis Child Theme ?
Awesome Post!, Before this I don’t about custom post types in WordPress. You have listed such a great plugins. This post would help me to write posts for my blog more beautifully. Thank you Very Much to Share this post. 🙂