Custom Post Type UI Extended

A new content type is born far from your blog, your categories and your RSS

You register "Recipes" or "Projects" with Custom Post Type UI, add the first entries and get a surprise: your front pages, category archives and feed stay as they were. WordPress keeps that content in its own lane, and getting it out usually ends in template code or custom queries.

That is the second half of the job, and registering the content type only solves the first. Custom Post Type UI Extended handles the other: putting it on view in pages, posts, sidebars and site queries. It is a Pluginize add-on for the free plugin, and it needs that plugin installed.

A block to place content wherever you want

The editor block picks the content type and a layout, with an optional title above the output. Each layout has its own options, such as order, posts per page, specific posts or taxonomy terms.

• Default, List and Single Post Type: a general listing, an ordered or unordered list and a single post.
• Taxonomy List: the terms of a taxonomy.
• Post Slider: with height, bullets and autoplay.
• Post Cards: cards in a grid, column or row.
• Featured Plus: featured item on the left or top.
• Grid and Grid with Overlay: toggles to choose which data is shown.
• Woo Product and EDD Download: available if you have WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads.

Getting the content type into site queries

This is the least visible part of the plugin. Extra settings per content type decide where it takes part:

• Category and tag archives: these require the type to use WordPress categories or tags.
• Main query: adds it to the front page or blog page.
• RSS feed: adds it to your feed.
• Divi Builder and AMP: add support, the latter with the AMP plugin by Automattic.

Dashboard lists also gain columns with the ID, the author and a preview of the featured image.

Multisite, templates and custom fields

On a Multisite network you can create content types and taxonomies once, from the network admin, and make them available on every site. You can still create others specific to each site. The plugin must be network-activated.

Templates can be overridden too. Copy the file to a cptui-extended folder inside your active theme, with the same name, and add what you need. There are hooks and filters for going further.

Creating fields is not among the features of Extended. The options of each layout cover image, title, excerpt, date or categories, depending on the case. To show a data point of your own, such as a price or an address, you have to edit the template, and that means touching code.

It also pays to tell two paths apart. Extended works with the types you create with Custom Post Type UI, and the shortcode builder also reaches those from other plugins. If the type comes from a plugin other than WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads, try the shortcode first.

Installing alongside the free plugin

You need Custom Post Type UI, and WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads only if you will use their layouts.

1. Upload the plugin file from Plugins, Add New, and activate it.
2. Create or review your content types in Custom Post Type UI.
3. On each type, check the extra settings you need, such as RSS or category archives.
4. In the editor, search for "custom" in the block inserter and add the block.
5. Choose the type, the layout and the options.

When you also need fields and templates

If you want a single system for content types, fields and listings, JetEngine brings all of that together and works with Elementor, Gutenberg, Bricks and Divi. If you already work with Meta Box, Meta Box Views creates Twig templates that read your fields.

Answers on block and shortcode

Does it work without Custom Post Type UI?

Extended expands that free plugin, which is what registers the content types, so you need both.

Is the shortcode still useful?

Yes. The builder generates a shortcode for the classic editor, sidebars, footers and anywhere that accepts shortcodes.

Can I put a product in the middle of an article?

Yes, with the Woo Product layout, which shows the products you choose.

Can I filter by taxonomy?

Yes, on the layouts that include that option, such as Default, List, Post Cards and Grid.