The document outlines the WordPress template hierarchy, distinguishing between webpages, posts, and pages, detailing how they are stored and managed within the wp_posts database. It discusses key template files like style.css and functions.php, explaining their roles in theme presentation and functionality, and how templates are selected based on specific logic. Besides, it addresses common template files and fallback mechanisms that WordPress employs when certain templates are missing, providing resources for further exploration of template hierarchy.

1. WordPress Template Hierarchy
Jason Yingling

2. Post vs Page vs Webpage
• Webpage – an HTML document being served
to a web browser. The final output of your
PHP into HTML, CSS, and JS.

3. Post vs Page vs Webpage
• “post” – content stored in the database in the
wp_posts table

4. Post vs Page vs Webpage
• Post – A default WordPress post of type “Post”
• Page – A default WordPress post of type
“Page”
• Posts, Pages, and Custom Post Types are all
stored together in the wp_posts table of the
database with different types (Post, Page,
Product, etc.)

5. Template Terminology
• Template Files – PHP files that determine the site’s
markup.
• Page Templates – “those that apply only to pages to
change their look and feel. A page template can be
applied to a single page, a page section, or a class of
pages.”
• Template Tags – Functions used within template files to
retrieve and return data. (ex. the_title() or
the_content()
• Template Hierarchy – The logic WordPress uses to
determine which template file to use to display certain
data

6. WordPress as a Factory
• posts – The raw materials
• Database – The warehouse
• WordPress theme – The Assembly Line
• The Browser – The consumer
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR47WZ
GTywE

7. Crucial Templates
• style.css – determines the theme’s visual
appearance and registers the theme with
WordPress
• functions.php – used for presentational
functionality.
• Template Files – determine the site’s markup.
Uses PHP to convert data from the database
into the HTML output to the browser.

8. style.css
• (image of registration header)
• Required by WordPress to register the theme

9. functions.php
• Enqueuing additional stylesheets and scripts
• Creating widgetized areas and menus
Should only be used for presentational functionality
such as:
• Registering Post Types or Custom Taxonomies
• These should go in a plugin so data is not lost when a
theme is switched.
Should not be used for content functionality such as:

10. Template Files
• Always used files – files used in every template
– header.php
– footer.php
– sidebar.php (if applicable)
• Additional files – files that may or may not be
used depending on content / hierarchy
– index.php
– single.php
– page.php
– And more

11. Template Partials
• Allows you to easily reuse code throughout
the theme
• header.php, footer.php, and sidebar.php are
some basic examples
• content.php is commonly used to pull in post
content markup
“A template partial is a piece of a template that is included as
part of another template, such as a site header.”

12. Common Template Files
• index.php – The main template file. Required in all
themes.
• style.css – The main stylesheet. Required in all themes.
• Header.php – Usually contains site’s doc type, meta
info, stylesheets, etc.
• single.php – used when a visitor requests a single post.
• page.php – used when a visitor requests individual
pages
• Many more descriptions available on the Codex -
https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/basics/templ
ate-files/#common-wordpress-template-files

13. Template Hierarchy
• The logic WordPress uses to determine which
template file to use to return requested post
data

14. Everything goes back to index.php
• No single.php template? WordPress will use
index.php
• No page.php template? WordPress will use
index.php

15. https://developer.wordpress.org/files/2014/10/template-hierarchy.png

17. Single Post
• single-{post-type}-{slug}.php - (since 4.4) – WP looks
for a specific post. Fox example, single-product-
shirt.php would work for a product post type with the
slug shirt.
• single-{post-type}.php – If the post type of the data is
Product, WordPress would look for single-product.php
• single.php – If the above don’t exist, WordPress then
falls back to single.php
• singular.php – If single.php doesn’t exist, WP looks for
singular.php
• index.php - If none of the above exist WordPress falls
back to index.php

18. Page
• Custom template file – the page template
assigned to the page
• page-{slug}.php – If the page slug is recent-news,
WordPress looks for page-recent-news.php
• page-{id}.php – If the page ID is 6, WordPress
looks for page-6.php
• page.php
• singular.php
• Index.php

19. Template Hierarchy Resources
• WordPress Codex image -
https://developer.wordpress.org/files/2014/10/t
emplate-hierarchy.png
• Template Hierarchy in Detail -
https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/basics/t
emplate-hierarchy/#the-template-hierarchy-in-
detail
• Interactive Hierarchy map-
http://wphierarchy.com/
• Show Current Template Plugin -
https://wordpress.org/plugins/show-current-
template