After a frustrating yet illuminating journey, we successfully built a clean and organized snippets page for our WordPress site. Along the way, we encountered multiple roadblocks, debugging challenges, and moments of despair. This guide documents how to properly set up a snippet grid with custom taxonomies in WordPress for future reference.

Debugging and Perfecting Our WordPress Snippets Page

Initial Setup: Creating the Custom Post Type and Taxonomy

Registering the Custom Post Type

// functions.php (or a custom plugin file)

function register_snippet_post_type() {
    $args = array(
        'labels'       => array(
            'name'          => 'Snippets',
            'singular_name' => 'Snippet',
        ),
        'public'       => true,
        'has_archive'  => true,
        'show_in_rest' => true,
        'supports'     => array('title', 'editor'),
    );
    register_post_type('snippet', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'register_snippet_post_type');

Registering the Custom Taxonomy

// functions.php (or a custom plugin file)

function register_snippet_taxonomy() {
    $args = array(
        'labels'       => array(
            'name'          => 'Snippet Categories',
            'singular_name' => 'Snippet Category',
        ),
        'public'       => true,
        'hierarchical' => false,
        'show_in_rest' => true,
    );
    register_taxonomy('snippet_category', 'snippet', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'register_snippet_taxonomy');

After adding these, we flushed the permalinks with:

wp rewrite flush

This ensured WordPress recognized our new custom post type and taxonomy.

Debugging WP_Query Issues

We added debug outputs to check what was happening:

echo "<pre>QUERY ARGS: " . print_r($args, true) . "</pre>";
echo "<pre>QUERY RESULTS: " . print_r($query->posts, true) . "</pre>";

This helped us see that:

  • The tax_query structure was valid.
  • Posts did exist in the database.
  • WordPress wasn’t returning posts in the expected format.

Checking Assigned Taxonomies

To confirm that our snippets were properly assigned to categories:

wp post term list 186 snippet_category --format=table

The results revealed that our categories were assigned correctly, so the problem was how we were querying them.

The Fixes & Lessons Learned

Fixing the Query & Display Logic

We adjusted our WP_Query to properly retrieve and display snippets:

$args = array(
    'post_type'      => 'snippet',
    'posts_per_page' => -1,
    'tax_query'      => array(
        array(
            'taxonomy' => 'snippet_category',
            'field'    => 'slug',
            'terms'    => $category->slug,
        ),
    ),
);
$query = new WP_Query($args);

Additionally, we ensured that posts always showed content:

$post_content = trim(get_post_field('post_content', get_the_ID()));
echo "<pre><code>" . esc_html($post_content ?: 'No content available.') . "</code></pre>";

Final Steps: Deploying to Production

Checklist Before Pushing Live

  • ✅ Flush cache: wp cache flush
  • ✅ Confirm permalinks work: wp rewrite flush
  • ✅ Check taxonomy assignments: wp term list snippet_category --format=table
  • ✅ Verify snippets appear under their correct category
  • ✅ Ensure empty snippets show “No content available.”
  • ✅ Test on mobile & different browsers

Debugging Time Breakdown

Task Time Spent
Setting up custom post type & taxonomy 30 min
Debugging missing snippets 2 hours
Checking taxonomy assignments 45 min
Fixing query structure 1 hour
Testing final setup 1.5 hours

Total time spent: 5 hours 15 minutes

Commands That Worked & Why

Command Purpose
wp rewrite flush Cleared outdated permalinks
wp post list --post_type=snippet Verified snippet posts existed
wp post term list 186 snippet_category Checked if posts were categorized correctly
wp cache flush Cleared cache to see updated changes
wp term list snippet_category Listed all snippet categories

Mistakes We Repeated & Lessons Learned

Mistake Times Made Solution
Forgetting to flush permalinks 3 Always run wp rewrite flush after adding taxonomies
Not checking assigned categories 2 Use wp post term list to verify taxonomy assignment
Incorrect WP_Query structure 4 Print query args and debug output
Not clearing cache before testing 2 Run wp cache flush when debugging

Key Takeaways for Next Time

  • Debugging with print_r() and var_dump() is essential for diagnosing WordPress query issues.
  • Always flush permalinks after registering a new post type or taxonomy.
  • Confirm that posts are assigned to taxonomies before assuming the query is broken.
  • WP_Query can be tricky—check query structure before assuming posts don’t exist.
  • Use CLI (wp post term list, wp cache flush) to debug efficiently.

Future Enhancements

  • Add search & filtering to the Snippets Wall.
  • Auto-highlight syntax in code blocks.
  • Allow users to suggest & submit snippets.

5-Minute Walkthrough: Setting Up the Snippets Page

Step 1: Register the Snippets Custom Post Type

// functions.php

function register_snippet_post_type() {
    $args = array(
        'labels'       => array(
            'name'          => 'Snippets',
            'singular_name' => 'Snippet',
        ),
        'public'       => true,
        'has_archive'  => true,
        'show_in_rest' => true,
        'supports'     => array('title', 'editor'),
    );
    register_post_type('snippet', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'register_snippet_post_type');

Step 2: Register the Snippet Category Taxonomy

// functions.php

function register_snippet_taxonomy() {
    $args = array(
        'labels'       => array(
            'name'          => 'Snippet Categories',
            'singular_name' => 'Snippet Category',
        ),
        'public'       => true,
        'hierarchical' => false,
        'show_in_rest' => true,
    );
    register_taxonomy('snippet_category', 'snippet', $args);
}
add_action('init', 'register_snippet_taxonomy');

Step 3: Flush Permalinks

wp rewrite flush

Step 4: Verify Everything Works

wp post list --post_type=snippet
wp term list snippet_category --format=table

Step 5: Create Your First Snippet

wp post create --post_type=snippet --post_title='Example Snippet' --post_status=publish
wp term add snippet_category 'Example Category'
wp post term add $(wp post list --post_type=snippet --format=ids) snippet_category 'Example Category'

Step 6: Check Your Snippet Wall

Visit /snippets/ on your site and confirm that your snippets are displayed correctly!


Part Two: Additional Debugging and Enhancements

Once our basic snippets page was working, we decided to improve it further. Below are the key improvements we made in our final code:

Ordering Categories by Post Count

We wanted the most active categories (the ones with the most snippets) to appear first. In our get_terms() call, we set orderby to count and order to DESC. For example:

$categories = get_terms(array(
    'taxonomy'   => 'snippet_category',
    'hide_empty' => false,
    'orderby'    => 'count',
    'order'      => 'DESC',
));

This ensured categories appeared in descending order of how many posts they contained.

Expandable Code Blocks

To prevent long code snippets from cluttering the page, we used a small JavaScript function to toggle an expandable class on each snippet. This way, users only see an excerpt of the code, with the option to click and reveal more.

Edit Links for Administrators

Using current_user_can('edit_posts') allowed us to show a pencil (✎) icon next to snippet titles only for users who have permission to edit them. Clicking the icon leads to the WordPress post editing screen.

Final Snippets Page Template Example

<main>
    <div class="snippets-container">
        <h1 class="page-title"><?php the_title(); ?></h1>

        <?php
        // Get all snippet categories, ordered by post count desc
        $categories = get_terms(array(
            'taxonomy'   => 'snippet_category',
            'hide_empty' => false,
            'orderby'    => 'count',
            'order'      => 'DESC',
        ));

        if (!empty($categories)) {
            foreach ($categories as $category) {
                echo "<div class='snippet-category'>";
                echo "<h2 class='snippet-category-title'>{$category->name}</h2>";
                
                // Query posts in this category
                $args = array(
                    'post_type'      => 'snippet',
                    'posts_per_page' => -1,
                    'tax_query'      => array(
                        array(
                            'taxonomy' => 'snippet_category',
                            'field'    => 'slug',
                            'terms'    => $category->slug,
                        ),
                    ),
                );

                $query = new WP_Query($args);

                if ($query->have_posts()) {
                    echo "<div class='snippets-grid'>";
                    while ($query->have_posts()) {
                        $query->the_post();
                        $post_content = trim(get_post_field('post_content', get_the_ID()));
                        $needs_expand = strlen($post_content) > 300; // Adjust length threshold if needed
                        
                        echo "<div class='snippet" . ($needs_expand ? " expandable" : "") . "' data-expanded='false' onclick='copySnippet(event, this)'>";
                        
                        // Snippet title with edit button
                        echo "<div class='snippet-title'>" . get_the_title();
                        if (current_user_can('edit_posts')) {
                            $edit_link = get_edit_post_link(get_the_ID());
                            echo " <a href='{$edit_link}' class='edit-snippet' title='Edit Snippet'>✎</a>";
                        }
                        echo "</div>"; // Close snippet-title
                        
                        // Snippet Content
                        echo "<pre class='snippet-content'><code onclick='copySnippet(event, this)'>" 
                             . esc_html($post_content ?: 'No content available.') . "</code></pre>";

                        // Expand button if needed
                        if ($needs_expand) {
                            echo "<span class='expand-btn' onclick='toggleExpand(event, this)'>▾</span>";
                        }

                        echo "</div>"; // Close snippet
                    }
                    echo "</div>"; // Close snippets-grid
                } else {
                    echo "<p class='no-snippets'>No snippets found in this category.</p>";
                }
                wp_reset_postdata();
                echo "</div>"; // Close snippet-category
            }
        } else {
            echo "<p class='no-categories'>No snippet categories found.</p>";
        }
        ?>
    </div>
</main>

With these refinements, we have a fully featured Snippets Page that is organized, easy to navigate, and a breeze to maintain.


Lessons Learned

  • Always confirm taxonomy assignments when debugging WP_Query issues.
  • Ordering taxonomies by count can be especially helpful for content-heavy sites.
  • Modular, reusable code blocks help keep templates clean and easy to update.
  • User role checks (current_user_can()) allow you to conditionally show edit links or other admin features.
  • Little UX touches (like expandable code blocks) can drastically improve user experience.

Essential Debugging Commands

wp rewrite flush
wp cache flush
wp post list --post_type=snippet
wp term list snippet_category --format=table
wp post term list [POST_ID] snippet_category

These commands help pinpoint issues with permalinks, caching, and taxonomy assignments.

5-Minute Guide to Recreate This Setup

  1. Register your Custom Post Type and Taxonomy: Place the register_snippet_post_type() and register_snippet_taxonomy() functions in functions.php.
  2. Flush Permalinks: Run wp rewrite flush to ensure WordPress recognizes your new structures.
  3. Create Snippets & Categories: Use the WP Admin or WP-CLI to add snippet posts and assign them to categories.
  4. Build a Snippet Template: Create a page template that queries snippet posts, grouped by snippet_category.
  5. Debug If Needed: Check your assignments with wp post term list, and remember to var_dump() or print_r() your query args if the results aren’t as expected.