We embarked on a challenging yet enlightening mission to set up a streamlined Snippets Page within WordPress. Despite hitting numerous stumbling blocks, our persistence revealed the keys to success. Here, we share our exact steps to create an organized snippet grid with custom post types and taxonomies.

Overview of the Custom Setup

Our goal was to create a Custom Post Type (CPT) named snippet with an accompanying taxonomy called snippet_category. This allowed us to categorize various code snippets efficiently. Once everything was registered and configured, we moved on to refining our display and debugging any issues along the way.

Initial Setup: Creating the Custom Post Type and Taxonomy

Our setup required two main components:

  1. A Custom Post Type (snippet)
  2. A Custom Taxonomy (snippet_category)

Registering the Custom Post Type

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

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

TaskTime Spent
Setting up custom post type & taxonomy30 min
Debugging missing snippets2 hours
Checking taxonomy assignments45 min
Fixing query structure1 hour
Testing final setup1.5 hours

Total time spent: 5 hours 15 minutes

Commands That Worked & Why

CommandPurpose
wp rewrite flushCleared outdated permalinks
wp post list --post_type=snippetVerified snippet posts existed
wp post term list 186 snippet_categoryChecked if posts were categorized correctly
wp cache flushCleared cache to see updated changes
wp term list snippet_categoryListed all snippet categories

Mistakes We Repeated & Lessons Learned

MistakeTimes MadeSolution
Forgetting to flush permalinks3Always run wp rewrite flush after adding taxonomies
Not checking assigned categories2Use wp post term list to verify taxonomy assignment
Incorrect WP_Query structure4Print query args and debug output
Not clearing cache before testing2Run wp cache flush when debugging

Key Takeaways for Next Time

  1. Debugging with print_r() and var_dump() is essential for diagnosing WordPress query issues.
  2. Always flush permalinks after registering a new post type or taxonomy.
  3. Confirm that posts are assigned to taxonomies before assuming the query is broken.
  4. WP_Query can be tricky—check query structure before assuming posts don’t exist.
  5. 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

Add this to your theme’s 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 Add this to your theme’s 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

Run the following command in your WordPress CLI:

wp rewrite flush

Step 4: Verify Everything Works

Check that the custom post type and taxonomy are correctly set up:

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

Step 5: Create Your First Snippet

Add a snippet post with a category:

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!)