WordPress, the world’s most popular content management system, is packed with features that simplify the process of publishing and organizing digital content. One of these features is the WordPress archive. In this article, we explore everything you need to know about WordPress archives, from what they are to how they can be customized to improve your site’s user experience and SEO.
What is a WordPress Archive?
In the WordPress ecosystem, an archive refers to a collection of posts that share a common attribute. WordPress automatically generates archive pages based on categories, tags, and dates. This allows users to explore related content conveniently and provides an organized structure to your website for both users and search engines, enhancing user engagement and SEO.
Note: This article is about WordPress archive pages. If you’re looking to archive old posts, please refer to our guide on how to archive posts without deleting them in WordPress.
WordPress Archives Explained
A WordPress archive is a page automatically created by WordPress that lists related posts. These could be posts within the same category, written by the same author, or published around the same time.
You can access an archive page by clicking on a category, date, or author link. You will find links to category and author archives under the post title, and WordPress archives can also be added to your sidebar.
On WordPress archive pages, you can choose to display the full post or just an excerpt.
Different Types of WordPress Archives
Various types of archives are available in WordPress, understanding them can aid in managing your content effectively and providing a more engaging user experience.
Category Archives
Category archives group your content by their assigned categories, such as travel, recipes, or tutorials. This allows users to explore more content about the topics they’re interested in.
Example of category archive URL:
https://example.com/category/travel/
Tag Archives
Tag archives group your content by assigned tags, similar to category archives.
Example of tag archive URL:
https://example.com/tag/winter/
Date Archives
Date archives display your posts grouped by the year or month they were published. This archive is handy for blogs where users may want to explore content published within a certain timeframe.
Example of date archive URL for a specific month:
https://example.com/2024/01/
And for a specific year:
https://example.com/2024/
Author Archives
Author archives group your posts by author. This allows users to explore content written by their favorite author.
Example of author archive URL:
https://example.com/author/johnsmith/
Custom Post Type Archives
Custom post type archives are useful if you create custom post types for your website, such as movie reviews, products, or events.
Example of custom post type archive URL:
https://example.com/custom-post-type-slug/
Making Archives Easier to Find in WordPress
To make it easier for visitors to find archives on your WordPress website, you can add them to your navigation menu or display them in your sidebar.
You can add a specific archive to your menu by simply adding the archive’s URL.
Alternatively, you can add them to a block in your WordPress sidebar.
Customizing Archives Without Code in WordPress
Your website’s archive pages can be customized to meet your needs. If you’re using a block theme, you can customize your own archive pages by creating or editing a template using the full site editor.
However, if you’re familiar with code, you may want to manually edit the code in your theme’s archive template files.
Note: Editing WordPress theme templates can be dangerous and cause major errors on your site. This method is only recommended for advanced users.
Editing Archive Template Files in WordPress
If you’re familiar with code, you can customize your archive page by editing code in your theme’s template files.
All WordPress themes have archive.php, single.php, and other files to display specific areas of your WordPress website. For example, single.php is used to display single posts and the page.php template is used to display a single page.
You can customize the template by carefully editing its code.
Wrapping Up
Understanding WordPress archives is crucial to managing your content and providing an engaging user experience. With the information provided in this article, you should be well-equipped to utilize and customize your WordPress archives effectively.