Custom Post Types are a valuable tool that came with the release of WordPress 3.0. They have become extremely popular and are used in almost every WordPress theme out there. However, anyone who has worked with Custom Post Types has probably encountered the dreadful 404 Not Found Error when trying to access a post from the post type at one point or another. Luckily, there is almost always a simple fix to these errors.
Here are some of the more common issues people have with Custom Post Types and why they may be receiving these errors:
1. Check Your Permalink Settings
This is probably one of the most common reasons people are getting 404 errors on their custom post types. To fix this issue, follow these simple steps:
– Set your custom permalink structure (such as %postname%)
– Click Save
– See if your single custom post pages return 404 error pages
– If they do, go back and change permalinks back to default and save
– Now try setting the custom permalink again and save
Going back and forth has normally helped fix these errors, and many people have had success with this method. However, on some servers, if your permissions aren’t set correctly, this may not work, and you may have to update your .htaccess file manually.
To do this, log into your site via FTP or SFTP and browse to your root WordPress directory (same place where your wp-config.php file and wp-content folder is located). Here you should find a file named .htaccess which you can modify (if you don’t see it, make sure your FTP program has the option to display hidden files enabled, and if there isn’t one, then create one). Now make sure the file contains the core WordPress code as mentioned in the WordPress docs.
2. Check for Slug Conflicts
Another thing that may cause a 404 error is that you have a main page to display your post type post, and it has the same slug as your actual post type singular slug. For example, if you have a post type named “portfolio” and you also have a main “Portfolio” page, both with the slug “portfolio” (in other words, to access a portfolio post, you would go to site.com/portfolio/sample-post), this creates a conflict causing 404 errors on your singular post type posts. That’s why you often find that the portfolio post type uses the slug “projects” or “portfolio-item” for the singular slug.
To fix this issue, you can change the page name so it’s different than the custom post type. Alternatively, you can change your custom post type slug, which is done by altering the rewrite parameter when registering your custom post type.
3. Auto Flush Rewrite Rules (for Developers)
Another cause of 404 errors is whenever a new post type is registered, you have to “flush” your rewrite rules in WordPress. This can be done by going to Settings > Permalinks and clicking the save button (mentioned in the first section of this post).
If you are working on a custom theme or plugin with registered post types, you may want to consider automatically flushing the rewrite rules for your end-user when they activate your theme or plugin to prevent any 404 errors. Below is an example of the code you can use:
// Code for themes
add_action( ‘after_switch_theme’, ‘flush_rewrite_rules’ );
// Code for plugins
register_deactivation_hook( __FILE__, ‘flush_rewrite_rules’ );
register_activation_hook( __FILE__, ‘myplugin_flush_rewrites’ );
function myplugin_flush_rewrites() {
// call your CPT registration function here (it should also be hooked into ‘init’)
myplugin_custom_post_types_registration();
flush_rewrite_rules();
}
If you are having another error or have a better solution than the ones mentioned above, please comment below and let me know. Not only will it help me out, but it will probably help other people looking for a fix to their problem. Thanks!
