pre_get_posts will run the same query, so both will take same time. But, If you utilize pre_get_posts action you will save one or more SQL queries. Right now, WordPress is running default query and then you run your query with this function which replace the results of the default query (resulting, default query is of … Read more
I see many people prefer to use pre_get_posts hook instead of query_posts Yay! So pre_get_posts filters a WP_Query object which means anything you could do via query_posts() you can do via $query->set() and $query->get(). In particular we can make use of the meta_query attribute (see Codex): $meta_query = array( array( ‘key’=>’featured’, ‘value’=>’yes’, ‘compare’=>’!=’, ), ); … Read more
There’s two possible solutions to this: 1. All posts have meta The best solution I have found here is to give the rest of the posts/products an item price of 0. You can do this manually, or loop through all the posts and if the price is empty then update it. To make this manageable … Read more
You are right to say: Never use query_posts anymore pre_get_posts pre_get_posts is a filter, for altering any query. It is most often used to alter only the ‘main query’: add_action(‘pre_get_posts’,’wpse50761_alter_query’); function wpse50761_alter_query($query){ if( $query->is_main_query() ){ //Do something to main query } } (I would also check that is_admin() returns false – though this may be … Read more