What are the differences between custom post type and custom page templates?

Taxonomies are categorizations of data. Tags are a taxonomy. Categories are another taxonomy. If you are building a movie website and want to show which actors starred in which movie, “Movies” would be a custom taxonomy.

Custom Post Types are really just custom data items. They’re stored just like posts and pages, but aren’t considered the same thing as a post or a page. In the movie website example above, “Actor” might be a custom post type with a Name, a Biography, and a Headshot as elements.

Custom Page Templates are special files for WordPress that dictate how the content will be laid out on the page. They’re used strictly with pages in WordPress, not with posts or custom post types.

Think of it this way:

Types of Data:

  • Posts
  • Pages
  • Menus (yes, these are a custom post type)
  • Custom Post Types

Ways to Structure and Relate Data:

  • Tags
  • Categories
  • Post Formats
  • Custom Taxonomies

Ways to Present Data:

  • Custom Page Template

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