Post Type Archive Descriptions

Description

Enables an editable description to display on post type archive pages. Show the description with WordPress’s the_archive_description() function that also displays taxonomy term descriptions. Will work automatically with many themes, including most default WordPress themes.

Translations: Archive descriptions are translatable via Polylang, WPML (affiliate link), and qTranslate-X.

The Events Calendar: The archive description is automatically added above the Events Bar when using the latest templates from The Events Calendar. Filter the location of the description or disable it entirely with the ptad_tribe_template_before_include filter.

Other Plugins by MRWweb

• MRW Simplified Editor – Get rid of bad and obscure TinyMCE buttons. Move the rest to a single top row.
• Post Status Menu Items – Adds post status links–e.g. “Draft” (7)–to post type admin menus.
• Hawaiian Characters – Adds the correct characters with diacriticals to the WordPress editor Character Map for Hawaiian

Screenshots

Installation

1. From your WordPress site’s dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for “Post Type Archive Descriptions.”
3. Click “Install.”
4. Click “Activate.”
5. Depending on your theme, you may need to add the_archive_description() to your templates in order for it to work.

FAQ

Is this plugin compatible with WordPress 5.0 / “Gutenberg”?

Yes. The plugin does not directly integrate with the post editor screen so no changes were required.

Be aware that as of 5 Dec 2019, it appears the Twenty Nineteen theme will not support post type archive descriptions by default. Unless something changes, you will need to manually add support for them in a child theme if using Twenty Nineteen. See the next FAQ for how to do that.

How do I display a custom post type’s description?

Use the_archive_description() or get_the_archive_description().

Chances are you want this in the archive-{post_type_slug}.php or archive.php template files.

As of v1.3.0 of this plugin, the archive description is automatically added to The Events Calendar archive pages using the plugin’s latest design.

Which post types get a description?

By default, any custom post type excluding Posts and Pages that was registered with 'has_archive' => true. There is a filter (see below) to add support for any post type.

How do I set up an editable description for my Blog / Posts?

Since this plugin does not support descriptions for Posts or Pages, I recommend a different approach.

First make the blog page (aka the “Page for Posts”) editable with this snippet in functions.php or an mu-plugin:

add_filter( 'replace_editor', 'ptad_enable_gutenberg_editor_for_blog_page', 10, 2 );
/**
 * Simulate non-empty content to enable Gutenberg editor on the Blog page
 *
 * @param bool    $replace Whether to replace the editor.
 * @param WP_Post $post    Post object.
 * @return bool
 *
 * @see https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/a/350563/9844
 */
function ptad_enable_gutenberg_editor_for_blog_page( $replace, $post ) {

    if ( ! $replace && absint( get_option( 'page_for_posts' ) ) === $post->ID && empty( $post->post_content ) ) {
        // This comment will be removed by Gutenberg since it won't parse into block.
        $post->post_content = '<!--non-empty-content-->';
    }

    return $replace;

}

Then output that content on the blog page with the home.php template:

echo '<div class="archive-description blog-description">' . apply_filters( 'the_content', get_the_content( null, false, (int) get_option( 'page_for_posts' ) ) ) . '</div>';

Are there filters & actions to modify the plugin?

Yes. Plenty!

Filters:

• ptad_post_types – specify the post types with a description (default is all non-built_in post types where has_archive is true)
• ptad_admin_title – Modify admin page title
• ptad_admin_parent – Change parent page of the Description edit page
• ptad_menu_label – Modify the menu item label in the admin
• ptad_description_capability – Set capability of who can edit descriptions. Default: edit_posts
• ptad_edit_description_link – Modify admin bar link to edit the description
• ptad_view_archive_link – Modify admin bar link to view the post type archive
• ptad_tribe_template_before_include – Modify which The Events Calendar template part the description should appear before, or false to disable automatic output.

Actions:

• ptad_before_editor – Between title and description editor for ALL admin pages. Receives $post_type arg.
• ptad_before_editor_{post_type} – Between title and description editor for any specific post type.
• ptad_after_editor – Immediately below description editor for ALL admin pages. Receives $post_type arg.
• ptad_after_editor_{post_type} – Immediately below description editor for any specific post type.

Reviews

Still works with WP6.3

meeee2 October 19, 2023 1 reply

I almost didn’t try this plugin because of the notice that it hasn’t been tested with the latest versions. Glad I did because it works great – does exactly what it says and is easy to use ??

Fantastic, saved me a lot of work

Christian Saborio April 1, 2019 1 reply

This is such an elegant way to present your users with the option of editing the text of your archives. I simply installed it and after modifying my theme a bit, I was up and running. Fantastic idea, thank you and keep up the good work!

Nice one

certainlyakey January 18, 2018

A useful and well implemented plugin. If you’re going to use any other post-type global fields it’s better to replace this plugin with a custom field and put all of those on a single options page, but otherwise it does its job well.

Great plugin with an intuitive UI.

arrubakook July 19, 2017

This plugin has been very useful to me, thank you for your contribution!

Fantastic plugin, this should be part of the core!

SiamKreative September 3, 2016 1 reply

Thanks Mark for this awesome plugin! It does exactly what it says. Is it available on Github? I’d like to contribute.

Been looking for this feature for a while!

mikes000 September 3, 2016

Works exactly as expected. Nicely done!

Contributors & Developers

Changelog

1.5.0 (October 20, 2023)

• Tested up to 6.3
• Adjust the hook which the description is inserted on TEC and make it easier to filter that hook. props @ethanclevenger91
• Applies all WordPress coding standards sniffs (with one small exception that I’m stuck on). Props @mgratch

1.4.0 (June 21, 2022)

• Tested up to 6.0.
• [Fix] The “Edit Archive” admin bar button was broken in the last version. It is now fixed
• [Fix] Prevent error when editing the Description of a post type that contains “-description” in the post type slug. Hilariously edge-casey.
• [Fix] Restore archive description before events bar component in The Events Calendar
• [Dev] Minor code reorganization
• Want a way to edit the blog page? Leave your feedback!