A tagIn WordPress, tags are a taxonomy used to classify and organize posts. They are similar to categories, but unl... More archive is a a page on a WordPress website that displays a list of postsA post is a type of content in WordPress, a popular open-source content management system used for creating an... More associated with a particular tag. Posts in a tag archive are typically displayed in reverse-chronological order, much like the standard blog archives.
How Tag Archives Work
When a user clicks on a tag link, they are taken to a tag archive page that displays all of the posts that have been assigned that particular tag. The tag archive page is generated dynamically by WordPress and can be customized using various templates and filters.
WordPress creates an archive page for each individual tag, which can be accessed by appending /tag/tag-name to the end of the site’s URL. For example, if a post has been tagged with “WordPress”, its permalinkIn WordPress, a permalink is a permanent URL that points to a specific post or page on a website. It is the we... More will be example.com/tag/wordpress. Tag archives can also be displayed on the website’s main navigation menuIn WordPress, a menu is a collection of links that are displayed as a navigation menu on a website. Menus are ... More or through widgetsA widget is a small block of content that performs a specific function and can be added to certain areas of a ... More like the tag cloud widget.
Appearance
The appearance of the tag archive page can vary depending on the WordPress themeA WordPress theme is a set of files that determine the design and layout of a website. It controls everything ... More being used and any customizations made by the website owner.
Generally, visitors will see a reverse-chronological list of posts that have been assigned to the specific tag. Each post typically includes its featured imageA featured image, also known as a post thumbnail, is an image that represents the contents of a WordPress post... More (if available), title, author, date, and excerptIn WordPress, an excerpt is a summary or brief description of a post's content. It is typically used to provid... More. The layout of these elements may vary depending on the theme being used.
Benefits of Using Tag Archives
Tag archives provide several benefits for both website owners and users:
- Improved navigation: By grouping related content together, tag archives make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for on a website.
- Increased engagement: Users are more likely to explore additional content when they see it grouped together in a meaningful way.
- Better SEO: Tag archives can help improve search engine rankings by providing additional context for search engines about the topics covered on a website. (However it is important not to overuse tags.)
Customizing Tag Archives
WordPress provides multiple ways to customize how tag archives are displayed on your website:
- Template files: WordPress uses template files to generate different types of pagesIn WordPress, a page is a content type that is used to create non-dynamic pages on a website. Pages are typica... More on your website. You can create custom template files specifically for tag archives using the naming convention
tag-[slug].php. For example, if you want to create a custom template file for posts tagged with “WordPress”, you would create a file calledtag-wordpress.php. - Filters: WordPress provides several filters that allow you to modify how tag archives are displayed. These filters include
pre_get_posts,get_the_archive_title, andget_the_archive_description.