Displaying Featured Results with WP_Query

Displaying Featured Results with WP_Query

WordPress’ WP_Query class is the cornerstone of custom post retrieval. When your theme or plugin requires a custom selection of posts—such as “Featured” items—you’ll often turn to WP_Query. This article explores in depth how to display featured results, covering query parameters, template integration, performance considerations, and best practices.

1. Understanding “Featured” in WordPress

“Featured” is a context-dependent term. You might define featured posts by:

• A custom meta field (e.g. _is_featured set to true)
• A dedicated category or tag (taxonomy-based)
• Post format, taxonomy, or custom post type

Choosing the right storage mechanism impacts your query logic:

2. Fundamentals of WP_Query

WP_Query accepts an array of query parameters. Some key ones are:

• post_type – restrict to post, page, or custom type
• meta_key and meta_value – filter by a single meta field
• meta_query – for complex meta-based filtering
• tax_query – for taxonomy-based selection
• posts_per_page – number of items to return
• orderby and order – sorting rules
• paged – for pagination

Full reference: WP_Query Class

3. Querying Featured Posts via Meta Field

Suppose you’ve added a checkbox in the post editor that updates the _is_featured meta key to 1 when checked. Here’s how to query and display those posts:

ltphp
featured_args = array(
  post_type      =gt post,
  posts_per_page =gt 5,
  meta_query     =gt array(
    array(
      key     =gt _is_featured,
      value   =gt 1,
      compare =gt =
    )
  ),
  orderby        =gt date,
  order          =gt DESC,
)
featured_query = new WP_Query( featured_args )
gt

Loop through results:

ltphp if ( featured_query-gthave_posts() ): >
  ltul class=featured-list style=list-style:none padding:0gt
  ltphp while ( featured_query-gthave_posts() ): featured_query-gtthe_post() >
    ltli style=margin-bottom:15pxgt
      lth4 style=margin:0 0 5pxgtlta href=ltphp the_permalink() gt style=text-decoration:none color:#0073aagtltphp the_title() gtlt/agtlt/h4gt
      ltp style=margin:0 color:#666gtltphp the_excerpt() gtlt/pgt
    lt/ligt
  ltphp endwhile wp_reset_postdata() gt
  lt/ulgt
ltphp else: >
  ltpgtNo featured posts found.lt/pgt
ltphp endif gt

4. Taxonomy-Based Featured Results

If you use a “Featured” category, your query is simpler and more efficient:

tax_args = array(
  post_type      =gt post,
  posts_per_page =gt 5,
  tax_query      =gt array(
    array(
      taxonomy =gt category,
      field    =gt slug,
      terms    =gt featured
    )
  )
)
featured_tax_query = new WP_Query( tax_args )

Tax queries can also be AND or OR combined under more complex logic see Taxonomy Parameters.

5. Pagination and Offset

When displaying featured results with pagination:

paged = get_query_var( paged )  get_query_var( paged ) : 1
args  = array(
  post_type      =gt post,
  meta_key       =gt _is_featured,
  meta_value     =gt 1,
  posts_per_page =gt 10,
  paged          =gt paged,
)
query = new WP_Query( args )

Then use previous_posts_link() and next_posts_link() for navigation:

ltdiv class=pagination style=margin-top:20pxgt
  ltdiv style=float:leftgtltphp previous_posts_link( amplaquo Newer Featured ) gtlt/divgt
  ltdiv style=float:rightgtltphp next_posts_link( Older Featured ampraquo, query-gtmax_num_pages ) gtlt/divgt
  ltdiv style=clear:bothgtlt/divgt
lt/divgt

6. Ordering and Prioritizing Featured Items

To allow custom ordering of featured posts, you can add a numeric meta field _featured_order. Then:

order_args = array(
  post_type      =gt post,
  posts_per_page =gt -1,
  meta_query     =gt array(
    array(
      key     =gt _is_featured,
      value   =gt 1
    )
  ),
  orderby        =gt meta_value_num,
  meta_key       =gt _featured_order,
  order          =gt ASC
)
ordered_query = new WP_Query( order_args )

7. Performance Considerations

• Meta queries can be slower on large datasets. Consider Query Monitor to benchmark.
• Use WP_Query caching or object caching with Transient API when featured results change infrequently.
• For high-traffic sites, precompute featured lists via a scheduled task and store in transient to avoid repeated queries.

8. Template Integration

9. Best Practices

1. Always call wp_reset_postdata() after a custom loop.
2. Use non-conflicting meta keys (prefix with underscore, e.g. _mytheme_featured).
3. Avoid query_posts() instantiate new WP_Query() instead.
4. Document your query logic so designers and editors understand “featured” definitions.

10. Further Resources

• WP_Query Reference
• Working with Post Metadata
• The Loop