Custom Page Templates: New Way of Creating Custom Templates in WordPress 3.1.9

That sounds like a topic about modern WordPress development practices, specifically concerning how to structure and deploy custom page layouts.

The "New Way of Creating Custom Templates in WordPress" generally refers to moving beyond the traditional method of creating simple PHP template files and embracing more modern, flexible, and often block-based approaches.

Here are the primary modern methods and how they differ from the old way:

💡 The "New Way" of Creating Custom Templates

The shift is driven by WordPress's move toward Full Site Editing (FSE) and the Gutenberg block editor.

1. Block Templates & Full Site Editing (FSE)

This is the most significant "new way," introduced with WordPress 5.9 and the growing adoption of Block Themes (like Twenty Twenty-Four).

How it Works: Instead of writing complex PHP and HTML, you use the Site Editor (Appearance > Editor) to design entire site structures (headers, footers, pages, posts) using the Gutenberg blocks.

Template Files: The templates are not traditional .php files, but rather structured .html files located in the theme's templates or parts folders. These files contain HTML comments that define the blocks and their attributes.

User Control: Users can fully edit these templates (including the header and footer) visually through the WordPress admin, offering unprecedented control without touching code.

Template Parts: Sections like headers and footers are defined as reusable Template Parts, which can be easily swapped or edited globally.

2. Custom Templates with Page Builders (Elementor, Beaver Builder, etc.)

This method predates FSE but remains a popular "new way" compared to pure PHP coding.

How it Works: You create a special PHP template file (e.g., template-custom.php) that often contains only the header, footer, and a function call to the page builder's content area.

Design: The actual page layout, styling, and content are created visually within the page builder's interface.

Theme Builder (Pro Feature): Advanced page builders (like Elementor Pro) offer a "Theme Builder" feature that lets you design custom templates for specific conditions (e.g., a custom template for all posts in the "News" category, or a unique 404 page).

3. Custom Post Types (CPTs) and Template Hierarchy

While not new, modern template creation emphasizes coupling custom layouts with Custom Post Types more effectively.

How it Works: You register a CPT (e.g., portfolio_project) and WordPress automatically looks for a corresponding template file named single-portfolio_project.php or archive-portfolio_project.php.

Modern Coding: Even when coding these PHP files, modern practices involve using WordPress functions to output block content or pull data via the REST API, minimizing direct database calls and complex loops.

📜 The "Old Way" (For Comparison)

The traditional method involved creating a PHP file like page-custom-template.php and adding the following code at the top:

PHP

<?php /* Template Name: My Custom Template */ get_header(); // All the custom HTML, CSS, and PHP logic for the page goes here. get_footer(); ?>

The difference is that the new methods abstract the need for manually writing all the HTML and PHP structure, moving the focus toward visual design, block structures, and declarative configuration.

Would you like to explore how to create a custom template using the Site Editor (FSE) or with a specific page builder?