Last Updated on March 24, 2026
A conversation on Twitter/X the other day got us asking about the need for customer posts in our website. How often and when do you need them?
Bridget Willard and I talked with web developer and code monkey, Tony Ciccarone about WordPress CPTs – check out our video at the end of this article!
What Is a Custom Post Type?
In WordPress, everything you create is stored as a “post” – whether it’s a blog entry, a page, or a product. A Custom Post Type (CPT) lets you create a brand-new category of content that fits a specific business need. Think of it as building a new drawer in a filing cabinet, rather than stuffing everything into the same one.
Classic examples include: a Services section for a contractor, Products in WooCommerce, Event listings, Team member profiles, or Property listings for a real estate agent. Each of these is a distinct type of content that deserves its own structure, URL, and set of fields.
Not Every Site Needs Them
One of the most important takeaways from the conversation is that CPTs are not a universal requirement. For a simple brochure site – a few pages, a contact form, and some basic information – standard pages and posts are perfectly fine. As Tony puts it:
“Not for a brochure site. Definitely not.” Tony Ciccarone
Warren echoed this from his own experience working with small businesses and nonprofits, where most sites are relatively static and don’t require deep content hierarchies.
When CPTs Add Real Value
CPTs shine when a business has structured, repeatable content that relates to other content. Tony’s live demo showed a contractor’s website where services, materials, locations, and project galleries are all separate post types – and they automatically connect to each other through taxonomy tagging. When a gallery image is tagged ‘paver patio’, it automatically appears on the Paver Patio service page. No manual page editing required.
This kind of automation is the real power of CPTs: centralised content that populates in multiple places without duplication.
The SEO Advantage
CPTs create clean, hierarchical URLs (e.g. /services/paver-patio) that help search engines understand the structure of a site. Combined with schema markup – which SEO plugins like RankMath or Yoast can apply per post type – this can significantly improve search visibility.
Tony noted that this structured approach, especially with JSON-LD schema data, has been one of the biggest SEO wins for his clients in recent years.
SEO? Click here to read more about how to optimise your website.
“I’ve been using it more and more even when it’s not strictly necessary – it just pushes rankings up.” Tony Ciccarone
The Danger of Over-Engineering
The flip side was also raised: some developers use CPTs just because they can, not because they should. If categories and standard posts serve the purpose, adding CPTs only creates unnecessary complexity. The rule of thumb is simple – if you have one level of hierarchy, standard WordPress tools are enough. If you have categories within categories, or content that needs to appear in multiple places, CPTs are worth the investment.
Plan Before You Build
Tony’s workflow starts with a Google Doc – mapping out the client’s business processes before a single line of code is written. His wife (the designer) sets up the document structure, and together they translate the business into an information architecture ‘tree’. This planning phase is what makes the difference between a site that scales and one that becomes a maintenance headache.
“I always feel like if you can represent a business digitally exactly like what they do – that’s when it just works.” Tony Ciccarone
Build It Right the First Time
One of the strongest arguments for CPTs – even for smaller sites – is scalability. Retrofitting a site with CPTs later is time-consuming and costly. If there’s any chance a client’s business will grow, starting with a solid information architecture means the site can scale without a full rebuild. As Tony summarised: “I build websites for you to build your business.”
A Practical Guide for Small Businesses & Nonprofits
If you’re a small business owner or run a nonprofit and you’re wondering whether CPTs are right for you – here’s a straightforward breakdown.
Do You Actually Need CPTs?
Ask yourself these questions before committing:
- Do you have more than one type of content that repeats in a structured way? (e.g. services, team members, events, locations)
- Does that content need its own URL and page? (e.g. /services/youth-tennis rather than just a section on a page)
- Will the same content appear in multiple places on your site?
- Do you expect to add many entries of the same type over time?
If you answered yes to two or more of these, CPTs will save you time and improve your site’s structure. If your site is mostly static with a few pages and a blog, stick with standard WordPress – it’s more than enough.
Practical Workflow: Getting Started with CPTs
Here is a simple step-by-step process any small business or nonprofit can follow:
- Map your content on paper first. Write down every type of content your organisation produces. Group similar items together. For example: a seniors’ centre might have Services, Events, Staff, and Locations.
- Identify what repeats. Any group with three or more entries that share the same structure (title, description, image, category) is a good CPT candidate.
- Define the relationships. Does a Service belong to a Location? Does an Event relate to a Staff member? Drawing these connections now saves headaches later.
- Choose your tools. To create CPTs without coding, use a plugin such as ACF (Advanced Custom Fields) or CPT UI. Both have free versions. RankMath (free) handles schema markup per post type automatically.
- Create your CPT and add a few test entries. Check the URLs – they should follow a clean path like /services/your-service-name.
- Set up taxonomy (categories for your CPT). This allows content to be filtered and cross-linked. For example, a gallery image tagged ‘accessibility’ can automatically appear on all service pages tagged the same way.
- Hand it to your team. The power of CPTs is that non-technical staff can add new entries through a familiar WordPress interface, without needing to edit pages manually.
Learn More about Custom Post Types and Custom Fields right here on Learn WordPress: https://learn.wordpress.org/lesson/custom-post-types/
Real-World Examples for Nonprofits
A community sports organisation could use CPTs for: Activities (football, tennis, swimming), Venues (each with its own page and map), Age Groups (juniors, seniors, mixed), and News (separate from general blog posts).
A church or faith organisation might use CPTs for: Ministries, Events, Sermon recordings, and Leadership team profiles. Each of these benefits from structured URLs, automatic cross-linking, and search-engine-friendly schema data – without requiring a large budget or technical team to maintain.
Final Thought
Custom Post Types are not magic, and they’re not essential for every website. But for any organisation that has structured, repeatable content – and wants that content to work harder for them in search engines – they are one of the most practical tools WordPress offers. The key is to plan first, build for scale, and only add complexity where it genuinely serves the business.
As the discussion put it best: information architecture is the ability to scale.
About the Crew
Helping SaaS brands grow with consistent Twitter/X + Content. Real voice. Real results. SaaS Marketing – Bridget Willard
Web developer + designer since 2004 | AI agent + efficiency enthusiast | 3tone Digital Dev + Design + Music | Tony Ciccarone