Template Tag Functions

Last updated: March 13, 2026

Template Part Functions

get_header()

Loads the header template file.

php

function get_header( $name = null, $args = array() )

Parameters:

$name (string|null): Specialized header name. For header-special.php, pass 'special'.
$args (array): Additional arguments passed to the template (WP 5.5+).

Template Search Order:

header-{$name}.php
header.php

Example:

php

get_header();                    // Loads header.php
get_header('shop');              // Loads header-shop.php, falls back to header.php
get_header('nav', ['show_search' => true]);  // Pass data to template

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

get_footer()

Loads the footer template file.

php

function get_footer( $name = null, $args = array() )

Parameters:

$name (string|null): Specialized footer name.
$args (array): Additional arguments passed to the template.

Example:

php

get_footer();           // Loads footer.php
get_footer('minimal');  // Loads footer-minimal.php

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

get_sidebar()

Loads the sidebar template file.

php

function get_sidebar( $name = null, $args = array() )

Parameters:

$name (string|null): Specialized sidebar name.
$args (array): Additional arguments passed to the template.

Example:

php

get_sidebar();           // Loads sidebar.php
get_sidebar('shop');     // Loads sidebar-shop.php

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

get_template_part()

Loads a template part for reusable theme sections.

php

function get_template_part( $slug, $name = null, $args = array() )

Parameters:

$slug (string): The slug name for the generic template.
$name (string|null): The specialized template name.
$args (array): Additional arguments passed to the template.

Template Search Order:

{$slug}-{$name}.php
{$slug}.php

Example:

php

get_template_part('content', 'page');     // content-page.php
get_template_part('template-parts/card'); // template-parts/card.php
get_template_part('components/hero', null, [
    'title' => 'Welcome',
    'image' => $image_url
]);

Note: Unlike require_once, templates can be included multiple times.

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Head/Footer Functions

wp_head()

Fires the wp_head action for outputting scripts and styles in <head>.

php

function wp_head()

Must be placed: Inside <head> before </head>.

Outputs:

Enqueued stylesheets and scripts
Meta tags (charset, viewport, robots)
Feed links
Title tag
Custom CSS
Block styles

Example:

html

<head>
    <meta charset="<?php bloginfo('charset'); ?>">
    <?php wp_head(); ?>
</head>

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

wp_footer()

Fires the wp_footer action for outputting footer scripts.

php

function wp_footer()

Must be placed: Before </body>.

Outputs:

Deferred scripts
Footer-enqueued JavaScript
Analytics/tracking code

Example:

html

<?php wp_footer(); ?>
</body>
</html>

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

wp_body_open()

Fires the wp_body_open action immediately after <body>.

php

function wp_body_open()

Purpose: Allows plugins/themes to inject content right after body open tag.

Common Uses:

Skip-to-content links
Overlay containers
Google Tag Manager snippets

Example:

html

<body <?php body_class(); ?>>
<?php wp_body_open(); ?>

Since: WordPress 5.2

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Site Information Functions

bloginfo()

Displays information about the current site.

php

function bloginfo( $show = '' )

Common Values:

Value	Description
`'name'`	Site title
`'description'`	Site tagline
`'url'`	Site URL
`'admin_email'`	Admin email
`'charset'`	Character encoding
`'language'`	Language code
`'version'`	WordPress version
`'stylesheet_url'`	Active theme stylesheet URL
`'template_url'`	Parent theme directory URL
`'pingback_url'`	Pingback XML-RPC URL
`'rss2_url'`	RSS 2.0 feed URL
`'atom_url'`	Atom feed URL

Example:

php

<title><?php bloginfo('name'); ?> - <?php bloginfo('description'); ?></title>
<meta charset="<?php bloginfo('charset'); ?>">

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

get_bloginfo()

Retrieves site information (return variant).

php

function get_bloginfo( $show = '', $filter = 'raw' )

Parameters:

$show (string): Information to retrieve.
$filter (string): 'raw' or 'display' (applies escaping).

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Language and HTML Attributes

language_attributes()

Displays language attributes for the <html> tag.

php

function language_attributes( $doctype = 'html' )

Parameters:

$doctype (string): 'html' or 'xhtml'.

Output Examples:

html

<!-- HTML5 -->
lang="en-US" dir="ltr"

<!-- XHTML -->
lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US" dir="ltr"

Example:

html

<html <?php language_attributes(); ?>>

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Body and Post Classes

body_class()

Displays CSS classes for the body element.

php

function body_class( $css_class = '' )

Parameters:

$css_class (string|array): Additional classes to add.

Generated Classes:

Context	Classes
Front page	`home`
Blog index	`blog`
Single post	`single`, `single-{post_type}`, `postid-{id}`
Single page	`page`, `page-id-{id}`
Archive	`archive`, `category`, `tag`, `author`, `date`
Search	`search`, `search-results` or `search-no-results`
404	`error404`
Logged in	`logged-in`
Admin bar	`admin-bar`

Example:

php

<body <?php body_class('custom-layout'); ?>>
// Output: class="home blog logged-in admin-bar custom-layout"

Source: wp-includes/post-template.php

post_class()

Displays CSS classes for a post container.

php

function post_class( $css_class = '', $post = null )

Parameters:

$css_class (string|array): Additional classes.
$post (int|WP_Post): Post ID or object.

Generated Classes:

post-{id}
{post_type} (e.g., post, page)
type-{post_type}
status-{status}
format-{format} (if post format supported)
has-post-thumbnail
sticky (on home, if sticky)
hentry (hAtom microformat)
category-{slug}, tag-{slug} (taxonomy terms)

Example:

php

<article <?php post_class(); ?>>
// Output: class="post-123 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-news"

Source: wp-includes/post-template.php

Title Functions

wp_title()

Displays the page title with separator.

php

function wp_title( $sep = '&raquo;', $display = true, $seplocation = '' )

Parameters:

$sep (string): Separator between title parts.
$display (bool): Echo or return.
$seplocation (string): 'left' or 'right'.

Note: In themes using title-tag support, WordPress handles the <title> automatically. Use wp_get_document_title() for programmatic access.

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

wp_get_document_title()

Retrieves the document title for use in <title>.

php

function wp_get_document_title()

Returns: Complete page title with separator and site name.

Title Logic:

Page Type	Title Source
404	"Page not found"
Search	"Search Results for [query]"
Front page	Site name
Blog page	Blog page title
Single/Page	Post title
Archive	Archive title
Author	Author display name
Date	Formatted date

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

single_post_title()

Displays the post title for single posts/pages.

php

function single_post_title( $prefix = '', $display = true )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

single_term_title()

Displays the term title for taxonomy archives.

php

function single_term_title( $prefix = '', $display = true )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Archive Functions

the_archive_title()

Displays the archive title.

php

function the_archive_title( $before = '', $after = '' )

Output Examples:

Category: "Category: News"
Tag: "Tag: Featured"
Author: "Author: John"
Date: "Month: January 2024"

Example:

php

the_archive_title('<h1 class="archive-title">', '</h1>');

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

the_archive_description()

Displays the archive description.

php

function the_archive_description( $before = '', $after = '' )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Author Functions

the_author()

Displays the post author’s display name.

php

function the_author()

Requires: The Loop

Source: wp-includes/author-template.php

get_the_author_meta()

Retrieves author metadata.

php

function get_the_author_meta( $field = '', $user_id = false )

Common Fields:

display_name, first_name, last_name, nickname
user_email, user_url, user_login
description (bio)
ID

Example:

php

echo get_the_author_meta('description');
echo get_the_author_meta('user_email', 5);  // Specific user

Source: wp-includes/author-template.php

get_author_posts_url()

Retrieves the author archive URL.

php

function get_author_posts_url( $author_id, $author_nicename = '' )

Source: wp-includes/author-template.php

Category/Term Functions

the_category()

Displays category list for current post.

php

function the_category( $separator = '', $parents = '', $post_id = false )

Parameters:

$separator (string): Text between categories. Empty = unordered list.
$parents (string): 'multiple', 'single', or empty.
$post_id (int): Post ID (optional outside Loop).

Example:

php

the_category(', ');  // Output: "News, Featured, Tech"

Source: wp-includes/category-template.php

wp_list_categories()

Displays a list of categories.

php

function wp_list_categories( $args = '' )

Key Arguments:

Argument	Description
`show_count`	Show post counts
`hierarchical`	Show parent/child structure
`title_li`	List title
`hide_empty`	Hide empty categories
`exclude`	Category IDs to exclude
`orderby`	Sort field
`taxonomy`	Taxonomy to list

Example:

php

wp_list_categories([
    'title_li' => '',
    'show_count' => true,
    'hierarchical' => true
]);

Source: wp-includes/category-template.php

wp_tag_cloud()

Displays a tag cloud.

php

function wp_tag_cloud( $args = '' )

Key Arguments:

Argument	Description
`smallest`	Smallest font size (default 8)
`largest`	Largest font size (default 22)
`unit`	Font size unit (default ‘pt’)
`number`	Max tags to show
`taxonomy`	Taxonomy to use

Source: wp-includes/category-template.php

wp_dropdown_categories()

Displays a dropdown select of categories.

php

function wp_dropdown_categories( $args = '' )

Key Arguments:

show_option_all: Text for "all categories" option
show_option_none: Text for "no category" option
name, id, class: Form element attributes
selected: Pre-selected value
taxonomy: Taxonomy to list

Source: wp-includes/category-template.php

Date/Time Functions

the_date()

Displays the post date (once per day).

php

function the_date( $format = '', $before = '', $after = '', $display = true )

Note: Only displays once per day in a loop (to avoid repetition).

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

get_the_date()

Retrieves the post date.

php

function get_the_date( $format = '', $post = null )

Parameters:

$format (string): PHP date format. Default: date_format option.
$post (int|WP_Post): Post to get date for.

Example:

php

echo get_the_date('F j, Y');  // "January 15, 2024"

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

the_time()

Displays the post time.

php

function the_time( $format = '' )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

the_modified_date()

Displays when the post was last modified.

php

function the_modified_date( $format = '', $before = '', $after = '', $display = true )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

get_search_form()

Retrieves or displays the search form.

php

function get_search_form( $args = array() )

Parameters:

$args['echo'] (bool): Echo or return.
$args['aria_label'] (string): Accessibility label.

Template Override: Create searchform.php in theme.

Example:

php

get_search_form();

// Custom aria label for multiple search forms
get_search_form(['aria_label' => 'Search products']);

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

wp_loginout()

Displays login/logout link based on user state.

php

function wp_loginout( $redirect = '', $display = true )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

wp_login_url()

Returns the login page URL.

php

function wp_login_url( $redirect = '', $force_reauth = false )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

wp_logout_url()

Returns the logout URL with nonce.

php

function wp_logout_url( $redirect = '' )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Pagination Functions

paginate_links()

Generates paginated archive links.

php

function paginate_links( $args = '' )

Key Arguments:

Argument	Description
`total`	Total pages
`current`	Current page
`prev_text`	Previous link text
`next_text`	Next link text
`mid_size`	Links on each side of current
`end_size`	Links at start/end
`type`	`'plain'`, `'array'`, or `'list'`

Example:

php

echo paginate_links([
    'prev_text' => '← Previous',
    'next_text' => 'Next →',
    'mid_size' => 2
]);

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Icon/Logo Functions

has_site_icon()

Checks if site has a site icon.

php

function has_site_icon( $blog_id = 0 )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

has_custom_logo()

Checks if theme has a custom logo.

php

function has_custom_logo( $blog_id = 0 )

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

the_custom_logo()

Displays the custom logo.

php

function the_custom_logo( $blog_id = 0 )

Requires: add_theme_support('custom-logo')

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Calendar

get_calendar()

Displays a calendar with post links.

php

function get_calendar( $args = array() )

Parameters:

$args['initial'] (bool): Use initial day names.
$args['display'] (bool): Echo or return.
$args['post_type'] (string): Post type to show.

Source: wp-includes/general-template.php

Argument	Description
`type`	`'monthly'`, `'yearly'`, `'daily'`, `'weekly'`, `'postbypost'`, `'alpha'`
`limit`	Number of links
`format`	`'html'`, `'option'`, `'link'`
`show_post_count`	Display post counts
`post_type`	Post type

Template Tag Functions

Template Part Functions

get_header()

get_footer()

get_sidebar()

get_template_part()

Head/Footer Functions

wp_head()

wp_footer()

wp_body_open()

Site Information Functions

bloginfo()

get_bloginfo()

Language and HTML Attributes

language_attributes()

Body and Post Classes

body_class()

post_class()

Title Functions

wp_title()

wp_get_document_title()

single_post_title()

single_term_title()

Archive Functions

the_archive_title()

the_archive_description()

Author Functions

the_author()

get_the_author_meta()

get_author_posts_url()

Category/Term Functions

the_category()

wp_list_categories()

wp_tag_cloud()

wp_dropdown_categories()

Date/Time Functions

the_date()

get_the_date()

the_time()

the_modified_date()

Search Form

get_search_form()

Login/Logout Functions

wp_loginout()

wp_login_url()

wp_logout_url()

Pagination Functions

paginate_links()

Icon/Logo Functions

has_site_icon()

has_custom_logo()

the_custom_logo()

Calendar

get_calendar()

Archives

wp_get_archives()

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