Given this custom post type:
register_post_type(
'sample_post_type',
[
'labels' => [
'name' => _x('Sample Posts', 'post type general name'),
'singular_name' => _x('Sample Post', 'post type singular name'),
],
'public' => true,
'show_in_nav_menus' => false,
'exclude_from_search' => true,
]
);
How can I disable the single post view for this particular post type? Displaying a simple 404 is fine, or redirecting to the homepage. Since this is a plugin, I can’t create a single-sample_post_type.php file to set up an empty page.
METHOD 1:
Redirect to a custom URL for single view, archive page is still publicly accessible.
You can use template_redirect hook to redirect for a custom post type, you can use any other URL you want to in place of home_url() and the error code in other argument.
<?php
add_action( 'template_redirect', 'wpse_128636_redirect_post' );
function wpse_128636_redirect_post() {
if ( is_singular( 'sample_post_type' ) ) {
wp_redirect( home_url(), 301 );
exit;
}
}
?>
METHOD 2:
Completely disable Single or Archive page from front-end; Works for a Custom post only.
A alternative approach is to specify value for param publicly_queryable while registering the custom post if you are ok with displaying a 404 page. [ Thanks @gustavo ]
'publicly_queryable' => false
It hides single as well as archive page for the CPT, basically completely hidden from front-end but can be done for custom posts only.
This second solution is best suitable for the scenario where you need a Custom post for admin/back-end usage only.
