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Free Plugin by AndyWarren v1.2.8

AW WordPress Yearly Category Archives

This plugin will allow for yearly archives of specific categories from all post types and "Posts".

AW WordPress Yearly Category Archives

The facts

Rating
5★ from 4
Active installs
100+
Price
Free
Last updated
30 Jan 2018
Added
Aug 2013
Requires WP
3.5.2
Tested up to
WP 4.9.31
Downloads
9,065

Our analysis

AI-assisted

AW WordPress Yearly Category Archives is a plugin that allows you to create yearly archives for specific categories on your WordPress site. It uses two shortcodes to display year links and the associated posts for a selected category. This makes it easier for visitors to navigate through archived content by year.

The plugin is suitable for users who want to enhance their site's archive functionality, particularly those with multiple categories. It supports custom post types and offers flexibility in displaying archived posts with various attributes in the shortcodes.

Best for: This plugin is best for WordPress users who want to manage and display yearly archives for specific categories.

What it does well

  • Free to use from the WordPress.org directory
  • Includes two shortcodes for displaying year links and posts
  • Supports multiple category IDs in queries
  • Allows customisation of display attributes

Where it falls short

  • Last updated in January 2018, may not be compatible with newer WordPress versions
  • Limited documentation on usage beyond the provided instructions

Verdict

AW WordPress Yearly Category Archives provides a straightforward way to create yearly archives, but its age may affect compatibility with current WordPress versions.

From the developer

AndyWarren's own description of AW WordPress Yearly Category Archives, lightly tidied.

AW WordPress Yearly Category Archives has two (2) shortcodes available, both of which are required for the plugin to function properly.

Follow the instructions below to use the plugin.

The first shortcode is [aw_year_links cat="X" postslug="slug-to-post-or-page"], which is used to build and display the year links.

The following list explains this shortcode’s usage and requirements.

  • This shortcode has two (3) attributes. Two (2) are required, and one (1) is optional.
  • The cat="X" attribute is the category ID you wish to display yearly links from. Replace the X with the numerical ID of the category you wish to query. You may include a comma separated list of category IDs with this attribute if you want to query multiple categories. This attribute is required.
  • The postslug="slug-to-post-or-page" attribute is the slug to the page that will display your yearly archived posts. This is also the slug of the page you will include the second shortcode on. This attribute is required.
  • The dropdown="yes" attribute will allow a dropdown select input to be used in place of the standard unordered list of the year links. This attribute is optional and can be left off completely.
  • Place this shortcode where you would like to display the year links to the specified category.

The second shortcode is [aw_show_posts cat="X" readmore="Continue Reading" publishedon="n/j/Y"], which is used to display the post content after click a year link.

The following list explains this shortcode’s usage and requirements.

  • This shortcode has three (3) attributes. One (1) is required, and two (2) are optional.
  • The cat="X" attribute is the category ID you wish to display yearly archived posts from. Replace the X with the numerical ID of the category you wish to query. You may include a comma separated list of category IDs with this attribute if you want to query multiple categories. This attribute is required.
  • The readmore="Continue Reading" attribute is the text you wish to display for the “Read More” link. This attribute is optional and will default to “Read More” if left out.
  • The publishedon="n/j/Y" attribute is the PHP date format the published on date will appear in the archived posts. This attribute is optional and will default to “M jS, Y” if left out. Refer here for further info on the PHP date format.
  • The showsubheader="no" attribute is used to display a subheader above the post output that says which category and year is being displayed. it will read like this: Category: Example Category Name – Year: 20XX. This is an optional shortcode attribute. If left off the shortcode the subheader will be shown. Use showsubheader="no" to not output the subheader. This attribute is optional and can be left off completely.
  • Place this shortcode where you would like to display your archived posts.

Additional Notes

  • The shortcodes can be used multiple times throughout the site as long as they are always used in pairs with each pair having the same cat="X" attribute. This is handy for displaying separate yearly category archives.
  • The plugin will query all custom post types as well as the main “Posts”.
  • Currently the plugin will display Five (5) elements for each post, unless the admin chooses to write their own post structure on the settings page. They are as follows and in order:
    1. <h3 class="awyca_subheader">Category: Example Category Name - Year: 20XX</h3>
    2. <div class="awyca_postWrapper"></div> – (this wraps each post including all the elements below in this list)
  • <h2 class="awPostTitle">The Post's Title</h2>
  • <p class="awPublishedOnDate">Published on Aug 13th, 2013</p>
  • <p class="awPostExcerpt">The Post's First 25 Words...<a href="http://yoursite.com/the-post-slug">Read More</a></p>
  • <hr class="awPostDivider"/>
  • The actual post elements have classes; however they do not have styles. This is to allow you to style them how you choose. The only frontend style included is for the post divider <hr class="awPostDivider"/> rule. This can be overriden if you so choose to.
  • Currently there is also no pagination built into the display of yearly archived posts. I do have plans for this in the future if time allows.
  • Currently I will only be able to offer limited support for this plugin. This could change in the future, also if time allows.
  • If you do not know how to find your category IDs, I recommend Reveal IDs.

Follow me on Twitter @iAmAndyWarren or find me at andy-warren.net. Want to make the plugin better? Fork it or submit pull requests on GitHub at https://github.com/andywarren/aw-yearly-category-archives.

Read the full description on the official page →

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