How to Create Custom Pagination in WordPress In Quick Easy Steps?

Introduction 

Custom pagination will let you do all sorts of cool things for your site: better navigation, improved user experience, and SEO performance. Pagination is the process by which really long content is split up into easily digestible parts so that visitors can go through your site with ease. Be it a blog, portfolio, or an e-commerce store, custom pagination gives a professional touch to your website by retaining user interest with the ability to easily go back to older content without being overwhelmed. In this tutorial, we walk through a number of easy techniques that can be used to create custom pagination with both simple and advanced tweaks. These instructions will help you achieve personalized navigation on your site, ensuring the smoothness of browsing for your audience.

What is Custom Pagination in WordPress?

Custom pagination is a process to create and apply a navigation system according to the necessity of pagination other than those available by default in WordPress. In general, it is not custom pagination to have normal numbered pages or something like "previous"-"next"; it is made of something much more flexible, controlling the division and the display of content. You could even design paginated navigation to look perfectly in line with your web design; also, one can include certain categories, tags, or change the number of posts per page.

It is a great way to enhance user experience by making it easier for your organized visitants to walk around in the sea of content, especially in content-rich websites like blogs, portfolios, or online stores. Custom pagination can also lead a person to dig deep into well-arranged subcategories on your website, eventually increasing SEO performance. Learn and develop custom pagination to optimize the structure and usability of your WordPress site for greater user satisfaction and improved search engine visibility.

Methods to Add Custom Pagination in WordPress

You can add pagination to your WordPress site that ranges from quite simple to very sophisticated. From a developer who wants full control to a site owner who can only barely understand code, there are solutions for you. On the one hand, you can explicitly code custom pagination directly into your theme files. Still, you can also use WordPress hooks, smart product filter and search or plugins that provide an easy interface. Each of these methods has its benefits, thus giving users the option of choosing the best approach for their project at hand.

Method 1: Adding Custom Pagination Manually

There are three distinctive ways to add custom pagination in WordPress manually, they are listed below:

1. Edit functions.php File
2. Adding Custom CSS
3. Managing Content for Each Page

1. Edit functions.php File

Here’s how to add custom pagination manually by adjusting PHP code in the functions.php file:

• Open the functions.php file of your WordPress theme.
• Create a custom function for pagination, e.g., my_custom_pagination().
• Use paginate_links() within the function to generate pagination links.
• Customize the pagination format using the paginate_links() parameters.
• Add conditional logic to prevent pagination on single posts.
• Hook the custom pagination function to the appropriate template (e.g., archive.php, index.php).
• Save the changes in functions.php.
• Test the pagination on your site to ensure proper functionality.

Here’s a simplified example of what the code looks like:

2. Adding Custom CSS

To add and style custom pagination in WordPress manually using CSS, you’ll need to follow these steps:

• Identify the pagination container or elements using a unique class or ID in your theme's HTML structure.
• Access your WordPress dashboard, navigate to "Appearance" > "Customize" > "Additional CSS."
• Use the identified class or ID to write custom CSS rules, adjusting properties like color, background, padding, borders, and hover effects for pagination links.
• Apply the CSS code and publis h the changes to see the customized pagination on your site.

By adding the CSS code, you can control the look and feel of your custom pagination, ensuring it integrates seamlessly with your site’s design.

3. Managing Content for Each Page

To manually add custom pagination by managing the content per page in WordPress, you’ll need to control how many posts or items are displayed on each page and ensure that pagination works correctly with the content. Here’s how you can achieve this:

Set Posts/Content per Page in WordPress Settings

• Go to WordPress Dashboard: Settings > Reading.
• Adjust the "Blog pages show at most" option to set the number of posts displayed per page.

Use WP_Query to Customize Pagination

• Modify the WP_Query parameters in your theme’s template files (e.g., index.php, archive.php) to set posts_per_page and enable pagination.

Adjust functions.php for Advanced Control

• Add custom code to the functions.php file to dynamically control the number of posts per page for specific pages or post types using the pre_get_posts action hook.

• Use the_posts_pagination() or paginate_links() in your theme’s template files to create and display pagination links.

• Customize the appearance of pagination by adding CSS to your style.css file or Additional CSS section in the WordPress Customizer.

By managing content per page manually with custom pagination in WordPress, you can control the display of posts and enhance user navigation. This method is flexible, allowing you to adjust the number of posts or items per page, as well as style the pagination to match your theme.

Method 2: Adding Custom Pagination Using WordPress Gutenberg

Adding custom pagination using WordPress Gutenberg involves using blocks and shortcodes within the Gutenberg editor to manage and display paginated content. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this:

Here is a summary of how to add custom pagination using WordPress Gutenberg:

• Add the Query Loop block to your page or post in the Gutenberg editor to display a list of posts with built-in pagination.

• Adjust the Query Loop block settings to define the number of posts per page and enable pagination.

• Add the Pagination block within the Query Loop block to display pagination controls like "Previous," "Next," or numeric page links.

• Customize the appearance of the Pagination block using block styling options, such as alignment, color, and typography.

• Preview your page to ensure the pagination works as expected, then publish or update the post.

Method 3: Using Plugins for Enhanced Custom Pagination

If you prefer more control over custom pagination in WordPress, consider using a plugin. We have listed some of the pagination in WordPress plugins in our previous blog. These plugins offer Gutenberg blocks for pagination with more customization options:

Install a Pagination Plugin:

• Go to Plugins > Add New.
• Search for a pagination plugin like WP-Paginate.
• Install and activate the plugin.

• Add the plugin’s block to your post or page through the Gutenberg editor.
• Customize the pagination settings as needed.

Once your custom pagination is in place, preview your post to ensure the pagination works correctly and the design matches your site’s look and feel.

Method 4: Adding Custom Pagination Using WordPress Themes

Opting for a WordPress theme with built-in pagination is one of the easiest and most efficient ways to customize your website’s navigation. This method is advantageous because it saves time by eliminating the need for custom code, as the pagination features are already integrated within the theme. Additionally, it ensures design consistency, as the pagination styles align with your website’s overall look, providing a seamless user experience. Furthermore, it’s user-friendly, allowing even non-developers to easily manage pagination settings through the WordPress Customizer.

Why Choose VW Themes?

When it comes to themes with built-in pagination, VW Themes is an excellent option. VW Themes provides a variety of premium WordPress themes, specifically designed for different niches, with integrated custom pagination options. These themes allow you to add stylish custom pagination in WordPress without the hassle of installing extra plugins or writing custom code.

Steps to Install VW Themes

• Visit the VW Themes website, browse through the themes, and select the one that best suits your needs. After purchasing, download the theme’s ZIP file.

Upload the Theme to WordPress

• Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
• Go to Appearance > Themes.
• Click on the Add New button and then on Upload Theme.
• Choose the downloaded ZIP file and click Install Now.

Activate the Theme

• Once the installation is complete, click the Activate button to start using your new VW Theme.

Configure Pagination Settings

• Depending on the theme, you can find pagination settings within the WordPress Customizer under Appearance > Customize or in the theme’s settings panel. Adjust the pagination style according to your preferences.

Using VW Themes makes it simple to implement custom pagination without requiring advanced technical knowledge, ensuring a polished and functional navigation experience for your visitors.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, creating custom pagination in WordPress is a crucial step to enhance user experience and improve navigation on your website. Whether you choose to implement pagination through plugins, custom coding, or directly via WordPress themes, each method has its unique advantages. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can tailor your pagination to match your website’s style and functionality needs.

For those looking for an all-in-one solution, consider exploring a WP theme bundle. A theme bundle offers multiple themes with built-in pagination options, providing flexibility and great value for your investment. This is especially useful if you manage multiple websites or want to experiment with different designs. With the right tools and approach, setting up custom pagination can be quick, easy, and highly effective in elevating your site’s performance.