How to Display a Single Post for One-post Categories in WordPress

Описание: A step-by-step guide to make WordPress show a single post link instead of a subcategory when there’s just one post in that category.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/64138825/ asked by the user 'JonSnow' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2116658/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/64139378/ provided by the user 'Greg Burkett' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/3975904/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: WP: Display post instead of Subcategory, if Category contains only one single post

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
How to Display a Single Post for One-post Categories in WordPress

When building a WordPress site, you may encounter situations where categories contain only one post. In such cases, you might want to display a direct link to that post instead of the usual display of subcategories. This can enhance user experience by making your content more accessible. In this guide, we will delve into solving this problem and ensuring that your WordPress project caters to this need effectively.

The Problem

You are attempting to display categories with their descriptions, but the current implementation does not function properly for categories with only a single post. Instead of linking directly to that single post, the code you have written only retrieves one category—even when multiple categories have just one post.

This is an issue as it requires revisiting your code logic and ensuring it handles all categories effectively, particularly for those that contain only one post.

Understanding Your Code

Your current code snippet begins with a loop through all categories:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Here, the block under the if condition checks if a category contains only one post. If true, it retrieves posts from that category. However, the retrieval logic is incorrect:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This line attempts to retrieve posts using the category object directly, which is not the right syntax.

The Solution

The solution lies in modifying how you fetch the posts from categories that contain only one post. Instead of passing the category object directly, you’ll pass the category's term ID.

Updated Code

You should replace the problematic line with:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Revised Logic

Here is a more precise structure for your code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

By applying this modification, your WordPress site will now successfully display a direct link to a post when a category contains only one post. This not only simplifies navigation for users but also enhances the overall usability of your site.

Remember, coding is an iterative process. Testing your changes and continuously refining your code will help you create a more effective WordPress experience. Happy coding!