Intuitive Custom Post Order

About this plugin

Questions

Do I need to change my theme to make ordering work?

No. After activation, items are sortable in the admin UI, and front-end queries for enabled post types are ordered by menu_order ASC automatically—unless you explicitly pass your own orderby.

How do I make my custom query respect the drag-and-drop order?

Specify orderby=menu_order and order=ASC in your query args.

WP_Query:

<?php
new WP_Query( array(
    'post_type' => 'your_cpt',
    'orderby'   => 'menu_order',
    'order'     => 'ASC',
) );
?>

get_posts():

<?php
get_posts( array(
    'post_type' => 'your_cpt',
    'orderby'   => 'menu_order',
    'order'     => 'ASC',
) );
?>

I want date order (newest first) for a specific query. How?

Explicitly set:

<?php
new WP_Query( array(
    'orderby' => 'date',
    'order'   => 'DESC',
) );
?>

For get_posts(), the plugin supports a small switch:

<?php
get_posts( array(
    'orderby' => 'default_date',
    'order'   => 'DESC',
) );
?>

Is query_posts() supported?

query_posts() is discouraged by WordPress core because it alters the main query in a fragile way.
Use pre_get_posts (recommended) or WP_Query instead.

Example with pre_get_posts to force date order on the main blog page:

<?php
add_action( 'pre_get_posts', function( $q ) {
    if ( is_admin() || ! $q->is_main_query() ) {
        return;
    }
    if ( is_home() ) {
        $q->set( 'orderby', 'date' );
        $q->set( 'order', 'DESC' );
    }
} );
?>

Does this work with taxonomies and terms?

Yes. For enabled taxonomies, terms can be reordered and are returned in that order on the front end.
When you build custom term queries, make sure you don’t override the order unless you intend to.

Multisite: can I reorder Sites in Network Admin?

Yes. When enabled in Network settings, Sites are ordered by menu_order ASC. Drag & drop in Network Admin updates the order.

How can I move a post from the second page to the top of the first page?

Go to the “Screen Options” tab at the top right of the list table and increase the “Number of items per page”.
This way, all items you want to reorder will appear on the same page and can be dragged to the desired position.