Display Categories of A Custom Post

The WordPress category functions, such as the_category() and get_the_category(), only read the built-in category taxonomy. Custom post types usually get their own taxonomy instead, for example product_cat for WooCommerce products or a taxonomy you registered yourself, so those functions return nothing for them.

Use the term functions instead

To show the categories of a custom post, use the functions that take a taxonomy name:

• the_terms() prints the post’s terms as links to their archives. Pass the post ID and the taxonomy slug, and optionally text to print before the list, a separator such as a comma, and text after it.
• get_the_term_list() takes the same arguments but returns the HTML instead of printing it.
• get_the_terms() returns the term objects themselves, so you can build your own markup from each term’s name and a URL from get_term_link().

Use them in the single template of your post type, such as single-{post_type}.php, or inside an archive loop, and pass the taxonomy slug your post type uses. You can find that slug in the taxonomy= part of the URL when you open the taxonomy’s screen in the admin.

If your custom post type was registered with the built-in category taxonomy, the_category() works for it as usual.

Related articles

• printing custom taxonomy terms as a comma-separated list: a get_the_terms() example without a trailing comma
• linking to a custom post’s first category: get_the_terms() with get_term_link()
• term slugs as CSS classes in a loop: useful for filterable grids