WordPress conditional tags cheat sheet

“Show the slider only on the front page.” “Load this CSS only on product pages.”—conditional tags are how you check what kind of page is currently being displayed. You use them by dropping them into an if.

<?php if (is_front_page()) : ?>
  <!-- content only for the front page -->
<?php endif; ?>

Commonly used conditional tags

The classic stumble: is_home and is_front_page

The confusion comes from the names not lining up with reality.

• is_front_page()—the site’s entrance (https://example.com/)
• is_home()—the post archive page

The relationship changes with “Settings” → “Reading.”

If you want “front page only,” use is_front_page(). Use is_home() there and it stops working the moment you switch to a static front page.

Choosing among the single-page tags

<?php if (is_single()) : ?>            <!-- a post's single page (not static pages) -->
<?php if (is_page()) : ?>              <!-- a static page -->
<?php if (is_singular('shohin')) : ?>  <!-- a product's single page -->
<?php if (is_singular()) : ?>          <!-- any single page at all -->

is_single() covers posts and custom post types, not static pages. When you want to bundle “every single page,” is_singular() is the handy one.

Example 1: load CSS and JS per page

Branching in functions.php means you only load things on the pages that need them, which makes the site lighter.

function my_scripts() {
  wp_enqueue_style('main', get_theme_file_uri('style.css'), [], '1.0');

  if (is_front_page()) {
    wp_enqueue_script('slider', get_theme_file_uri('js/slider.js'), [], '1.0', true);
  }
  if (is_singular('shohin')) {
    wp_enqueue_style('product', get_theme_file_uri('css/product.css'), [], '1.0');
  }
}
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'my_scripts');

Example 2: vary the page title from one place

<h1 class="page-title">
  <?php if (is_front_page()) : ?>
    Shimaenagado
  <?php elseif (is_home()) : ?>
    News
  <?php elseif (is_category() || is_tag() || is_tax()) : ?>
    <?php echo esc_html(single_term_title('', false)); ?>
  <?php elseif (is_post_type_archive()) : ?>
    <?php echo esc_html(post_type_archive_title('', false)); ?>
  <?php elseif (is_search()) : ?>
    Search results for "<?php echo esc_html(get_search_query()); ?>"
  <?php elseif (is_404()) : ?>
    Page not found
  <?php else : ?>
    <?php the_title(); ?>
  <?php endif; ?>
</h1>

The order of the branches matters. Put a broad condition (is_archive()) first and the narrower ones (is_category()) never get reached. Line them up from most specific to least.

Example 3: change the display only for posts in a category

in_category() checks “the current post” inside the loop.

<?php if (in_category('event')) : ?>
  <p class="notice">Events require registration to attend.</p>
<?php endif; ?>

For a custom taxonomy, it’s has_term().

<?php if (has_term('winter', 'season')) : ?>
  <span class="badge">Winter only</span>
<?php endif; ?>

Combining and excluding

<?php if (is_singular() && !is_front_page()) : ?>   <!-- a single page, but not the front page -->
<?php if (is_page(['about', 'company'])) : ?>       <!-- several static pages -->
<?php if (is_home() || is_archive()) : ?>           <!-- every archive view -->

With ! (negation) plus && and ||, you can express most requirements.

Summary

1. Conditional tags just go in an if. The front page is is_front_page(), the post archive is is_home()
2. For single views, choose between is_single() (posts), is_page() (static) and is_singular() (everything)
3. is_category() is the page type, in_category() is the post’s membership—mixing them up is a classic stumble
4. Put the most specific conditions first. In functions.php, call them inside a hook

Once you can vary output freely, you can meet requirements without growing the number of template files.