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How To Switch/Convert Custom Post Types in WordPress

Are you looking for a way to switch or convert custom post types in WordPress?

Sometimes, you may decide that a particular post type is not suitable for your content. Switching to a different format can create a better organizational website structure and improve your visibility in the search results.

In this article, we will show you how to easily switch custom post types in WordPress without using any code.

Converting post types in WordPress

Why Do You Need to Switch Post Types in WordPress?

Post types are the different kinds of content you can add to your WordPress website. There are 5 default post types, which are posts, pages, attachments, revisions, and menus.

You can also easily create your own custom post types to better organize the content on your blog. For instance, you can create custom post types to display portfolios, testimonials, products, and more.

However, sometimes you may want to switch your existing content to another post type. This can be helpful if you feel like the existing post type is no longer suitable.

For example, if your WordPress blog does movie reviews and you have just created a custom post type for it, then it makes sense to switch your content from ‘Posts’ to ‘Movie Reviews’.

Similarly, if you have some content on your pages that would be better suited for a blog post, then it’s a good idea to switch its post type over for better search visibility.

By doing this, you will not only improve your website’s user experience but also help with content organization, user engagement, and website navigation.

Having said that, let’s look at how to easily switch or convert custom post types in WordPress.

How to Switch Post Types in WordPress

First, you need to install and activate the Post Type Switcher plugin. For detailed instructions, see our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, the plugin adds a simple dropdown menu to the block editor that allows you to switch post types while editing your content.

Plus, it also enables you to convert post types using the Quick Edit and Bulk Actions options when viewing all posts.

Switching Post Types in the Block Editor

First, you need to open up the page or post where you want to change the post type in the WordPress block editor.

Once you are there, you must expand the ‘Summary’ tab from the block panel in the right corner of the screen.

Here, you will notice a new ‘Post Type’ option added to the bottom of the tab. Simply click on the ‘Post’ link next to the ‘Post Type’ option to open the dropdown menu.

After that, select the custom or default post type that you want to switch your content to.

Change post type in the block editor

This will display a confirmation message on your screen.

Once you have confirmed the changes, the post type will immediately be changed in the block editor.

Switching Post Types Using the Quick Edit Option

You can also quickly change an individual post type using the Quick Edit option while viewing all posts in the WordPress dashboard.

First, you will need to visit the Posts » All Posts page from the WordPress admin sidebar.

Alternatively, if you are changing the post type for a page, then head over to the Pages » All Pages screen from the admin sidebar.

Once you are there, just click the ‘Quick Edit’ link under the post or page title.

Click the Quick Edit link under the post title

This will open up the ‘Quick Edit’ section for the post, where you will notice a ‘Post Type’ dropdown menu in the bottom right corner.

From here, simply select the post type that you want to switch to and then click the ‘Update’ button to save your changes.

Choose post type from the Quick Edit section

Switching Multiple Post Types With the Bulk Actions Option

You can also change the post type for multiple posts at once using the Bulk Actions setting.

First, you must visit the Posts » All Posts page from the WordPress admin sidebar and then select all of the posts where you want to change the post type.

After that, just choose the ‘Edit’ option from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu at the top and then click on the ‘Apply’ button.

Choose the Edit option from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu

Now you will see all selected posts in the ‘Bulk Edit’ mode.

From here, select the post type that you want to apply to your content from the ‘Post Type’ dropdown menu at the bottom.

Choose post type option from the bulk edit mode

Once you have done that, don’t forget to click the ‘Update’ button to store your changes.

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to switch or convert custom post types in WordPress. You may also want to see our beginner’s guide on how to choose the best WordPress hosting or our top picks for the must-have WordPress plugins to help grow your site.

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Reader Interactions

36 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. This plugin is genius! Works great with the Blocksy theme for reclassifying Posts to Product Reviews –
    Yay thanks!

  2. Can I deactivate the plugin after the procedure? In other words, will deleting the plugin force post types to switch back to the previous state?

    • You can remove the plugin after changing the post types, they will not revert when the plugin is deactivated.

      Admin

  3. If I tried converting categories into tags with this plugin, would it also change the post category to the new created tag ?

    • This is for modifying posts into pages or other custom post types. What you are asking about would be a different plugin.

      Admin

  4. hi guys , thanks for your help. love the fact you follow up tutorial with written instructions. This is perfect for newbie like me. I am very excited this worked. You guys are amazing, I am now a lifelong fan and telling anyone who will listen how good you are. tx

  5. I just want to say thank you! This is the 3rd time im giving wp another try. I’ve been very frustrated with it in the past but thanks to your website and up-to-date video tutorials, I can finally have the wp site I’ve been dreaming of! Thank you!!!

  6. Shouldn’t the Post Type Switcher plugin be deacivated after this procedure, I’ve heard that there should not be more than five plug ins installed

    • Hi Brian,

      No, it is a common myth. You can have as many plugins installed as you need. Just make sure those plugins are from reliable sources and recommended by reputable folks.

      Admin

  7. I am on the Premium Plan, and it does not allow plugins. How can I convert a page to a post without the plugin?

  8. Hi,
    I just used this method on my page. But now the comment section is gone. How can I fix this?
    I hope you can help me, thanks!

  9. How does this affect SEO? I do have Yoast Pro so I assume Yoast will 301 redirect it, but before I do this could you give me a little detail on what happens with the links?

  10. I have a custom post type that didn’t put the “body” of the post in the same field as normal posts, so when I convert it the post is empty. Is there a way to “remap” this field from the old custom post ype to a normal post?

  11. Hi,

    In my website I have few custom post types like Services, Professionals. The URL for these posts start as website.com/services/title-of-post.

    But there are some limitations in the options available with the custom post types. For example In normal post types, I can have a side bar, a menu bar, enable/disable author info etc. I do not have these options with the custom post types.

    So I plan to change the custom post types into normal posts and pages using a plugin. However when I do that, the plugin also changes the url of the post. For example from example.com/services/title-of-post to website.com/title-of-post

    Can you please advise of a way using which I can change the custom post type without the changing the url.

    • Custom post type can have all the options you want. Please take a look at our tutorial on how to create custom post type in WordPress. If you are using Custom Post Type UI plugin, then edit your post type and under the advanced options you can enable support for different features. If you are using the code method to create your custom post type, then see other options section in the code on our tutorial.

      Admin

  12. Hi WPBeginner,

    I was looking exactly that kind of post and thank god I found you… and hopefully the right plugin. Not sure if I can ask you this but here’s my issue:

    I have imported 20 different websites into 1. Out of 500 pages in the new website, 450 are pages, not posts. I need to convert all these pages into posts as the website template offers an incredible amount of options to posts but not pages. Also the developer says he can’t give the same rights to pages as posts as this would involve rewriting the template almost completely.

    I thus need to convert 450 pages into posts however my concern is the URL structure when I change from pages to posts. I’m afraid that it messes up all my internal linking.

    – What I’d like to know is if the plugin automatically rewrites or redirects to the right URL ?
    ex: /parentpage/thisisagreatplugin (page) becomes automatically /thisisagreatplugin (post) but what if I had another page links to /parentpage/thisisagreatplugin ? do I get a 404 page or does it automatically redirects.

    – When rewritten or redirected does it have a negative impact on SEO?

    Thanks so much for your answer if you have time,

    Jean

  13. Yes it is possible you can use a Permalinks structure with category name before the post name and then create a category called review and import your CPT into that category. One problem with this solution is that it will change URLs of all other posts as well.

    A better approach would be to setup a 301 redirect on your old URLs to let search engines know that the content has move to the new location.

  14. Hi,

    thanks for this tutorial.

    I had to do it on a site using the WPML plugin, and it just didn’t work…

    If you use WMPL, you have to do an extra manipulation : go to the WP database, and in the wp_icl_translations table, change the element_type field for the post to convert ; for example, if you switch from a page to a custom post type named “Recipe”, change “post_page” to “post_recipe”.

    And to do it for a set of posts, here is the sql command :

    UPDATE `wp_icl_translations` SET `element_type`=replace(`element_type`,’post_page’,’post_recipe’) WHERE element_id IN (….)
    ;

  15. Thank you WP beginner editorial staff for this post. I am very frustrated for my clients’ this type requirement. First when he told about this type of customization I think how it possible? Then went to search for this issue and found your blog. I take deep breath. Post Type Switcher & Convert post types both plugins are very wonderful. You make me easy to solve this.

    Regards.

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