How to Add New Filters and Taxonomies Using Custom Filters

Overview

Custom Filters lets you add your own ways to group trips. WP Travel Engine already includes built-in options such as Destination, Activities, and Trip Type. You can create additional options for things like Difficulty Level, Trip Duration, Season, or Travel Style.

A taxonomy is a way of grouping your trips, like sorting them by destination or activity type. Custom filters create new taxonomies that help you organize trips and give travelers more precise search options.

These filters appear on the Trip Archive page. This is the page on your site where all your trips are listed and travelers can search and filter them. The filters appear on the frontend, which is the part of your website that travelers see. Travelers can then narrow down the trip list to find options that match what they want.

You can create the filter first, then add the options that travelers will use. Start by opening the Custom Filters page.

Creating a custom filter

Before you start, make sure WP Travel Engine is installed and active on your WordPress site.

The form gives your new filter a name and controls how it works.

Filter/Category Label: Enter the name travelers will see when they browse or filter trips. For example, use Difficulty Level for trek difficulty or Trip Duration for day tours and multi-day packages.

Filter/Category Slug: Enter the URL-friendly version of the filter name. A slug uses lowercase letters, no spaces, and hyphens between words. If your filter is called Difficulty Level, use difficulty-level as the slug.

Hierarchical: Choose whether the filter should have parent and child options. When this setting is checked, the filter acts like categories. For example, a Region filter could use Asia as a parent with Nepal and Bhutan underneath it. When this setting is unchecked, the filter acts like tags. Each option sits on its own with no parent or child relationship.

Show in Filters: Check this setting if you want the filter to appear on the Trip Archive page for travelers to use. Leave it unchecked if you want to use the filter only for organizing trips in the backend. The backend is the admin area of your WordPress site where you manage everything.

Save the filter when you finish. Your new filter is ready for its options.

Adding categories or tags to a custom filter

Creating the filter gives you the place to organize trips. You still need to add the options inside it, such as Easy, Moderate, and Hard inside a Difficulty Level filter.

Once your options are ready, assign them to the trips that belong in each group.

Assigning custom filters to trips

Now that your filter has categories or tags, tell each trip which option it belongs to. This assignment makes the filter work on your site.

After you assign the filter, it appears on the Trip Archive page. Travelers can use it to narrow down their search and find the trips that match their preferences.

You can adjust the filter or its options later if your trip offerings change.

Editing or removing a filter later

You can update or delete filters anytime through the dashboard.

• Edit: Change the filter's name, slug, or settings when you need to.
• Remove: Delete the filter completely if you no longer need it.

Your changes take effect right away, so you can keep your trip filters up to date.

Benefits of using Custom Filters

• Organize trips in ways that fit your business, such as by Difficulty, Season, or Travel Style.
• Help travelers find the right trip faster by giving them more useful ways to narrow their search.
• Increase bookings because travelers who find what they want quickly are more likely to book.
• Choose filters that match your business needs, whether you offer treks, day tours, multi-day packages, or seasonal pricing.

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