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How to Limit Next and Previous Post Navigation to the Same Category in Twenty Twenty-Three

13 threads Sep 9, 2025 Theme → Twenty twenty-three

Content

Many WordPress users running the Twenty Twenty-Three theme want to create a more cohesive user experience by ensuring that the 'Next' and 'Previous' post navigation links only direct visitors to other posts within the same category. This is a common request for sites with distinct content sections, but achieving it in a block-based theme can be confusing.

Why This Happens

By default, WordPress's core navigation blocks are designed to be simple and universal. The 'Previous' and 'Next post' blocks navigate through the entire chronological archive of posts, regardless of their category or taxonomy. This is the standard, out-of-the-box behavior and is not a bug in the Twenty Twenty-Three theme. Changing this requires modifying the underlying query that fetches the adjacent posts.

Available Solutions

Since this functionality isn't built into the block settings, a custom code solution is necessary. The most common and effective method is to use a filter hook in your theme's functions.php file or a code snippets plugin.

Solution: Using a Code Snippet

This approach uses WordPress filter hooks to alter the behavior of the adjacent post links. For users who have created a child theme for Twenty Twenty-Three or who use a plugin like 'Code Snippets', this code can be added to implement the change.

function bugwp_limit_adjacent_posts_to_same_category( $where ) {
    if ( is_single() ) {
        global $wpdb;
        $current_post = get_post();
        $categories = wp_get_object_terms( $current_post->ID, 'category', array( 'fields' => 'ids' ) );
        
        if ( ! empty( $categories ) ) {
            $where .= $wpdb->prepare( " AND p.ID IN (
                SELECT object_id FROM {$wpdb->term_relationships} WHERE term_taxonomy_id IN ( " . implode( ',', $categories ) . " )
            ) " );
        }
    }
    return $where;
}
add_filter( 'get_next_post_where', 'bugwp_limit_adjacent_posts_to_same_category' );
add_filter( 'get_previous_post_where', 'bugwp_limit_adjacent_posts_to_same_category' );

Important Notes:

  • This code modifies the SQL query for both the next and previous post links.
  • It will only affect single post views (is_single()).
  • Always test code on a staging site before implementing it on a live website.
  • If you are not using a child theme, a code snippets plugin is highly recommended to prevent your customizations from being lost during theme updates.

Conclusion

While the Twenty Twenty-Three theme doesn't include a graphical interface for this specific navigation tweak, the flexibility of WordPress allows it to be accomplished with a targeted code snippet. This solution provides a way to keep users within a relevant content stream, improving site engagement and navigation.

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