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Troubleshooting Common WP-PageNavi Installation and Styling Issues

23 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Wp-pagenavi

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WP-PageNavi is a popular plugin for improving WordPress pagination, but users often run into similar problems during setup and customization. Based on community discussions, here are the most frequent issues and how to resolve them.

1. The Pagination Doesn't Appear At All

The Problem: You've installed the plugin, but no page numbers show up on your site.

Why It Happens: Simply activating the plugin is not enough. Unlike some plugins, WP-PageNavi requires you to manually add its function call to your theme's template files.

The Solution: You need to find the correct location in your theme's PHP files and insert the pagination code.

  1. Locate the area in your theme where pagination would normally appear. Common files to check are index.php, archive.php, home.php, or sometimes a dedicated pagination.php file.
  2. Look for existing WordPress pagination functions like next_posts_link(), previous_posts_link(), posts_nav_link(), or the_posts_navigation().
  3. Replace those functions with: <?php wp_pagenavi(); ?>

Example from the threads: A user successfully replaced their theme's existing code with <?php wp_pagenavi(); ?> and it started working.

2. CSS Styling Problems (Padding, Margin, Layout)

The Problem: The page numbers appear, but the styling is off. Elements are too close together, misaligned, or don't respond to your CSS changes.

Why It Happens: Your theme's existing CSS styles are overriding or conflicting with WP-PageNavi's default styles. This is one of the most common issues.

The Solution: You need to inspect your page and write more specific CSS rules.

  1. Use your browser's developer tools (Right-click > Inspect) to examine the page navigation elements.
  2. Identify which CSS rules from your theme are affecting the .wp-pagenavi class and its children (e.g., .pages, .current, .page).
  3. Write CSS rules that are more specific than your theme's rules. Often, simply using !important can force your styles to apply.

Example from the threads: A user found their theme's style.css file contained conflicting rules for .wp-pagenavi a and .wp-pagenavi span. Removing or overriding these rules fixed the layout issues.

3. The "Array" Text Appears

The Problem: The word "Array" is printed on your screen near the pagination.

Why It Happens: This is a classic PHP error that occurs when the wp_pagenavi() function is called incorrectly, often within a custom query loop where the expected variables are not properly set.

The Solution: Ensure you are using the function in the right context, typically within the main WordPress loop. If you are using a custom query, you may need to pass the correct parameters to the function.

4. Pagination Doesn't Work With Custom Queries or Themes

The Problem: The plugin works on standard archive pages but breaks or doesn't work on pages with custom loops (e.g., homepage templates, custom post type archives).

Why It Happens: Themes with complex, custom queries often break the global $wp_query object that WP-PageNavi relies on.

The Solution: If your theme uses query_posts(), it is recommended to replace it with a new WP_Query and reset the postdata properly. For multipart themes, you may need to use a different function call: <?php wp_pagenavi( array( 'type' => 'multipart' ) ); ?>

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the majority of installation and styling issues with the WP-PageNavi plugin. Always remember to clear your cache after making changes and test using a default theme like Twenty Twenty-One to rule out theme-specific conflicts.

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