Back to Community
Home / Community / Plugin → Custom post type ui

Why Your Custom Post Type UI Content Isn't Showing Up: Common Issues and Solutions

53 threads Sep 9, 2025 Plugin → Custom post type ui

Content

If you've used the Custom Post Type UI plugin to create custom content, you might sometimes find that your posts, fields, or other elements aren't appearing where you expect them to be. This is a common point of confusion that can stem from a variety of sources, from theme conflicts to plugin settings. Based on community discussions, here are the most frequent reasons and their solutions.

1. Custom Post Types Not Appearing in Archives or Search Results

The Problem: You've created a custom post type (CPT), but its posts don't show up on your category archive pages or in WordPress search results.

Why It Happens: By default, WordPress's main query does not automatically include custom post types in these contexts. This is a standard WordPress behavior, not a bug in Custom Post Type UI.

The Solution: You need to explicitly tell WordPress to include your CPTs. This requires adding a code snippet to your theme's functions.php file. The Custom Post Type UI team provides documentation with example code for including CPTs in category archives and for including CPTs in search results.

2. The Default Custom Fields Meta Box is Missing

The Problem: You've checked the "Custom Fields" support option in CPT UI, but the meta box does not appear in the post editor's Screen Options.

Why It Happens: This is most often caused by a conflict with the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin. For performance reasons, ACF has a setting to remove the native WordPress custom fields box.

The Solution: To reinstate the default WordPress meta box, add the following filter to your functions.php file: 

add_filter('acf/settings/remove_wp_meta_box', '__return_false', 20);

3. Custom Fields or Shortcodes Display as Raw Text

The Problem: On the front end of your site, a custom field or shortcode (e.g., [table field-name="dates_table"]) is displayed as plain text instead of being processed into the intended content.

Why It Happens: This indicates that the functionality responsible for processing that shortcode or field is no longer active. The plugin that provides the shortcode may have been deactivated, or its code may have been removed from your theme.

The Solution: First, check that all necessary plugins are active. If the shortcode is from a plugin like ACF, ensure it is installed and activated. If the problem persists, the issue may lie with how your page builder (e.g., Elementor) is interacting with the fields, and you may need to consult that plugin's support.

4. Page Builder or Theme Elements Not Working with CPTs

The Problem: Elements from your theme or page builder (like WPBakery or Kadence Blocks) work fine on standard posts and pages but break or don't appear on your custom post types.

Why It Happens: Custom post types often use different template files than standard posts. The theme or page builder might not be fully configured to output its elements on these custom templates.

The Solution: This is typically an issue that must be resolved by your theme or page builder. Their support teams will be best equipped to help you ensure their product is fully compatible with custom post types. As a workaround, you may need to create a custom template file for your CPT in a child theme.

5. Automatic Excerpts Not Generating

The Problem: Your custom post types do not automatically generate an excerpt from the first 55 words of content when the excerpt field is left blank, whereas standard posts do.

Why It Happens: Excerpt handling is primarily determined by your theme. The Custom Post Type UI plugin only registers the post type and its supported features; it does not control how the theme displays the content.

The Solution: This will likely require a theme modification. You may need to edit your theme's template files (e.g., content.php, single-{post-type}.php) to ensure the the_excerpt() template tag is used correctly for your custom post types. Always use a child theme to make these changes.

When troubleshooting, a good process is to deactivate all other plugins to see if the issue resolves, confirming a conflict. Then, reactivate them one by one to identify the culprit. Remember, the Custom Post Type UI plugin focuses on registration; display issues are usually handled by your theme or other plugins.

Related Support Threads Support