WordPress Numeric Pagination

I’ve made quite a few WordPress themes in my time, and so I thought I would write a few blog posts sharing some of the code snippets that I find myself using repeatedly.

First off is some numeric pagination using native WordPress functionality. I have always prefered numbered pagination over next and previous links as it gives a good indication of progression and location – and allows you to skip around much more quickly – but WordPress doesn’t have a single line command for it.

For a long time I used my own custom function – but now I use the function below.

The function that does all the clever stuff is the paginate_links command. For WordPress it’s mostly used in the admin, but it’s easy to reuse as shown below.

/**
 * numeric pagination for custom queries
 * Much nicer than next and previous links :)
 *
 * @global type $wp_query
 * @param type $pageCount
 * @param type $query
 * @return type
 */
function bm_numeric_pagination( $page_count = 9, $query = null ) {

	if ( null == $query ) {
		global $wp_query;
		$query = $wp_query;
	}

	if ( 1 >= $query->max_num_pages ) {
		return;
	}

	$big = 9999999999; // need an unlikely integer

	echo '<div id="archive-pagination pagination">';
	echo paginate_links( array(
		'base' => str_replace( $big, '%#%', esc_url( get_pagenum_link( $big ) ) ),
		'format' => '?paged=%#%',
		'current' => max( 1, get_query_var( 'paged' ) ),
		'total' => $query->max_num_pages,
		'end_size' => 0,
		'mid_size' => $page_count,
		'next_text' => __( 'Older ›', 'textdomain' ),
		'prev_text' => __( '‹ Newer', 'textdomain' )
	) );
	echo '</div>';

}

Was it good/ useful/ a load of old rubbish? Let me know on Mastodon, or BlueSky (or Twitter X if you must).

Link to this page

Thanks for reading. I'd really appreciate it if you'd link to this page if you mention it in your newsletter or on your blog.

WordPress News

The latest WordPress updates from the WPBriefs Podcast.

Related Posts

23 Oct 2012

WordPress Pagination with Custom WordPress Queries

I don’t remember the last time I made a WordPress theme that didn’t do all sorts of unique stuff. I’ve never been interested in making standard blog designs and always want to create something a bit different. This throws up...
27 May 2013

WordPress: 10 Years Young, What Does The Future Hold?

WordPress is now 10 years old. I started using wordpress 9 years ago – which means I joined the WordPress community early on. The reason I chose WordPress is simply because of the fabled 5 minute install process – I...
30 Jun 2007

WordPress tips and tricks – Custom Page Templates

Some time ago I posted the first of my tips and tricks for WordPress, and I thought it was about time I posted some more so, to start things off, here is a short tutorial on custom page templates in...
20 Jul 2016

Empathy in Web Design

I wasn’t able to make WordCamp Europe this year, but they’ve been really quick at getting all of the talks online, and so I have been watching some of them – and this one stood out.Morten Rand-Hendriksen is an experienced...