Menü schliessen
Created: February 16th 2024
Last updated: March 16th 2024
Categories: Common Web Development,  Php,  Wordpress
Author: Tim Fürer

WordPress: How to send alert on post create, delete, or permalink change

Tags:  function,  guide,  PHP,  wordpress
Donation Section: Background
Monero Badge: QR-Code
Monero Badge: Logo Icon Donate with Monero Badge: Logo Text
82uymVXLkvVbB4c4JpTd1tYm1yj1cKPKR2wqmw3XF8YXKTmY7JrTriP4pVwp2EJYBnCFdXhLq4zfFA6ic7VAWCFX5wfQbCC

WordPress provides developers with a powerful set of hooks and actions to interact with various events that occur within the system. These events range from post creation to deletion and even changes in permalinks. As a developer, being able to respond to these events can enhance the functionality and user experience of your WordPress site. In this tutorial, we'll explore how to create alerts for three important post actions: creation, deletion, and permalink changes.

Setting Up the Alert Actions

<?php

function post_permalink_change_alert($post_id, $post_after, $post_before) {
    if (in_array($post_after->post_type, ['revision', 'attachment', 'nav_menu_item', 'wp_template', 'wp_template_part', 'acf-field', 'acf-field-group'])) {
        return;
    }

    $old_permalink = get_permalink($post_before);
    $new_permalink = get_permalink($post_after);

    if ($old_permalink === $new_permalink) {
        return;
    }

    error_log("Post {$post_id} \"{$post_after->post_title}\" permalink changed from \"{$old_permalink}\" to \"{$new_permalink}\"");
}
add_action('post_updated', 'post_permalink_change_alert', 10, 3);

?>
  • post_permalink_change_alert: This function is triggered when a post's permalink is updated. It checks if the post type is valid, retrieves the old and new permalinks, and logs the change.
<?php

function post_created_alert($post_id, $post, $update){
    if ($update) {
        return;
    }

    if (in_array($post->post_type, ['revision', 'attachment', 'nav_menu_item', 'wp_template', 'wp_template_part', 'acf-field', 'acf-field-group'])) {
        return;
    }

    error_log("Post {$post_id} \"{$post->post_title}\" created");
}
add_action('wp_insert_post', 'post_created_alert', 10, 3);

?>
  • post_created_alert: This function is triggered when a new post is created. It ensures the post is not being updated, validates the post type, and logs the creation.
<?php

function post_deleted_alert($post_id, $post){
    if (in_array($post->post_type, ['revision', 'attachment', 'nav_menu_item', 'wp_template', 'wp_template_part', 'acf-field', 'acf-field-group'])) {
        return;
    }

    error_log("Post {$post_id} \"{$post->post_title}\" deleted");
}
add_action('before_delete_post', 'post_deleted_alert', 10, 2);

?>
  • post_deleted_alert: This function is triggered before a post is deleted. It validates the post type and logs the deletion.

Custom Alert Functionality

Developers are encouraged to customize the alert functionality to suit their needs. Instead of logging messages to the error log, you might want to send emails, display notifications within the WordPress dashboard, or integrate with third-party services for real-time alerts.

For example, you could modify the functions to send email alerts using WordPress's built-in wp_mail function:

<?php

function post_permalink_change_alert($post_id, $post_after, $post_before) {
    // ...
    // Instead of logging, send an email
    $subject = 'Post Permalink Change Alert';
    $message = "Post {$post_id} \"{$post_after->post_title}\" permalink changed from \"{$old_permalink}\" to \"{$new_permalink}\"";
    wp_mail('admin@example.com', $subject, $message);
}

// Similar modifications for other alert functions

?>