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Zalbi Theme implements the WordPress template hierarchy with custom templates for inflatables and events. This guide explains how WordPress selects which template file to use for different types of content.

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Understanding WordPress Template Hierarchy

WordPress follows a specific order when selecting template files. The theme provides templates at different levels of specificity, allowing WordPress to fall back to more generic templates when specific ones don’t exist.
WordPress always checks for the most specific template first, then falls back to more generic options.

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Available Template Files

Zalbi Theme includes the following template files:

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Front Page

front-page.php          # Static front page or blog homepage

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Single Post/Page Templates

single-hinchable.php    # Single inflatable (custom post type)
single-evento.php       # Single event (custom post type)
single.php              # Single blog post
page-catalogo.php       # Catalog page template
page-eventos.php        # Events page template  
page.php                # Generic page template

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Archive Templates

archive.php             # Generic archive (categories, tags, dates)

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Search & Error Templates

search.php              # Search results
404.php                 # Not found error page

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Core Templates

index.php               # Fallback template for everything

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Partial Templates

header.php              # Site header
footer.php              # Site footer
sidebar.php             # Sidebar widget area
comments.php            # Comments section

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Template Hierarchy Flow

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1. Front Page Display

When visitors access the homepage: 
1. front-page.php       ✓ EXISTS - Custom homepage implementation
2. home.php             ✗ Not present
3. index.php            ✓ Fallback
Implementation: front-page.php provides a custom homepage layout for Zalbi.

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2. Single Inflatable (Hinchable)

When viewing a single inflatable at /catalogo/inflatable-name/: 
1. single-hinchable.php     ✓ EXISTS - Custom template with ACF fields
2. single.php               ✓ Fallback
3. singular.php             ✗ Not present
4. index.php                ✓ Ultimate fallback
Features:
  • Bilingual content (Spanish/Euskera)
  • ACF field integration:
    • medidas (measurements)
    • capacidad (capacity)
    • etiqueta_color (color tag)
  • Custom breadcrumb navigation
  • Category-based color coding
  • Translated category names
Template Location: single-hinchable.php:1Language Detection:
$es_euskera = (function_exists('pll_current_language') && pll_current_language() == 'eu');

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3. Single Event (Evento)

When viewing a single event at /eventos/event-name/: 
1. single-evento.php        ✓ EXISTS - Event-specific template
2. single.php               ✓ Fallback
3. singular.php             ✗ Not present
4. index.php                ✓ Ultimate fallback
Implementation: single-evento.php provides event-specific layout and functionality.

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4. Catalog Page

When viewing the catalog page: 
1. page-catalogo.php        ✓ EXISTS - Custom page template
2. page.php                 ✓ Fallback
3. singular.php             ✗ Not present
4. index.php                ✓ Ultimate fallback
Template Name: “Plantilla Catalogo”Features:
  • Category filtering system
  • Custom taxonomy query (tipo_hinchable)
  • Bilingual category display
  • Custom ordering of inflatable types:
    1. Hinchables/Puzgarriak (Inflatables)
    2. Acuáticos/Uretakoak (Aquatics)
    3. Deportivos/Kirol atrakzioak (Sports)
    4. Juegos/Jokoak (Games)
Template Location: page-catalogo.php:1Category Order Configuration:
$orden_personalizado = array(
    'hinchable', 'hinchables', 'puzgarria', 'puzgarriak',
    'acuatico', 'acuaticos', 'uretakoa', 'uretakoak',
    'atracciones-deportivas', 'deportivos', 'kirola',
    'juegos', 'juego', 'jokoak', 'jokoa'
);

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5. Events Page

When viewing the events archive: 
1. page-eventos.php         ✓ EXISTS - Events listing template
2. page.php                 ✓ Fallback
3. singular.php             ✗ Not present
4. index.php                ✓ Ultimate fallback
Implementation: page-eventos.php displays event listings.

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6. Blog Posts

When viewing a single blog post: 
1. single.php               ✓ EXISTS - Standard post template
2. singular.php             ✗ Not present
3. index.php                ✓ Fallback
Implementation: single.php provides the default single post layout.

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7. Pages

When viewing a standard page: 
1. page-{slug}.php          ✗ Not used (except catalogo/eventos)
2. page-{id}.php            ✗ Not used
3. page.php                 ✓ EXISTS - Generic page template
4. singular.php             ✗ Not present
5. index.php                ✓ Fallback
Implementation: page.php handles all standard pages.

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8. Archives

When viewing category, tag, or date archives: 
1. category-{slug}.php      ✗ Not present
2. category-{id}.php        ✗ Not present
3. category.php             ✗ Not present
4. archive.php              ✓ EXISTS - Generic archive template
5. index.php                ✓ Fallback
Implementation: archive.php handles all archive pages.

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9. Search Results

When displaying search results: 
1. search.php               ✓ EXISTS - Search results template
2. index.php                ✓ Fallback
Implementation: search.php formats search results.

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10. 404 Error

When a page is not found: 
1. 404.php                  ✓ EXISTS - Custom 404 page
2. index.php                ✓ Fallback
Implementation: 404.php provides user-friendly error messaging.

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Template Parts

Reusable template components in template-parts/ directory:

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Content Templates

content.php

Default post content loop templateUsed in: archive.php, search.php, index.php

content-page.php

Page content layoutUsed in: page.php

content-search.php

Search result item formattingUsed in: search.php

content-none.php

No results found messageUsed in: archive.php, search.php

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Loading Template Parts

Template parts are loaded using WordPress functions: 
// Load default content template
get_template_part( 'template-parts/content', get_post_type() );

// Load page content template
get_template_part( 'template-parts/content', 'page' );

// Load search results template
get_template_part( 'template-parts/content', 'search' );

// Load no content template
get_template_part( 'template-parts/content', 'none' );

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Custom Template Assignment

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Assigning Page Templates

Page templates can be assigned in the WordPress admin:
  1. Edit a page in WordPress admin
  2. Look for “Page Attributes” or “Template” in the sidebar
  3. Select from:
    • Default Template (uses page.php)
    • Plantilla Catalogo (uses page-catalogo.php)
page-eventos.php is automatically used when the page slug matches, not through template selection.

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Template Loading Order Summary

WordPress Request
      |
      v
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is it the front page?                       │
│ → front-page.php → index.php                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      |
      v
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is it a single inflatable?                  │
│ → single-hinchable.php → single.php         │
│   → index.php                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      |
      v
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is it a single event?                       │
│ → single-evento.php → single.php            │
│   → index.php                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      |
      v
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is it a page?                               │
│ → page-{slug}.php → page.php → index.php   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      |
      v
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is it a single post?                        │
│ → single.php → index.php                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      |
      v
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is it an archive?                           │
│ → archive.php → index.php                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      |
      v
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is it a search?                             │
│ → search.php → index.php                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      |
      v
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is it a 404 error?                          │
│ → 404.php → index.php                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Best Practices

Specificity

Create specific templates only when needed. Zalbi Theme provides specific templates for custom post types while using generic templates for standard content.

DRY Principle

Use template parts to avoid code duplication. The template-parts/ directory contains reusable components.

Fallback Safety

Always maintain index.php as the ultimate fallback. This ensures the theme never fails to load.

Consistent Structure

Follow WordPress coding standards and maintain consistent file naming conventions.

Theme Overview

Return to the architecture overview

File Organization

Detailed breakdown of every file

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