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Root vs. Home vs. Front Page – Interactive Guide

When does WordPress call the home.php vs. front-page.php template? What determines which one is used? What determines if is_home() or is_front_page() or both is/are set? These are common points of confusion and frustration. Come play to learn with this interactive guide.

Short Answer: You configure it

You actually configure how you want WordPress to handle what template is the root web page and which one will be called. You do this via the configuration settings specified in the Settings > Reading > Front page displays screen in the WordPress back-end. Aha!

But here’s the confusing part. Ready? The terms and wording don’t always match up to what you might think. Bummer.

Instructions

Using the form below, select the setting you want. Then click on the “Try it Out” button. This guide will give you the corresponding information for that specific configuration, i.e. scroll down to see the tutorial.

Front page displays
Front page displays

  • Warning: these pages should not be the same!

Your Latest Posts

You selected the root page of your website to display your latest posts. Your theme and WordPress will generate a listing of the posts. There is no page that is set in Pages. Rather, it’s dynamically built in the software.

Which Template?

By default, WordPress will first call the front-page.php template in your theme. If it’s not there, then it calls index.php.

You can build a front-page.php template file in your theme to customize the page and provide dynamic content.

However, you can change which template you want to be called by registering a callback to the frontpage_template filter event. Twenty Seventeen does this, for example.

Is it Home or Front Page?

With this configuration, it’s both the home and front page. Confusing, eh?

The is_front_page() conditional is set to TRUE and is_home() is also set to TRUE. The body class attribute will be "home blog".

The List

Here is a list of how WordPress sets its states and which template it will call:

  • get_option( 'show_on_front' ) will be set to posts
  • get_option( 'page_on_front' ) will be set to 0
  • get_option( 'page_for_posts' ) will be set to 0
  • is_home() will be TRUE
  • is_front_page() will be TRUE
  • get_queried_object_id() will be 0
  • Template front-page.php will be called.

Static Front Page Selected

You selected the root page of your website to display a static front page. When someone visits the main domain of your website, the root page will be this static page. In other words, when you type in https://yourwebsite.com, this static page appears.

You will need to put the content into that page for it to display on the website.

Which Template?

WordPress will first call the front-page.php template in your theme. If it’s not there, then it calls index.php.

You can build a front-page.php template file in your theme to customize the page and provide dynamic content.

Is it Home or Front Page?

For this configuration, the is_front_page() conditional is set to TRUE and is_home() is FALSE. The body class attribute will be "home".

The List

You selected the root page of your website to display a static front page. Here is a list of how WordPress sets its states and which template it will call:

  • get_option( 'show_on_front' ) will be set to page
  • get_option( 'page_on_front' ) will be set to the static page’s ID
  • get_option( 'page_for_posts' ) will be set to 0
  • is_home() will be FALSE
  • is_front_page() will be TRUE
  • get_queried_object_id() will be the static page’s ID
  • Template front-page.php will be called.

Static Posts Page Selected

You selected the root page of your website to display a static posts page. When someone visits the main domain of your website, the root page will be this static posts page. In other words, when you type in https://yourwebsite.com, this static page appears.

Can I Write in the Editor?

Yes. You’ve set a static page, meaning that you first created the page by going to Pages > Add New. When you go to Pages, notice that the assigned static page has — Posts Page after the title you gave it.

The WordPress editor may be hidden at this point. Why? That’s because by default, it hides the editor when there is no existing content in it. You can turn it back on though. Check out this hands-on coding lab where you build a plugin just for this purpose.

Which Template?

WordPress will first call the home.php template in your theme. If it’s not there, then it calls index.php.

Is it Home or Front Page?

For this configuration, the is_home() conditional is set to TRUE and is_front_page() is FALSE. The body class attribute will be "blog", unless you customize it.

The List

Here is a list of how WordPress sets its states and which template it will call:

  • get_option( 'show_on_front' ) will be set to page
  • get_option( 'page_on_front' ) will be set to 0
  • get_option( 'page_for_posts' ) will be set to the static page’s ID
  • is_home() will be TRUE
  • is_front_page() will be FALSE
  • get_queried_object_id() will be the static page’s ID
  • Template home.php will be called.

Both Static Pages Selected

Aha, you configured two separate static pages, one for the root (front page) and the other to display the posts (typically we call this the Blog or Posts Page). Each static page serves its separate intent and purpose.

Whoopsie, both static pages are set to the exact same page. Why would you want to do that? Think about it. You have the Front and Posts pages set to the exact same page. That’s not advisable.

The Root Web Page – the Front Page

When someone comes to the root of your website, the static front page will appear.

WordPress will call the front-page.php template file within your theme. That’s where you can build a dynamic experience. And you can use the WordPress editor for the static page too for an introduction, specific area on the page, or even the entire web page’s content. It’s up to you how to build this page.

When on this page, is_home() conditional is set to FALSE and is_front_page() is TRUE. The body class attribute will be "home", unless you customize it.

The List
Here is a list of how WordPress sets its states and the template that will be called:

  • is_home() will be FALSE
  • is_front_page() will be TRUE
  • get_queried_object_id() will be the static front page’s ID
  • Template front-page.php will be called.

The Posts (Blog) Page

You configured a static posts page to display all of the “posts” for the website. This web page is called the posts page or blog page.

WordPress will call the home.php template file within your theme. That’s where you can build a dynamic experience. And you can use the WordPress editor for the static page too for an introduction, specific area on the page, or whatever dynamic content that you want. It’s up to you how to build this page.

When on this page, is_home() conditional is set to TRUE and is_front_page() is FALSE. The body class attribute will be "blog", unless you customize it.

Can I Write in the Editor?
Yes. You’ve set a static page, meaning that you first created the page by going to Pages > Add New. When you go to Pages, notice that the assigned static page has — Posts Page after the title you gave it.

The WordPress editor may be hidden at this point. Why? That’s because by default, it hides the editor when there is no existing content in it. You can turn it back on though. Check out this hands-on coding lab where you build a plugin just for this purpose.

The List
Here is a list of how WordPress sets its states and the template that will be called:

  • is_home() will be TRUE
  • is_front_page() will be FALSE
  • get_queried_object_id() will be the static posts page’s ID
  • Template home.php will be called.

The List

You selected both static pages. Let’s walk through the settings’ values:

  • get_option( 'show_on_front' ) will be set to page
  • get_option( 'page_on_front' ) will be set to the static front page’s ID
  • get_option( 'page_for_posts' ) will be set to the static posts page’s ID

Whoopsie

Although you selected a static page, you forgot to configure one or both of the options, i.e. by selecting a “Front page” and/or “Posts page” using the select.

By default, WordPress will not let this happen. Rather, it will set the option to Your latest posts.

Huh, what does “root” mean?

“Root page” means the main web page that appears when someone types in the root of your website’s domain. For example, https://yourwebsite.com would be a root web page request.

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Go do this hands-on programming lab to explore how this works and see for yourself how the templates and states are called/set within WordPress and your theme.

2 Episodes
00:07:21 Runtime

is_front_page() vs. is_home() Showdown

is_front_page() vs is_home() Showdown

There is a difference between the WordPress functions is_front_page() and is_home(). The state of these functions is determined by how you (or your client) configures the site in the Settings > Reading section (in the back-end). In this lab, you will see how different settings can cause a different set of states.

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