Flushing the Rewrites

Now we need to handle flushing the rewrites when our plugin is activated or deactivated. We covered this topic in the Flush Rewrite Rules of the Custom Post Type Basics lab. In that episode, I showed you why you never ever want to flush the rewrite rules after your register a custom post type.

Where should we put the activation and deactivation callbacks? Hum. Let me show you a couple of different strategies. As this is a module, we’ll opt to add the callbacks within the module itself. Why? It keeps everything together when you reuse this module.

Pop Quiz Time

Let’s test your new knowledge and skills. Ready? Think about this question and the true why of it.

register_post_type( 'faq', $args );

flush_rewrite_rules();

Why don't you flush the rewrite rules right after you register a custom post type or taxonomy?

It’s too expensive! That means it will slow down each and every web page’s rendering time.

If you’re not sure what that means or got the answer wrong, then please stop and go rewatch this episode right now. It’s important that you understand why you never ever want to do the above code.

If you got it right, pat yourself on the back! You are growing in your skills and expertise Grasshopper! Way to go!