Get Current Page Name WordPress

tl;dr

Quit using a hacky workaround to get the page name/slug a user is currently on in WordPress. No need to reference global variables, get_queried_object, or roundabout filers. Instead, use the get_post_field function to get current page name WordPress:

// Returns the current page slug a visitor is on.
$slug = get_post_field( 'post_name', get_post() );

Get Current Page Name WordPress

A common question WordPress developers have is how to get the current page name or slug a user is on. This is useful information for a number of reasons:

• Enqueue a specific JS or CSS based on page
• Add a content or another filter based on the page slug
• Process some custom functionality like a form submission based on the current page

There are several way’s to get current page name WordPress The most simple solution is to use the get_post_field function.

The get_post_field function.

get_post_field retrieves data from a post field based on the current or defined post ID allowing us to get current page name WordPress.

get_post_field( string $field, int|WP_Post $post = null, string $context = 'display' )

• $field – Required. The post field name.
• $post – Optional. The post ID or post object. Defaults to the global $post.
• $context – Optional. How to filter the field. Accepts ‘raw‘, ‘edit‘, ‘db‘, or ‘display‘. The default value is ‘display‘.

Examples of $field include:

• post_type
• post_status
• post_content
• post_name (that’s what we’ll use to get the page slug)

For information, see check out the WordPress documentation.

How to get the current page slug in WordPress.

It’s a simple one-liner to return the current page slug a user is on:

// Returns the current page slug a visitor is on.
$slug = get_post_field( 'post_name', get_post() );

If you’re outside the loop, you’ll need to pass the post ID to the second argument, see below:

$slug = get_post_field( 'post_name', $post_id );

As mentioned before, there’s more than one way to get the slug of the current page in WordPress. Depending on your needs and placement, a different approach may work better.

Other methods to get the current page slug.

Another common technique to return the page slug in WordPress is to use the global $post object (see below). For more information, check out the WP_Post documentation.

global $post;
$slug = $post->post_name;

You can also use the get_queried_object to return a page slug:

global $wp_query;
$post = $wp_query->get_queried_object();
$slug = $post->post_name;

But wait, there’s more. Another option is to use the global $wp object:

global $wp;
$slug = add_query_arg( array(), $wp->request );

Lastly, another, but more inaccurate option is to use the basename:

$slug = basename( get_permalink() );

In Conclusion

Doesn’t clean code just make you feel all warm and tingly inside? This solution to get current page name WordPress does just that. A simple, one-line function call to return a page slug.

Looking for some more useful WordPress tips, check out these other articles:

• Create WordPress custom logs.
• Set cookies in WordPress the right way.
• Ensure WordPress hooks only fire once.
• A list of useful WordPress SQL queries.