I posed this question to chatgpt.com

I need a page that list the categories using the ["catlist"] shortcode and when you click on the category it sends you to a page that I create. I have the List Category Plugin installed.

 (https://wordpress.org/plugins/list-category-posts/) 

ChatGPT said:

ChatGPT

If you want to use the [catlist] shortcode to list categories, and then have each category link to a custom page that you've created for each category, you'll need to implement a few custom solutions in WordPress. The [catlist] shortcode from the List Category Posts plugin is typically used to list posts within a category, not to list categories themselves. However, you can achieve your goal by combining some custom page setups and possibly some custom coding or additional shortcodes.

Here's a step-by-step method to achieve this:

Step 1: Create Custom Pages for Each Category

First, you will need to create a custom page for each category. Here’s how you can do it:

Create a Page: Go to your WordPress dashboard, and under Pages, click "Add New" to create a new page.

Name the Page: Name the page after the category (e.g., "Travel", "Technology").

Add Content or Shortcodes: Use the [catlist] shortcode to list posts from the specific category on each page. The shortcode might look like [catlist categoryname="Travel"] on the Travel page.

Publish Each Page: Make sure each page is published and note the URL of each page.

Step 2: Create a Main Categories Listing Page

Now, create a main page where all categories will be listed:

Create Another New Page: This will be your main category listing page.

Manually Add Links: Unfortunately, [catlist] does not support listing categories directly. You'll need to manually add links to each category page you created. You can format it with HTML or a visual builder depending on your preference:htmlCopy code<ul> <li><a href="/path-to-travel-page/">Travel</a></li> <li><a href="/path-to-technology-page/">Technology</a></li> <!-- Add more categories as needed --> </ul>

Publish the Page: After adding all category links, publish this page.

Step 3: Use a Plugin or Custom Code (Optional)

If you prefer a more dynamic solution that automatically updates when new categories are added, you might need a custom shortcode or a different plugin. Here’s a basic PHP function to create a shortcode that lists category links dynamically:

function list_categories_with_links() {    $categories = get_categories();
    $output = '<ul>';
    foreach ($categories as $category) {
        $page_link = get_site_url() . '/' . sanitize_title($category->name); // Ensure this URL matches your category page URLs
        $output .= '<li><a href="' . esc_url($page_link) . '">' . esc_html($category->name) . '</a></li>';
    }
    $output .= '</ul>';
    return $output;
}
add_shortcode('catlinks', 'list_categories_with_links');

Add this code to your theme’s functions.php file. You can then use the shortcode [catlinks] on any page to generate a list of all categories with links to their respective custom pages.

Step 4: Adjust Permalinks (Optional)

Ensure your permalink structure supports clean URLs for your category pages. You might set permalinks to "Post name" in Settings > Permalinks.

Final Testing

After setting up everything:

Visit your main category listing page to ensure all categories are listed and links are correct.

Click each link to ensure it takes you to the correct category page.

This setup provides a manual but straightforward way to link category lists to custom category pages in WordPress. If you're looking for more automation (especially useful for sites with many categories), considering a custom solution or exploring plugins that might offer dynamic listing capabilities might be necessary.

Here is the results: https://jeffcannon.us/all-articles-by-category

I wanted to create a page in WordPress for all my categories and which using my plugin, inserting the following shortcode: [catlist name=%category%] where %category% is the category name. I asked chatgpt.com for help. I have the List Category Plugin installed.

 (https://wordpress.org/plugins/list-category-posts/) 

ChatGPT said:

ChatGPT

In WordPress, you can automate the creation of a page that lists posts from all categories using a plugin like List Category Posts, which seems like you're already using based on the shortcode you provided ([catlist name=%category%]). However, dynamically inserting the category name into the shortcode for each category on a single page requires a bit more customization. Here’s a step-by-step approach to achieve this:

Step 1: Create a Custom Page Template

Access Your Theme Directory: Use an FTP client or the File Manager in your hosting control panel to navigate to your theme's folder, usually located in wp-content/themes/your-theme-name/.

Create a New PHP File: Create a new PHP file for your custom page template. You might name it page-categories.php.

Add Template Name Header: At the top of your new file, add the following PHP code to define it as a custom page template

<?php /* Template Name: All Categories Page */ get_header(); ?>

Step 2: Insert PHP Code to List Categories

In your custom page template, you'll use WordPress functions to fetch and list all categories, and then dynamically insert each category into the shortcode. Below the header, add this PHP code:

<div id="primary" class="content-area">
    <main id="main" class="site-main">
    <?php
    $categories = get_categories();
    foreach ($categories as $category) {
        echo '<h2>' . $category->name . '</h2>';
        echo do_shortcode('[catlist name="' . $category->slug . '"]');
    }
    ?>
    </main><!-- #main -->
</div><!-- #primary -->

This script does the following:

Fetches all the categories.

Loops through each category.

Prints the category name as a header.

Uses do_shortcode to process the catlist shortcode for each category by slug.

Step 3: Use the Custom Page Template

Create a New Page: Go to your WordPress admin dashboard, create a new page, and name it appropriately (e.g., "All Categories").

Select Your Custom Template: In the Page Attributes section, select "All Categories Page" from the Template dropdown menu.

Publish the Page: Publish your new page.

Step 4: Test Your Page

Visit the page you created on your live site to ensure that it displays all categories correctly and lists posts under each category as expected.

This solution automates the process within the confines of your WordPress theme and should serve the purpose of listing posts by category dynamically on a single page.

Here is the result: https://jeffcannon.us/all-categories/