Post a WordPress post on post request - wordpress

Question

How can I post a post on WordPress through a post request without using the UI?
If possible I would also like to have guidance on how I can implement this with ACF fields.

Answer 1

You could create a child theme or a plugin to write your custom functionality.
You can handle AJAX requests with a specific action, and call wp_insert_post() to create posts.
Example to get you started:
add_action( 'wp_ajax_create_post', 'create_post_ajax_handler' );
/**
* Handle the create post ajax request
*/
function create_post_ajax_handler() {
// Get the post title from the ajax request
// You can get whatever you have passed here
// Also, perform any validations you might want
$post_title = $_POST['post_title'];
// Create the post
$post_id = wp_insert_post( array(
'post_title' => $post_title,
'post_status' => 'publish'
// you could also specify the 'post_type', 'meta_input' etc
), true );
// Error handling
if ( is_wp_error( $post_id ) ) {
// Send error response
wp_send_json_error( $post_id->get_error_message() );
}
// Send success response
wp_send_json_success( $post_id );
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'enqueue_ajax_script' );
/**
* Enqueue the ajax script
*/
function enqueue_ajax_script() {
// Enqueue your JavaScript file with 'jquery' as a dependency
wp_enqueue_script(
'ajax-script',
plugin_dir_url( __FILE__ ) . 'ajax-script.js',
array( 'jquery' )
);
// Expose the url to admin-ajax.php as `ajax_object.ajaxurl`
wp_localize_script(
'ajax-script',
'ajax_object',
array( 'ajaxurl' => admin_url( 'admin-ajax.php' ) )
);
}
// Set the url as `ajax_object.ajaxurl` which is the url to admin-ajax.php
$.ajax(ajax_object.ajaxurl, {
method: 'POST',
data: {
// Your action should match the name of your 'wp_ajax_{action}' hook
action: 'create_post',
// Pass any data you want
post_title: 'Example post title'
}
})
.done((response) => {
// Do whatever you want with the response (in this example, this would be the post id)
console.log(response);
})
.fail((error) => {
// Handle the errors
console.error(error);
});
You might also want to look into Nonces, which help protect against Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
Disclaimer: I haven't tested this code, but I hope you get the idea.
Edit: Since you mentioned that you use Advanced Custom Fields:
$post_id = wp_insert_post( array(
'post_title' => $post_title,
'post_status' => 'publish',
// You can set ACF fields in the 'meta_input' array
'meta_input' => array(
'acf_custom_field_name' => 'an example value'
)
), true );
Edit #2: Please read more about AJAX in WordPress on the Codex.
Replying to your comment:
to which URL should I make the ajax request in order for it to trigger?
On the Codex, under AJAX in Plugins > Ajax on the Viewer-Facing Side
You might also use wp_localize_script() to make the URL available to your script, and generate it using this expression: admin_url( 'admin-ajax.php' )
how do I insert the action "wp_ajax_create_post" in my post request?
On the Codex, AJAX in Plugins > Ajax on the Administration Side
Notice how the 'action' key's value 'my_action', defined in our JavaScript above, matches the latter half of the action 'wp_ajax_my_action' in our AJAX handler below.