How to Use Category Parent Template in WordPress

Are you looking for a way to use category parent template without creating templates for subcategories? While there’s probably a plugin for this, we have created a quick code snippet that allows you to use category parent template in WordPress.

Instructions:

All you have to do is add this code to your theme’s functions.php file or in a site-specific plugin:

function load_cat_parent_template()
{
    global $wp_query;
    if (!$wp_query->is_category)
        return true; // saves a bit of nesting
    // get current category object
    $cat = $wp_query->get_queried_object();
    // trace back the parent hierarchy and locate a template
    while ($cat && !is_wp_error($cat)) {
        $template = TEMPLATEPATH . "/category-{$cat->slug}.php";
        if (file_exists($template)) {
            load_template($template);
            exit;
        }
        $cat = $cat->parent ? get_category($cat->parent) : false;
    }
}
add_action('template_redirect', 'load_cat_parent_template');

Note: If this is your first time adding code snippets in WordPress, then please refer to our guide on how to properly add code snippets in WordPress, so you don’t accidentally break your site.

If you liked this code snippet, please consider checking out our other articles on the site like: 10 best WordPress plugins for web developers and how to start a blog from scratch.