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ArchiveWP Settings

This article explains the ArchiveWP Settings and where to find them.

Settings Location

ArchiveWP Settings can be found under the WordPress admin “Settings” menu item. Go to Settings → ArchiveWP → General.

A direct URL to the settings page will look like this:

https://mywebsite.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=archivewp_settings&tab=general

Settings Accessibility Information

All settings in ArchiveWP have been tested for accessibility with automated tools, keyboard navigation, and NVDA and VoiceOver screen readers. To the best of our abilities within the WordPress admin, ArchiveWP settings have been made fully accessible to users with disabilities.

It is very important to us that users of assistive technology can configure and use our plugin. If you encounter an accessibility issue with ArchiveWP settings pages, please submit a support ticket so we can assist you.

Accessibility notes:

  • Many boolean settings (off/on, yes/no) are styled to resemble a toggle switch. For screen reader users, these inputs are checkboxes and will announce as “checked” or “unchecked”. In our documentation, we refer to these settings as check/toggle to reflect the experience for both sighted and screen reader users.
  • WordPress core uses TinyMCE for WYSIWYG text editing. The TinyMCE toolbar is not keyboard-focusable using the expected method (the Tab key) because the buttons within it have a tabindex of “-1”. If you are a keyboard user who needs to reach the Disclaimer text controls, these can be reached using special key combinations:
    • Press Alt + F10 on Windows or Option + F10 on Mac to enter the toolbar.
    • Use arrow keys to move between buttons once your focus is in the toolbar.

Available Settings

If you completed the First-time Configuration onboarding wizard, then the general settings will have been configured during that process. You can edit or change these options on the General Settings page.

Archivable Post Types

The archiveable post types settings allow you to select which post types can be archived using ArchiveWP. If no post types are selected, archiving functionality will be disabled.

A list of post types on the website including Posts, Pages, Directory, Documents, Events, FAQ, Notices, People, Services, and Slides with some post types enabled and others not.

If you check/toggle on a post type, then users with appropriate permissions will be able to move posts from that custom post type (CPT) into the content archive.

Any post types that are not enabled will not have ArchiveWP controls, which means that posts in that content type cannot be archived.

Taxonomy Settings

Taxonomy settings has one checkbox/toggle: Copy taxonomy terms to Archive Categories when archiving posts.

Screenshot of ArchiveWP taxonomy settings, description follows image.

When enabled, the post’s categories, tags, and custom taxonomy terms are copied into the Archive Categories taxonomy during the archiving process. This works for core WordPress taxonomies (categories and tags on posts) and also any custom taxonomies created by plugins or your theme (for example, “event categories” on an event post type).

Enabling this setting means you don’t have to manually categorize content after it is archived. You can edit and remove archive categories that are created by going to Archived Content → Archive Categories in the WordPress admin menu.

If you keep this setting disabled, posts will not have any categories associated with them after they are moved into the archive. You can still manually add categories and apply them to archived content at any time by editing posts in the Archived Content section of your website.

Archive Category Visibility

This setting enables or disables the Archive Category term archive pages.

Checkbox/toggle to enable Archive Category term archive pages on the front end.

This checkbox/toggle sets the public parameter for the Archive Category taxonomy to true or false based on its setting. (See documentation for the register_taxonomy() function for additional information.)

If enabled, all Archive Categories will have a front-end term archive page showing the archived content in that category.

The ArchiveWP disclaimer will be inserted at the top of the page; however, your theme will otherwise determine the design for these pages. As a result, how these pages look will vary significantly depending on the website’s theme. Note: If there are accessibility issues in your theme’s term archive pages, they will also be present on these pages. Ensure that you test these pages for accessibility if they are enabled.

If disabled, Archive Categories will still be available for searching and filtering posts; however, there will be no public landing page for each individual category.

Generally, we recommend leaving this setting disabled, as landing pages such as these are unlikely to provide value to users and could result in duplicate content or other SEO or accessibility issues. Enable this setting only if you have a strong reason for needing the individual categories to have public landing pages.

Archived Post Template

The Archived Post Template setting allows you to control how archived posts render on the front end of your website.

Archived Post Template settings is a fieldset with two radio fields allowing you to select theme template or original post template.

There are two options to choose from:

  • Theme template (Default – recommended): This option utilizes your active theme’s default single post template and automatically adds the ArchiveWP notice above the post content. We recommend utilizing this setting unless the posts you’ll be archiving have a lot of custom meta or rely on custom templates for outputting key data.
  • Original post template: This option utilizes the template from before the post was archived and is the best choice if you need to preserve custom layouts or ensure information entered in custom fields is still displayed on the archived posts. Note that the disclaimer will not be injected into these posts, so a developer may need to add it conditionally to the relevant post templates.

If you’re unsure which option to select, start with the recommended theme template option and check how your posts look after archiving them. If needed, you can switch to the original post type at any time, or you can create a custom single template for the Archived Content post type in your theme or page builder (requires developer knowledge).

If changing this setting on a live site, you may need to clear your cache to see the changes.

Archived Redirects

This setting controls whether or not ArchiveWP creates redirects when posts are archived.

Checkbox/toggle setting to enable automatic redirects from original URLs to archived content URL.

If enabled, ArchiveWP will automatically create 301 redirects from the original post URL to the new URL, which contains /archived-content/.

If disabled, visitors stay on the legacy URL instead of being redirected to the archived content. This may result in them being shown a 404 error.

Enable this setting if:

  • You are concerned about losing traffic to archived content.
  • The archived content ranks well in search and has SEO value.
  • You want to prevent users from experiencing a 404 error when visiting the old URL.

Disable this setting if you prefer users not be redirected to old content on the site or if you plan to redirect traffic not to the archived post, but to a different URL on your site instead.

Notes:

  • This setting may be necessary even if you have a redirect or SEO plugin that tracks changes to posts, as those plugins may not be able to monitor posts being archived with ArchiveWP.
  • There is a setting on individual archived content that allows you to disable redirects on a per-post basis if needed.

Disclaimer Text

This WYSIWYG text editor allows you to set the disclaimer text used throughout the archived sections of the site.

WYSIWYG text editor with a paragraph explaining the archive and how to request help.

Disclaimer text is displayed in the following places:

  • On the Archived Content page, using the ArchiveWP Disclaimer block or shortcode.
  • Before the_content on archived posts, if using the “Theme template” setting.
  • Before the loop of posts on the Archive Categories term archive pages, if enabled.
  • Anywhere you insert the ArchiveWP Disclaimer block or shortcode.

Use the disclaimer to explain why the content was archived and how visitors can contact you if they need to request an alternate format or have other questions about the archived content.

Default content for the disclaimer is:

The following content has been archived and is retained exclusively for reference, research, or record-keeping. Content in this archive may not be accessible to all forms of assistive technology. If you would like to request an alternative format, please contact us.

The disclaimer outputs in a div, and you can put HTML in the content editor if desired.

Important note: Some jurisdictions may require specific language for identifying content archived as an exception to accessibility requirements. If you are concerned about legal compliance, consult an attorney for proper disclaimer text.