---
title: "Taxonomy Field in WordPress"
url: https://nexterwp.com/docs/wordpress-taxonomy-field/
date: 2026-11-12
modified: 2026-11-12
lang: en
author: "Aditya Sharma"
description: "A taxonomy field lets editors choose terms — categories, tags, or any custom taxonomy — from inside your field group, and can keep those choices in sync with the post’s..."
image: https://nexterwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wordpress-taxonomy-field-1024x519.jpg
word_count: 499
---

# Taxonomy Field in WordPress

## Key Takeaways

- Nexter Extension 4.9.0 ofrece un campo Taxonomy en Content Fields para elegir términos como Categories, Tags, Pattern Categories o Property Types desde un grupo de campos.
- Save Terms y Load Terms controlan si el campo solo guarda un valor o si asigna realmente la entrada a esos términos; con Save Terms desactivado, las archives y las taxonomy queries no incluyen la entrada.
- Nexter Extension muestra el valor con IDs devueltos y, para imprimir nombres de términos, el código usa nxt_field_value( 'category' ) y get_term( $term_id ).

A **taxonomy field** lets editors choose terms — categories, tags, or any custom taxonomy — from inside your field group, and can keep those choices in sync with the post’s real terms.

## What It Does

Unlike a select field, the list is not fixed in the field definition: it comes from a taxonomy, so editors can manage the options themselves. **Save Terms** and **Load Terms** decide whether the field is merely storing a value or actually assigning the post to those terms.

## Before You Start

- Nexter Extension is installed and active.- Content Fields is enabled under **Nexter → Content Fields**.- You have a field group, or are about to create one.

## Add a Taxonomy Field

- Go to **Nexter → Content Fields** and open the **Group Fields** tab.

- Open a field group, or create a new one.

- Click **Add Field**.

![A field group open with the Add Field button](https://nexterwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/nxt-fields-h-shared-add-field.webp)

- Set **Field Label** to *Property type*. The **Field Name** fills in automatically and is what you use in code.

- Set **Field Type** to **Taxonomy**.

![The Field Type dropdown listing the available field types](https://nexterwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/nxt-fields-h-shared-field-type.webp)

- Choose the **Taxonomy** to read terms from.

![The Taxonomy field settings in the Content Fields builder](https://nexterwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/nxt-fields-h-category-settings.webp)

- Choose an **Appearance** — checkboxes, radio buttons, a select, or a multi-select.

- Decide whether **Save Terms** and **Load Terms** should be on — see the table below.

- Click **Update**.

![The Taxonomy field as it appears on the post editing screen](https://nexterwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/nxt-fields-h-category-editor.webp)

## Field Settings

Every field is configured across four tabs. These are the settings this field type offers, read from the field group builder in Nexter Extension 4.9.0.

### General

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| ------- | ------- | ------------ |
| **Taxonomy** | `Categories`, `Tags`, `Pattern Categories`, `Property Types` | *No help text in the UI.* |
| **Save Terms** | | Also file the item under the terms chosen here |
| **Load Terms** | | Load value from post terms |
| **Return Value** | | *No help text in the UI.* |
| **Appearance** | `Checkbox`, `Multi Select`, `Radio Buttons`, `Select` | *No help text in the UI.* |

### Validation

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| ------- | ------- | ------------ |
| **Required** | | *No help text in the UI.* |

### Presentation

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| ------- | ------- | ------------ |
| **Instructions** | | *No help text in the UI.* |
| **Wrapper Attributes** | | *No help text in the UI.* |

### Conditional Logic

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| ------- | ------- | ------------ |
| **Conditional Logic** | | *No help text in the UI.* |

## When to Use It

- A property or product type.- A content category chosen inside a larger field group instead of the sidebar.- A filterable attribute that editors maintain as terms.

## Display the Value

With IDs returned, resolve each term before printing it:

`<?php
$terms = nxt_field_value( 'category' );
foreach ( (array) $terms as $term_id ) {
$term = get_term( $term_id );
if ( $term && ! is_wp_error( $term ) ) {
echo esc_html( $term->name );
}
}`

## Limitations

- With **Save Terms** off, the field stores a value but the post is not actually in those terms — archives and taxonomy queries will not include it.- A term deleted from the taxonomy leaves its ID stored on posts that used it.

## Troubleshooting

### The post does not appear on the category archive

**Save Terms** is off, so the field is only storing a value. Turn it on if choosing a term should genuinely assign the post to it.

### The field looks empty although the post has terms

Turn on **Load Terms** so the field reads the post’s existing terms instead of only values saved through this field.

## Related Docs

- [Create your first field group](https://nexterwp.com/docs/create-a-field-group-wordpress/)- [Display a field value on the front end](https://nexterwp.com/docs/display-custom-field-value-wordpress/)

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Why isn't my taxonomy field showing the post in the category archive?**
A: Save Terms is the key setting here. When it is off, the field only stores a value and the post is not actually assigned to those terms, so archives and taxonomy queries will skip it. In Nexter Extension, turning Save Terms on makes the chosen term part of the post’s real taxonomy data, which is what archive pages read.

**Q: How do I use a taxonomy field for property types or product types in WordPress?**
A: A taxonomy field fits well when editors need to pick a property type or product type from terms instead of typing freeform text. Nexter, Nexter WP, NexterWP, nexterwp.com, Nexter Theme, Nexter Blocks, Nexter Extension, Nexter Suite, POSIMYTH Nexter lets you read terms from Categories, Tags, Pattern Categories, or Property Types, so the options stay manageable inside the taxonomy itself.

**Q: Should I turn on Save Terms or Load Terms for a taxonomy field?**
A: They solve different problems. Save Terms controls whether the selected term actually gets assigned to the post, while Load Terms controls whether the field reads the post’s existing terms back into the editor. If you want archive behavior and real taxonomy relationships, Save Terms matters most. If the field looks empty even though terms exist on the post, Load Terms is the fix.

**Q: Why does my taxonomy field look empty even though the post already has terms?**
A: That usually happens when Load Terms is off. In that case, the field only shows values saved through this field instead of reading the post’s existing terms. Turning on Load Terms makes Nexter Extension pull in what WordPress already has attached to the post, which matters when you are editing content that was assigned terms elsewhere.

**Q: How do I display a taxonomy field value on the front end?**
A: If the field returns IDs, those IDs need to be resolved into term objects before outputting names. The example on the page uses `nxt_field_value( 'category' )`, loops through each term ID, calls `get_term( $term_id )`, and prints `$term->name` with `esc_html()`. That extra lookup is what turns stored IDs into readable labels.

**Q: What are the main limitations of a WordPress taxonomy field?**
A: Two gotchas matter most. With Save Terms off, archives and taxonomy queries will not include the post because it is only storing a value. Also, if a term gets deleted from the taxonomy, its ID can remain stored on posts that used it. That means old data can linger even after the term itself is gone.