In WordPress 6.2, the get_page_by_title() function has been deprecated in favour of using WP_Query (#57041). Unlike the deprecated function, WP_Query can only be run after plugins and pluggable functions have loaded, on the plugins_loaded action or later.
Due to limitations with the deprecated functions database query, it could return different results depending on the database version and/or engine used. Switching to WP_Query will ensure you receive the same results regardless of the setup of your server.
To achieve an equivalent database query via WP_Query, the following arguments can be used.
$query = new WP_Query(
array(
'post_type' => 'page',
'title' => 'Sample Page',
'post_status' => 'all',
'posts_per_page' => 1,
'no_found_rows' => true,
'ignore_sticky_posts' => true,
'update_post_term_cache' => false,
'update_post_meta_cache' => false,
'orderby' => 'post_date ID',
'order' => 'ASC',
)
);
if ( ! empty( $query->post ) ) {
$page_got_by_title = $query->post;
} else {
$page_got_by_title = null;
}
The same result can also be achieved via the get_posts() wrapper for WP_Query(). In this case, you can replace the code with the following:
$posts = get_posts(
array(
'post_type' => 'page',
'title' => 'Sample Page',
'post_status' => 'all',
'numberposts' => 1,
'update_post_term_cache' => false,
'update_post_meta_cache' => false,
'orderby' => 'post_date ID',
'order' => 'ASC',
)
);
if ( ! empty( $posts ) ) {
$page_got_by_title = $posts[0];
} else {
$page_got_by_title = null;
}
Ensuring the page is accessible
Due to the database query used by get_page_by_title(), it was possible the result returned from the database was not intended to be accessible by the user and that linking to the result would lead to a File Not Found error.
The code above reproduces this behaviour. If you wish to avoid this edge, then leave the post_status parameter out of the code above will resolve your issue.
Props to @afragen, @spacedmonkey, @milana_cap, @bph, @webcommsat for proofreading.
#6-2, #dev-notes
