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I've scoured the Codex, failed to get get_page_by_title() to work and am quite surprised that there doesn't seem to be a standard WP function for this task.

I need to get the ID of any given post/ cpt or page using either the slug of the post/ page title. Ideally I'm looking for the following:

get_post_ID_by_title('My post title', 'customposttype');

What should I be doing?

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How were you using get_page_by_title and is the custom post type hierarchal, i don't think get_page(called by get_page_by_title) will work for non-hierarchal types. –  t31os Mar 6 '11 at 11:00
Yes, the custom post type in question is non-hierachal. –  jnthnclrk Mar 6 '11 at 11:15
Ignore previous comment regarding being hierarchal, that shouldn't matter, how were you calling get_page_by_title? –  t31os Mar 6 '11 at 23:27

3 Answers 3

up vote 6 down vote accepted

you can use this function that jumps by google "get post by title"

* Retrieve a post given its title.
* @uses $wpdb
* @param string $post_title Page title
* @param string $post_type post type ('post','page','any custom type')
* @param string $output Optional. Output type. OBJECT, ARRAY_N, or ARRAY_A.
* @return mixed
function get_post_by_title($page_title, $post_type ='post' , $output = OBJECT) {
    global $wpdb;
        $post = $wpdb->get_var( $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT ID FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_title = %s AND post_type= %s", $page_title, $post_type));
        if ( $post )
            return get_post($post, $output);

    return null;
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So far I've managed to avoid using DB queries, as I prefer to use standard WP functions. Is this really the only way to achieve what I need? –  jnthnclrk Mar 6 '11 at 11:14
The code posted is pretty much a direct copy of the get_page_by_title function, the major difference here is that it'll work for non-hierarchal types, so it's one worth having in your function collection. –  t31os Mar 6 '11 at 11:25
@t31os I never said it was mine i only added the $post_type paean to it and yep its going to my collection. –  Bainternet Mar 6 '11 at 11:45
I wasn't accusing you of anything mate, if anything i'm supporting your answer.. ;) You already got my +1.. :) –  t31os Mar 6 '11 at 12:13
@t31os I know ,its just a bad joke :) –  Bainternet Mar 6 '11 at 12:29

You are missing a function parameter. Throw a null in for the second optional paramter $output and this function should work for you.

get_post_ID_by_title('My post title', null, 'customposttype');

I just ran into the same issue and adding the null fixed it for me.

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I tend to shy away from direct DB queries. Instead, I use the WP_Query object to parse things for me.

This is, basically, a function I use in one of my themes to get a post based on a given slug:

function get_post_id( $slug, $post_type ) {
    $query = new WP_Query(
            'name' => $slug,
            'post_type' => $post_type


    return get_the_ID();

This will create a query using the WP API to fetch a post of a specific type with a given slug, will run the regular loop functions on the result, and return the ID of the post. You could also use it to return the entire post by modifying the function a bit, but that's up to you.

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