Using WordPress ‘get_lastpostdate’ PHP filter

by

The get_lastpostdate WordPress PHP filter retrieves the most recent time a post was published on the website.

Usage

add_filter('get_lastpostdate', 'your_function_name', 10, 3);
function your_function_name($lastpostdate, $timezone, $post_type) {
    // your custom code here
    return $lastpostdate;
}

Parameters

  • $lastpostdate (string|false) – The most recent time a post was published, in ‘Y-m-d H:i:s’ format. False on failure.
  • $timezone (string) – Location to use for getting the post published date. See get_lastpostdate() for accepted $timezone values.
  • $post_type (string) – The post type to check.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: get_lastpostdate

Examples

Modify the last post date for specific post type

Adjust the last post date for the ‘news’ post type by adding a custom offset:

add_filter('get_lastpostdate', 'modify_lastpostdate_for_news', 10, 3);
function modify_lastpostdate_for_news($lastpostdate, $timezone, $post_type) {
    if ($post_type === 'news') {
        $offset = 1 * DAY_IN_SECONDS; // offset by 1 day
        $lastpostdate = date('Y-m-d H:i:s', strtotime($lastpostdate) - $offset);
    }
    return $lastpostdate;
}

Display last post date in a different timezone

Convert the last post date to the ‘America/New_York’ timezone:

add_filter('get_lastpostdate', 'convert_lastpostdate_timezone', 10, 3);
function convert_lastpostdate_timezone($lastpostdate, $timezone, $post_type) {
    if ($timezone === 'America/New_York') {
        $date = new DateTime($lastpostdate, new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
        $date->setTimezone(new DateTimeZone($timezone));
        $lastpostdate = $date->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');
    }
    return $lastpostdate;
}

Ignore specific post types

Ignore ‘attachment’ and ‘revision’ post types from the last post date calculation:

add_filter('get_lastpostdate', 'ignore_specific_post_types', 10, 3);
function ignore_specific_post_types($lastpostdate, $timezone, $post_type) {
    if (in_array($post_type, array('attachment', 'revision'))) {
        return false;
    }
    return $lastpostdate;
}

Add custom text to the last post date

Append custom text to the last post date:

add_filter('get_lastpostdate', 'add_custom_text_to_lastpostdate', 10, 3);
function add_custom_text_to_lastpostdate($lastpostdate, $timezone, $post_type) {
    return $lastpostdate . ' (Last Published)';
}

Format the last post date differently

Change the format of the last post date to ‘d/m/Y H:i’:

add_filter('get_lastpostdate', 'change_lastpostdate_format', 10, 3);
function change_lastpostdate_format($lastpostdate, $timezone, $post_type) {
    $date = DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d H:i:s', $lastpostdate);
    return $date->format('d/m/Y H:i');
}