Display Back to Parent Page Link with get_post_ancestors

Are you looking for a way to create manual breadcrumbs or add a link on sub pages back to redirect users back to parent page? While there’s probably a plugin for this, we have created a quick code snippet that you can use to display back to parent page link with get_post_ancestors in WordPress.

Instructions:

All you have to do is add this code to your theme’s functions.php file or in a site-specific plugin:

function wps_parent_post(){
  global $post;
  if ($post->post_parent){
	$ancestors=get_post_ancestors($post->ID);
	$root=count($ancestors)-1;
	$parent = $ancestors[$root];
  } else {
	$parent = $post->ID;
  }
  if($post->ID != $parent){
      echo '<a href="'.get_permalink($parent).'" class="parent-post">Back to parent page</a>';
  }
}

Simply add this code snippet in your theme’s template files like single.php, index.php, page.php, etc.

<?php
          wps_parent_post();
?>

Note: If this is your first time adding code snippets in WordPress, then please refer to our guide on how to properly copy / paste code snippets in WordPress, so you don’t accidentally break your site.

If you liked this code snippet, please consider checking out our other articles on the site like: How to create a small business website and 7 best WordPress landing page plugins.