This is the 14th day of my participation in the More text Challenge. For more details, see more text Challenge
Understanding and Working with User Data in WordPress
Understand and use user data in WordPress
WordPress stores user data in the WP_Users table, which links to the WP_posts and WP_comments tables:
WordPress also stores user data in two other tables:
- The user’s additional metadata is stored in
wp_usermetaIn the table - The data of the unlogged users in the comments is stored in
wp_commentsIn the table.
This current part of the WordPress data series will explore how WordPress stores and accesses user data, starting with the WP_Users table
Table wp_users
The WP_Users table stores the core information for each user. It contains the following fields:
| field | Store content | instructions |
|---|---|---|
ID |
User ID — The user ID | Automatically generate |
user_login |
User name – the username | necessary |
user_pass |
Password – the password | If not provided during registration, it will be generated automatically |
user_nicename |
A nickname – the nickname | If there is no manual input, it is automatically generated |
user_email |
Email address: Email address | necessary |
user_url |
Site – website | Not necessary |
user_registered |
Date and time when the user first registered | Automatically generate |
user_activation_key |
User activation code | Auto-generated – a function that sends notification of user registration activation within the default user registrationwp_new_user_notificationTo callget_password_reset_keyGenerate the activation code and save it |
user_status |
The status is stored as a number — for example, it tells WordPress whether the user confirmed the registration by email.Not used to store user roles | Automatically generate |
display_name |
The name of the public display | Automatically generated when no manual input is required |
As you can see, with the exception of the user_URL field, all fields are either required at registration or automatically generated.
User metadata
In addition to the data in WP_Users, there is data created for all users but stored in the WP_UserMeta table, such as Roles and Capabilities. The table is also used to store other Settings to enhance the user experience, such as the selected administrative background color scheme and Settings for the administration bar and dashboard display.
The WP_UserMeta table should be used when you need to create additional fields for users through your theme or plugin — and should never add fields to the main WP_Users table.
Each record in the Wp_userMeta table has four fields:
ID— ID of the recorduser_id— which Wp_users to link tometa_keymeta_value
Create a new user metadata record using the add_user_meta() function:
add_user_meta( $user_id.$meta_key.$meta_value.$unique );
Copy the codeThe fourth argument ($UNIQUE) to this function is optional and specifies whether the value in the meta_key field should be unique.
Or use the update_user_meta function.
After adding the user metadata, you can output each user on the author page using get_user_meta() or create a list of all users with a specified key value.
In later tutorials, I’ll look at metadata and taxonomies to cover this last option in more detail.
The relationship between users and other content
Users can link to two content types: posts and comments.
In the case of Posts, there is always a user who is the author. This relationship is between the POST_AUTHOR field of WP_posts and the ID field of WP_Users.
Comments are not always linked to the WP_Users table: they are created only if the reviewer is a logged in user. In this case, the link is between the ID of Wp_Users and the user_ID of Wp_comments.
If the reviewer is not a logged in user, the information is recorded directly in the WP_comments table through the COMMENT_author, COMMENT_author_email, COMMENT_author_url, and comment_author_IP fields.
The profile
The user is the foundation of the WordPress installation. Without them, there would be no site administrators and no authors to create the content.
WordPress stores core data about users in the WP_Users table and other metadata in the WP_UserMeta table. It also links user data to posts in the WP_Posts table and comments in the WP_Comments table.