CC Child Pages

CC Child Pages displays child pages of any parent page in a responsive grid or list layout. You can use it in page content, widget areas, or templates using either:

• the [child_pages] shortcode, or
• the CC Child Pages Gutenberg block.

Both use a modern CSS system based on CSS variables and flexible grid layouts for improved theme compatibility. For older or heavily customised themes, a Legacy CSS mode is available – either by checking the Use Legacy CSS option in the block sidebar, or by setting use_legacy_css="true" in the shortcode.

This makes it ideal for building sub-navigation sections, page directories, or visual site maps.

A Pro add-on is available at ccplugins.co.uk adding advanced skins, hover effects, taxonomy filters, and custom field support – while helping fund ongoing development of the free version.

What’s New in 2.0

• Added Gutenberg block with live preview and sidebar options.
• Reorganised shortcode attributes for clarity and ease of use.
• Introduced modern CSS skins using CSS variables.
• Added Legacy CSS toggle for backward compatibility.
• Retained the legacy widget for existing sites (see below).
• General code and security improvements.

Legacy Widget Notice

The classic CC Child Pages Widget remains available to ensure existing sites continue to function.
However, it is now considered legacy. For new builds, please use either the shortcode or the Gutenberg block inside widget areas via the Shortcode or Block widget.

–

How It Works

1. Gutenberg Block

Add a CC Child Pages block directly in the editor to display child pages of the current or chosen parent. Configure columns, thumbnails, excerpts, and “Read More” links visually from the sidebar.
The block uses modern CSS-based skins, designed for full theme compatibility. If your theme uses older styles or layout methods, you can toggle Use Legacy CSS in the sidebar to switch to the classic stylesheet, which resolves most compatibility issues automatically.

2. Shortcode

Insert [child_pages] into your content. The shortcode supports a comprehensive set of attributes for layout, display, and query control.
Like the block, it uses modern CSS by default and can be switched into legacy mode using use_legacy_css="true" if required.

–

Shortcode Overview

Basic usage:
[child_pages] – Lists child pages of the current page.

Display children of another page:
[child_pages id=”42″]

Display in a grid:
[child_pages cols=”3″ skin=”cards” thumbs=”true”]

Full Attribute Reference (with defaults)

Parent and hierarchy

• id – Parent page ID (default: current page via get_the_ID()).
• page_ids – Comma-separated list of specific page IDs to include (default: empty).
• depth – Levels of hierarchy to include (default: 1).
• siblings – Show sibling pages instead of children (default: false).
• show_current_page – Include the current page in results (default: false).

Sorting and limits / pagination

• orderby – Sort field (menu_order, title, date; default: menu_order).
• order – Sort direction (ASC or DESC; default: ASC).
• offset – Number of results to skip (default: 0).
• limit – Limit total number of pages displayed (default: -1 = no limit).
• posts_per_page – Items per page when paginating (default: -1).
• page – Force a specific page number for pagination (default: -1 = auto).
• ignore_sticky_posts – Ignore sticky posts (default: true).
• post_status – Filter by status (default: empty = standard published pages).

Layout and style

• cols – Number of columns (default: empty; theme or skin decides).
• skin – Visual style template (default: simple).
• list – Force a list layout instead of a grid (default: false).
• class – Additional CSS class on the wrapper (default: empty).
• use_legacy_css – Use the classic stylesheet for compatibility (default: false).

Content display

• hide_title – Hide page title (default: false).
• hide_excerpt – Hide excerpt (default: false).
• hide_more – Hide “Read more …” link (default: false).
• hide_wp_more – Ignore WP “more” tag (default: false).
• show_page_content – Show full page content (default: false).
• truncate_excerpt – Truncate long excerpts (default: true).
• words – Words to include in truncated excerpt (default: 55).
• thumbs – Show featured image (default: false).
• link_thumbs – Make thumbnails clickable (default: false).
• link_titles – Make titles clickable (default: false).
• title_link_class – Class for linked titles (default: ccpage_title_link).
• more – Text for “Read more” link (default: Read more ...).
• link_target – Target for links (e.g. _blank; default: empty).
• link – Override the link URL (default: empty).
• use_custom_excerpt – Use custom excerpt field if present (default: empty).
• use_custom_title – Use custom title field if present (default: empty).
• use_custom_more – Use custom “more” text field if present (default: empty).
• use_custom_thumbs – Use custom thumbnail field if present (default: empty).
• use_custom_link – Meta key for custom link (default: cc_child_pages_link).
• use_custom_link_target – Meta key for custom target (default: cc_child_pages_link_target).
• show_author – Show page author (default: false).
• show_date_created – Show created date (default: false).
• show_date_modified – Show modified date (default: false).
• subpage_title – Custom heading above the list/grid (default: empty).

Tip: Most users get great results by combining cols, skin, and thumbs. Switch on Legacy CSS only if your theme needs it.

–

Block Overview

The CC Child Pages block provides a simple, visual interface for configuring these same options, complete with a live preview.
It uses modern CSS for all skins and layouts. If your theme uses older styles or layout rules, enabling the Use Legacy CSS checkbox restores compatibility with the classic grid and list templates.

–

License

This plugin is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2 or later.
See https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

© 2025 Caterham Computing.

1. Upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install via the WordPress Plugins screen.
2. Activate through the Plugins menu.
3. Add the shortcode [child_pages] to a page, or insert the “CC Child Pages” block in the editor.
4. Adjust display settings in the block sidebar or shortcode attributes as needed.
5. If your theme requires it, enable Legacy CSS (block setting or use_legacy_css="true").

–

1. 

   CC Child Pages block in the Gutenberg editor.

2. 

   Example grid layout using the "Sleek" skin.

3. 

   List view.

4. 

   Classic widget (legacy mode for existing installs).

5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 

2.0.0

• Added Gutenberg block with live preview.
• Updated shortcode attribute structure for clarity.
• Introduced modern CSS skins using CSS variables.
• Added Legacy CSS option for block and shortcode.
• Retained legacy widget for existing sites.
• General optimisations and translation updates.

1.45

• Maintenance release- minor bug fix to settings page.

1.44

• Maintenance release with security improvements to legacy widget.

1.43

• Maintenance release with security improvements.

1.42

• Bug fix for hide_titles function to stop it breaking custom templates.

1.41

• Added hide_titles option. Small bug fix for widget.

1.40

• Maintenance release. Added Exclude Tree option to widget

1.39

• Small fix to CC Child Pages Widget

1.38

• Small fix to CSS for page navigation links

1.37

• Small changes to try to prevent problems interacting with other plugins that may not return correct values in their filters

1.36

• Bug fix – by default private pages will be visible or hidden depending on whether the user is logged in
• Added post_status parameter to show child pages with specific statuses
• Added button to the settings page to disable loading of Skins CSS file if not being used (for performance)
• Added additional classes to child page elements to allow styling of elements with parent pages (and even specific parent pages)
• Added use_custom_thumbs parameter – specify the name of a custom field that will specify the ID or URL of an image to use as a thumbnail

1.35

• Bug fix – implemented code to remove [child_pages] shortcode from pages before generating excerpts to avoid getting stuck in an infinite loop under some circumstances
• Added show_page_content parameter to show complete page content
• Added link_target and use_custom_link_target parameters to allow control of how links open
• depth now works with the shortcode when not using list mode. Added subpage_title parameter to display a title for sub-pages when depth is greater than 1 and list="true" is NOT specified
• Added show_author, show_date_created and show_date_modified parameters to allow display of post information
• order can now be set to rand to show items in a random order

1.34

• Added ignore_sticky_posts parameter
• Added limit parameter to limit the number of pages displayed
• Added offset parameter to allow skipping a number of pages

1.33

• Added posts_per_page and page parameters for basic pagination
• Added page_ids parameter to allow display of specific pages
• Added use_custom_link parameter to allow the over-riding of the link target on a per page basis
• Added new CSS IDs to help make styling more flexible

1.32

• Bug fix – widget was displaying sibling pages instead of child pages under certain circumstances

1.31

• Added siblings option to the widget
• Added show_current_page option for use with the shortcode when siblings is set to true
• Added hide_wp_more to remove the standard “Continue reading… ” message from excerpts
• Added use_custom_excerpt, use_custom_title and use_custom_more to the shortcode
• Added more filters and actions to widget and shortcode to allow extension of plugin

1.30

• Bug fix – internationalization now works correctly (translations need work though – currently only French, which is known to be poor)
• Added more filters to widget, list and shortcode to allow extension of plugin

1.29

• Bug fix – widget will now show on all pages/posts if “All Pages” or a specific parent page is selected
• Bug fix – shortcode now closes query correctly (was causing issues with some themes)
• The shortcode will now work with custom post types
• You can now specify multiple parent page IDs (when using list="true", only a single parent ID can be specified)

1.28

• Further improvements to integration when used with Video Thumbnails plugin

1.27

• Added the siblings parameter to show siblings of current page
• Improved integration when used with Video Thumbnails plugin
• Minor bug fixes for CC Child Pages Widget

1.26

• The CSS for displaying child pages has been rewritten to allow for custom CSS to be more easily written – for example, specifying a border should no longer cause problems in the responsive layout. Fallbacks have been put in place for older versions of Internet Explorer.
• The handling of Custom CSS from the settings page has been improved.
• The loading of the plugin CSS has been returned to the default manner. While this means that CSS is loaded on pages where the shortcode is not used, it means that the CSS can be correctly minified by other plugins and ensures that valid HTML is generated.

1.25

• New option added to widget to show all top-level pages and their children. This can now be used as a complete replacement for the standard Pages widget
• New option added to the plugin’s settings page allowing custom CSS code to be specified from within the plugin. This feature has been requested several times. This functionality will be expanded on in the future.

1.24

• Further enhancements to CSS when using both the list and cols parameters

1.23

• Minor fix for CSS when using both the list and cols parameters

1.22

• Changes to how excerpts are generated from content when no custom excerpt is specified.
• Changed how CSS is queued – the CSS file will now only be included in the page if the shortcode is specified, helping to keep page sizes to a minimum.

1.21

• Change to allow cols parameter to be used when list parameter is set to true.
• Changed .ccpages_excerpt container to <div> (was <p>) to avoid potentially invalid HTML when HTML excerpts are used.

1.20

• Change to improve efficiency when the plugin attempts to force thumbnail creation via Video Thumbnails plugin
• Minor change to avoid output of empty links when applying links to thumbnails and no thumbnail is present
• Minor change to escaping special characters in more parameter

1.19

• Small change to how the plugin works with thumbnails. It will now use thumbnails generated by the Video Thumbnails plugin if it is installed.
• Added link_thumbs parameter. If set to "true", thumbnails will link to the child page.
• CSS is no longer minified, in order to make it easier to view existing CSS when defining your own custom styles. The CSS can be minified by other plugins if required.

1.18

• Added settings page to allow disabling of button in Visual Editor (TinyMCE)
• Added the truncate_excerpt parameter to the shortcode, defaults to true but setting to false stops custom excerpts from being shortened (where no custom excerpt exists, page content will still be truncated)

1.17

• Small change to how custom excerpts are handled for interoperability with Rich Text Excerpts plugin.

1.16

• Added the hide_excerpt parameter

1.15

• Added hide_more parameter to hide “Read more …” links.
• Added link_titles parameter to make titles link to pages.
• Added title_link_class parameter for styling links in page titles.

1.14

• Bug fix: Corrected missing <ul> tags in widget
• Minor CSS changes to improve compatibility with certain themes

1.13

• Bug fix: Corrected problem with titles including special characters
• Added orderby and order parameters to control the display order of child pages

1.12

• Bug fix: Corrected problem when automatic excerpt returns value including a shortcode

1.11

• Bug fix: Corrected small bug introduced in version 1.10 when using list="true"

1.10

• Added exclude parameter
• Added depth parameter (only used if list is set to "true")

1.9

• Added editor button
• Added custom excerpt capability to pages by default
• Refined generation of page excerpt where no custom excerpt exists
• Enhanced functionality of the thumbs option – you can now set this to the desired thumbnail size e.g. thumbs="large", thumbs="full", thumbs="my-custom-size", etc.

1.8

• CC Child Pages widget enhanced to allow display of children of current page or a specific page
• CC Child Pages widget enhanced to allow depth to be specified

1.7

• Changed plugin author to show business name (Caterham Computing)
• Added CC Child Pages widget
• Added various new classes to help with custom CSS styling

1.6

• Added the words parameter. When set to a value greater than 0, the number of words in the excerpt will be trimmed if greater than the specified value.

1.5

• Added the thumbs parameter. If set to "true", the featured image (if set) of a page will be shown.

1.4

• Added more parameter to override standard “Read more …” text
• Internationalisation …

1.3

• Corrected small error when using list parameter

1.2

• Added the list parameter

1.1

• Added the skin parameter
• Added the class parameter

1.0

* Initial Release