I want to use a single WP install to build a site that will present curent and pasts editions of an annual event.
From one year to the next the list of participants and the daily program change entirely. The data from both compose the archive. Other annual variables, like sponsors, don't need to be retained.
The configuration I settled upon is to create a participant custom post type and a program custom post type for each year: participants2019 and program2019, participants2020 and program2020, participants2021 and program2021, etc.
This allows me to add single posts and archive pages for the CPT for the current year and present past edition summaries on as single pages with custom templates. It makes it easy for the client to find where to edit the info in the Admin. The URLs are good and Polylang is happy with it. The client picks the "current" year via an options page.
So far this works pretty well and the goal of a small hosting footprint is achieved but is not quite optimal. For one it requires that I create the CPTs for future years in advance (I can't expect the client to know how to use the CPT UI plugin). I created an arbitrary 7 editions (2019 to 2025). It also adds a lot of items to the admin menu, which I solved (grouping and hiding) more or less with a plugin.
My question is twofold:
- is there a better configuration for this?
- if not, how can I let my client duplicate the current year's CPTs in order to create the CPTs for future edition in a dead simple way?