# Breadcrumbs Shortcode With Schema Markup

> Adds a [breadcrumbs] shortcode that prints a Home > Category > Post trail with BreadcrumbList markup, so search results can show your site structure.

- Type: PHP
- Runs: Run everywhere
- Category: [SEO](https://wpide.com/library/category/seo/)
- Tags: breadcrumbs, schema, navigation
- Author: WPIDE Team
- Installs: 0
- Updated: 2026-10-28
- Page: https://wpide.com/library/breadcrumbs-shortcode/

## Code

```php
// Label of the first link.
$wpide_crumb_home = 'Home';
// Separator between items.
$wpide_crumb_separator = '/';

add_shortcode( 'breadcrumbs', function () use ( $wpide_crumb_home, $wpide_crumb_separator ) {
    $items = array( array( $wpide_crumb_home, home_url( '/' ) ) );
    $link  = function ( $term ) {
        $url = get_term_link( $term );

        return is_wp_error( $url ) ? '' : $url;
    };

    if ( is_front_page() ) {
        return '';
    }

    if ( is_singular() ) {
        $post = get_queried_object();

        if ( 'post' === $post->post_type ) {
            $categories = get_the_category( $post->ID );

            if ( $categories ) {
                foreach ( array_reverse( get_ancestors( $categories[0]->term_id, 'category', 'taxonomy' ) ) as $ancestor ) {
                    $term    = get_term( $ancestor, 'category' );
                    $items[] = array( $term->name, $link( $term ) );
                }

                $items[] = array( $categories[0]->name, $link( $categories[0] ) );
            }
        } elseif ( is_post_type_hierarchical( $post->post_type ) ) {
            foreach ( array_reverse( get_post_ancestors( $post ) ) as $ancestor ) {
                $items[] = array( get_the_title( $ancestor ), get_permalink( $ancestor ) );
            }
        } elseif ( get_post_type_archive_link( $post->post_type ) ) {
            $items[] = array( get_post_type_object( $post->post_type )->labels->name, get_post_type_archive_link( $post->post_type ) );
        }

        $items[] = array( get_the_title( $post ), '' );
    } elseif ( is_category() || is_tag() || is_tax() ) {
        $term = get_queried_object();

        foreach ( array_reverse( get_ancestors( $term->term_id, $term->taxonomy, 'taxonomy' ) ) as $ancestor ) {
            $parent  = get_term( $ancestor, $term->taxonomy );
            $items[] = array( $parent->name, $link( $parent ) );
        }

        $items[] = array( $term->name, '' );
    } elseif ( is_search() ) {
        $items[] = array( sprintf( 'Search results for "%s"', get_search_query( false ) ), '' );
    } elseif ( is_404() ) {
        $items[] = array( 'Page not found', '' );
    } elseif ( is_home() ) {
        $items[] = array( single_post_title( '', false ), '' );
    } else {
        $items[] = array( wp_strip_all_tags( get_the_archive_title() ), '' );
    }

    $html = '<nav class="wpide-breadcrumbs" aria-label="Breadcrumb"><ol itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/BreadcrumbList" style="list-style:none;margin:0 0 1em;padding:0;display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:.4em;">';
    $last = count( $items ) - 1;

    foreach ( $items as $position => $item ) {
        $name  = '<span itemprop="name">' . esc_html( $item[0] ) . '</span>';
        $inner = ( $item[1] && $position !== $last ) ? '<a itemprop="item" href="' . esc_url( $item[1] ) . '">' . $name . '</a>' : $name;
        $sep   = $position !== $last ? ' <span aria-hidden="true">' . esc_html( $wpide_crumb_separator ) . '</span>' : '';
        $html .= '<li itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ListItem"' . ( $position === $last ? ' aria-current="page"' : '' ) . '>' . $inner . '<meta itemprop="position" content="' . ( $position + 1 ) . '" />' . $sep . '</li>';
    }

    return $html . '</ol></nav>';
} );
```

## Notes

Place [breadcrumbs] in a Shortcode block in your templates or at the top of content. Change the separator and home label at the top.

## How to use it

Install the free WPIDE plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpide/), find "Breadcrumbs Shortcode With Schema Markup" in its snippet library and add it in one click; or create a new PHP snippet in WPIDE (or any code snippets plugin) and paste the code above. More snippets: https://wpide.com/library/