In category.php, I want to get list of posts in that category.
I found two ways: using get_posts($args) and The Loop.
get_posts() way
$args = array (
"category" => ID );
$posts = get_posts($args);
// then use foreach to loop the $posts
The Loop way
<?php if (have_posts() ): ?>
<?php while (have_posts() ): the_post(); ?>
...
<?php endwhile; ?>
<?php endif; ?>
So which one is more efficient?
From what I have found in searching, get_posts() is for custom templates while The Loop is used inside the template that follows the WordPress naming convention.
I prefer get_posts(), but if there’s a big overhead compared to The Loop, I should re-think it again.
I finally found the answer.
When we open a page using the right template (template that follows the naming convention), WordPress automatically do query to get all the relevant posts or content
So if I use
$posts = get_posts($args);, it means I do additional query which is unnecessary.$posts = get_posts($args);should only be used outside template for example on sidebar that always be there on every pages.