Ace FAQ Plugin

What it does

• Registers a faq custom post type with archive and single views.
• Copies existing Posts into FAQs via an admin Tools page, in safe batches.
• Preserves key attributes:
  • Original status (draft, publish, pending, private)
  • Slug, author, date, excerpt, and content
  • Categories and tags
  • Featured image (reuses existing attachment — no media duplication)
  • All post meta (except volatile editor locks)
• Immediately sets up SEO signals:
  • Stores a redirect meta _ace_redirect_to on the original post pointing to the new FAQ.
  • Frontend 301 redirect from the original Post to the FAQ (never redirects when viewing an FAQ itself, with loop guards).
  • Adds canonical on the original Post to the FAQ as a fallback.
  • Generates structured data (Article schema) for FAQs.
• GEO‑readiness UX:
  • Block editor sidebar panel showing word count, featured image status, and readiness.
  • GEO readiness calculated automatically on copy and on save.
• Block templates:
  • Archive and single templates in modern block HTML for Site Editor customization.

Why FAQs instead of Posts (SEO rationale)

• Evergreen intent vs. temporal news

  • Posts tend to be time‑bound. As they age, they lose freshness signals and topical relevance, and they fragment link equity across many similar articles.
  • FAQs are purpose‑built evergreen resources that target stable search intents (e.g., “how to bet on X”, “best Y FAQ”). Consolidating content into FAQs reduces cannibalization and focuses authority.

• Stable URLs and internal linking

  • FAQs live at a predictable slug structure (/faq/...) which is ideal for cornerstone content. Internally linking to a single authoritative FAQ builds clear topical hubs and improves crawl efficiency.

• Redirect consolidation preserves equity

  • Migrating legacy Posts into FAQs and 301 redirecting the originals transfers most link equity, consolidates signals, and removes duplicate/near‑duplicate pages from the index over time.

• Enhanced metadata and schema

  • FAQs get consistent schema.org Article markup, review metadata, and optional GEO readiness signals. This increases eligibility for rich results and improves SERP presentation.

• Editor experience optimized for maintenance

  • A dedicated CPT separates workflows: news/posts can keep flowing, while FAQs are curated, expanded, and improved without date pressure. The sidebar provides actionable hints (length, image) to maintain quality.

• Category and tag continuity

  • FAQs share categories/tags with Posts, enabling contextual widgets and future blocks like “Featured FAQs related to this post” without duplicating taxonomy models.

How the migration works

1. Pick a category in Tools → “Copy to FAQs”.
2. The plugin processes posts in batches (configurable in code), creating matching FAQs.
3. It copies content, excerpt, status, author, date, slug, categories, tags, featured image, and meta.
4. It sets _ace_redirect_to on the original and calculates GEO readiness on the new FAQ.
5. Frontend requests to the original Post 301 redirect to the FAQ; the FAQ itself never redirects.

Customization points

• Templates: Edit assets/plugins/Ace-FAQ/templates/archive-faq.html and single-faq.html in the Site Editor.
• GEO thresholds: Adjust the readiness calculation (word count and image) in ace-faq.php.
• Copy scope: Adjust statuses included in the batch query and/or add UI toggles.
• Redirect behavior: The plugin writes redirect meta and emits a 301 in template_redirect; canonical is added as a safety net.

Operational notes

• Recopying a Post will overwrite _ace_redirect_to on the original to point to the most recent FAQ, preventing stale redirects.
• The plugin uses meta_input on insert to minimize DB writes and preserve multi‑value meta arrays where present.
• No media files are duplicated; featured images are attached by ID to the new FAQ.

Roadmap ideas

• Admin settings UI (statuses to include, force publish option, thresholds).
• A block for “Featured FAQs related to this post” using shared categories/tags.
• Background processing via Action Scheduler for very large migrations.
• A dashboard report of redirect coverage and orphaned posts.