How TopicalBoost “Topic” Pages integrate with your Theme
When you install TopicalBoost, it registers a new taxonomy called “Topics.” Topic pages will be created as you analyze more posts and this taxonomy becomes populated.
Functionally, Topic pages work exactly like your existing Category or Tag pages. They are archive pages designed to list all posts associated with a specific Topic, acting as hubs that collect and distribute link equity from your older content to your new posts.
Because we follow WordPress coding standards, TopicalBoost does not force a specific design on you. Instead, it utilizes the native WordPress Template Hierarchy.
Understanding the Template Hierarchy
If your Topic pages currently look like your blog’s homepage or a standard archive, don’t worry, that’s the expected behavior.
WordPress looks for template files in a specific order. If it doesn’t find a specific template for “Topics,” it falls back to the next available option.
Here is the hierarchy WordPress follows when a visitor clicks on a TopicalBoost Topic:
taxonomy-topic-{term}.php
Used only if you want a unique design for a single specific topic, e.g. “Google.”taxonomy-topic.php
The dedicated template for ALL TopicalBoost topic pages.taxonomy.php
The fallback for any custom taxonomy on your site.archive.php
The general fallback for all archives.index.php
The ultimate fallback if no other templates exist.
Note: If your theme does not have a taxonomy.php file, WordPress will default to archive.php or index.php. This is why your Topic pages may currently look identical to your standard blog feed.
How to Customize Your Topic Pages
To give your Topics a distinct look (or to ensure they match your Category layout exactly), you can create a dedicated template. This allows you to display the Topic descriptions and SEO meta data effectively.
Step 1: Identify your base Locate the file your theme uses for categories. This is usually category.php or archive.php.
Step 2: Copy and Rename Duplicate that file and rename it to: taxonomy-ttd_topic.php
Step 3: Upload Upload this new file to your theme folder. WordPress will now automatically use this template for every Topic page generated by TopicalBoost.
You can now edit taxonomy-ttd_topic.php to add specific sidebars, headers, or unique styling that distinguishes these topic hubs from the rest of your archives.
