Best way to create a page outside of the pages list

Question

Currently, to add a single page that should not be part of the CMS, I add a new Page entry in the WP admin panel and then markup the page in page-{page-slug}.php. This however causes the Pages list to contain pages that are not meant to be edited by the client/editor (title, content are irrelevant).

How should I create these custom PHP pages without using the Pages system?

• The slug should still work and not be overwritable by new pages
• A php file should be linked dynamically like page-{slug}.php or /inc/{slug}.php

Answer 1

Such an interesting question, I will be keen to see the other responses.

I am sure their is a more elegant solution but I would just hook into the wp admin css and hide those pages from the users view like this.

    // Hook into the admin head
    add_action('admin_head', 'hidepages_css');

    // Add our custom CSS to the admin pages
    function hidepages_css() { ?>

    <style>

/*Each page entry is within a table (table has a class of .pages) and has a unique ID, use your browsers inspect element to find the ID of the pages you want hidden from users view */

    .pages #post-5, .pages #post-9,  {
        display: none !important;
    }

    </style>

    <?php } ?>

You can also set it so that only you can see the pages as an admin but your users with lower roles cant.

// Check if the user is an admin
    if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
        // Hook into the admin head
    add_action('admin_head', 'hidepages_css');

    // Add our custom CSS to the admin pages
    function hidepages_css() { ?>

    <style>

    .pages #post-5, .pages #post-9,  {
        display: none !important;
    }

    </style>

    <?php } ?>
    } 

Answer 2

Same pages as answer above "5 and 9" can also be hidden/removed from backend with PHP:

function hidepages_php( $query ) {
        if( !is_admin() )
                return $query;
        global $pagenow;
        if( 'edit.php' == $pagenow && ( get_query_var('post_type') && 'page' == get_query_var('post_type') ) )
                $query->set( 'post__not_in', array(5,9) ); //ids of posts you dont want visible in backend 
        return $query;
}
add_action( 'pre_get_posts' ,'hidepages_php' );

OR even do the same thing for specific users only. Here is an example that hids from everyone except YOU specifically or a specific user:

function hidepages_php( $query ) {
        if( !is_admin() )
                return $query;
        global $current_user;
        get_currentuserinfo();
   if($current_user->user_login != 'yourusername') {
        global $pagenow;
        if( 'edit.php' == $pagenow && ( get_query_var('post_type') && 'page' == get_query_var('post_type') ) )
                $query->set( 'post__not_in', array(5,9) ); //ids of posts you dont want visible in backend 
        return $query;
    }
}
add_action( 'pre_get_posts' ,'hidepages_php' );