link to single most recent post, regardless of category

Question

I have a landing page that, among other things, features an excerpt from the most recent post with a "Continue Reading" link that should take the reader to the most recent post.

In my search, I've found a lot of guides on how to link to the most recent post within a specified category, but not much on the most recent post regardless of category(because it will vary).

ETA:

<li>
                <h2><a href="http://growingedgecoaching.com/blog">Growing Edge Blog</a></h2>
                    <?php
                    // Get the most recent post
                    $the_query = new WP_Query( 'posts_per_page=1' );

                    // Pull the excerpt
                    while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : $the_query->the_post();
                        the_excerpt();
                    endwhile;

                    // Reset Post Data
                    wp_reset_postdata(); 
                    ?>
                <div class="forward-link">

                    <?php
                    $latest = new WP_Query( array( 'posts_per_page' => 1 ) );
                    while( $latest->have_posts() ) :
                        $latest->the_post();
                        echo '<a href="' . get_permalink() . '>' . get_the_title() . '</a>';
                    endwhile;
                    ?>

                </div><!-- end forward-link -->
            </li>

Any ideas? Thanks.

Answer 1

This code uses snippet from @Milo to suit your requirement.

Replace the code you've provided in question with this -

<li>
    <h2><a href="http://growingedgecoaching.com/blog">Growing Edge Blog</a></h2>
    <?php
    $latest = new WP_Query( array( 'posts_per_page' => 1 ) );
    while( $latest->have_posts() ) : $latest->the_post();
    ?>
    <h2><a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a></h2>
    <?php the_excerpt(); ?>
    <div class="forward-link">
        <a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>">Read More..</a>
    </div>


    <?php endwhile; ?>

</div><!-- end forward-link -->
</li>

• Consider checking out Wordpress codex page for the_loop that has great info

Answer 2

If you query for a single post, you'll get the latest by default:

$latest = new WP_Query( array( 'posts_per_page' => 1 ) );
while( $latest->have_posts() ) :
    $latest->the_post();
    echo '<a href="' . get_permalink() . '>' . get_the_title() . '</a>';
endwhile;