Shortcode to create a linked list of site policies.

functions.php

/**
 * Site policies shortcode.
 *
 * This shortcode creates a linked list of site policies. Any page that uses the
 * word "policy" in the title or slug is deemed a policy to be listed. Using the
 * shortcode [site-policies] in any post or page (or anywhere shortcodes work on
 * your particular site,) will output a linked list the site policies.
 *
 * The following attributes are supported; include as many or as few as you like
 * to get the desired result. The default behavior is to display all policies in
 * an unordered list that has a class name of "policy-list". The default sorting
 * is by policy title, ascending.
 *
 * Supported attributes:
 *
 * 		orderby: post_title or post_date; default is post_title
 * 		sort: asc or desc; default is asc
 * 		format: ul, ol, span, p, div; default is ul
 * 		class: additional class to add to the container
 * 		divider: the divider between links; for p, span, div formats
 * 		exclude: comma-separated list of page slugs to exclude
 *
 * Examples:
 *
 * 		List all policies, sorted by title/asc, in an unordered list.
 * 		[site-policies]
 *
 * 		List all policies, except those with slugs policy-one and policy-two.
 * 		[site-policies exclude="policy-one,policy-two"]
 *
 * 		List all policies, sorted by date/desc, in an ordered list.
 * 		[site-policies format="ol" orderby="post_date" sort="desc"]
 *
 * 		List all policies in a <div> with pipes dividing the links.
 * 		[site-policies format="div" divider="|"]
 *
 * 		List all policies in a <p> and pass in an extra class.
 * 		[site-policies format="p" class="my-class-name"]
 *
 *		...or any combinations of the above.
 *
 * @author John Alarcon
 *
 * @since 1.0.0
 *
 * @param array $atts
 * @return void|string Marked up list of site policies.
 */
function codepotent_policies_shortcode($atts) {

	// Bring database object into scope.
	global $wpdb;

	// SQL order.
	$orderby = 'post_title';
	if (!empty($atts['orderby']) && $atts['orderby'] !== 'post_title') {
		$orderby = 'post_date';
	}

	// SQL sort.
	$sort = 'ASC';
	if (!empty($atts['sort'])) {
		if (strtolower($atts['sort']) !== 'asc') {
			$sort = 'DESC';
		}
	}

	// Page slugs to exclude, if any.
	$exclude = (!empty($atts['exclude'])) ? explode(',', $atts['exclude']) : [];

	// SQL query to grab pages with "policy" in the title or slug.
	$sql = "SELECT * FROM $wpdb->posts
		WHERE ($wpdb->posts.post_title LIKE %s OR $wpdb->posts.post_name LIKE %s)
		AND $wpdb->posts.post_type = 'page'
		AND $wpdb->posts.post_status = 'publish'
		ORDER BY $wpdb->posts.$orderby $sort";

	// Execute the query.
	$result = $wpdb->get_results($wpdb->prepare($sql, '%policy%', '%policy%'));

	// Nothing to show? Return.
	if (is_wp_error($result) || empty($result)) {
		return;
	}

	// Output format.
	$format = 'ul';
	$formats = ['ul', 'ol', 'span', 'div', 'p'];
	if (!empty($atts['format']) && in_array($atts['format'], $formats, true)) {
		$format = $atts['format'];
	}

	// Container.
	$markup = '<'.$format.' class="policy-list'.(!empty($atts['class']) ? ' '.sanitize_title($atts['class']) : '').'">'."\n";

	// Policy links.
	switch($format) {
		case 'ul':
		case 'ol':
			foreach ($result as $policy) {
				if (!in_array($policy->post_name, $exclude)) {
					$markup .= '<li><a href="'.get_permalink($policy->ID).'">'.$policy->post_title.'</a></li>'."\n";
				}
			}
			break;
		case 'span':
		case 'p':
		case 'div':
			$divider = (!empty($atts['divider'])) ? esc_html($atts['divider']) : '|';
			$str = '';
			foreach ($result as $policy) {
				if (!in_array($policy->post_name, $exclude)) {
					$str .= '<a href="'.get_permalink($policy->ID).'">'.$policy->post_title.'</a>';
					$str .= ' '.$divider.' ';
				}
			}
			$markup .= rtrim($str, ' '.$divider.' ');
			break;
	}

	// Container.
	$markup .= '</'.$format.'><!-- .policy-list'.(!empty($atts['class']) ? '.'.sanitize_title($atts['class']) : '').' -->'."\n";

	// Return the markup.
	return $markup;

}

// Add the shortcode.
add_shortcode('site-policies', 'codepotent_policies_shortcode');