Wordpress loop based on the meta value

Usually we add additional meta fields to post or post types. Wordpress provides very flexible way to get the post/post types based on the meta fields and the values.

The get_posts and the WP_query follow the same structure for accepting arguments and the args mentioned below could be used for both of them.

If we want to display the post/post type based on a particular value of a meta key we could use the following code

1:  $args = array(
2:  'post_type' => 'post',//or the slug of your post type
3:  'meta_key' => 'the_meta_field_name',
4:  'meta_value' => 'the_meta_field_value',
5: );

The problem with the above approach is there is no option to add one more meta field. A more desirable or if you want a more complex result to display then the meta_query is better option.

The meta_query option gives option to add multiple options based on the multiple meta fields associated with the post or post type.

1:  $args = array(
2:  'post_type' => 'post',//or slug of the post type
7:  'meta_query' => array(
8:   array(
9:      'key'     => 'the_meta_field_name',
10:      'value'   => 'the_meta_field_value',
11:      'compare' => '='
12:   ),
13:   array(
14:      'key'     => 'the_meta_field_another',
15:      'value'   => '"%the_meta_field_another_value"',
16:      'compare' => 'LIKE'
17:   ),
18:   )
19:  );

The the above array could be used with both get_posts and WP_query as per your need.