I have an acf field called totalviews. It stores the total views number for each page i have. The field is number/numeric. Then I am trying to find the page with most views so i sort the number i store in acf field using a wp_query inside functions.php file but i get wrong sort order results. Its messed up not ASC nor DESC ... is my query right? Any help appreciated.

$q_args = array(

                'category__not_in' => array( 62,63,170,175,176,171,180 ),
                'post_type' => 'post',
                'posts_per_page'=>'-1',
    'order'   => 'DESC',
                'meta_query' =>array(
                        array(
                            'key' => 'picture_url',
                            'value' => 'none',
                            'compare' => '!='
                       ),
                                 array(
                                         'key' => 'totalviews',
                                         'value' => '0',
                                         'compare' => '>=',
                                         'type' => 'NUMERIC',
                                         'orderby' => 'meta_value_num'
                                )
    )
            );
            $query = new WP_Query( $q_args );

I have an acf field called totalviews. It stores the total views number for each page i have. The field is number/numeric. Then I am trying to find the page with most views so i sort the number i store in acf field using a wp_query inside functions.php file but i get wrong sort order results. Its messed up not ASC nor DESC ... is my query right? Any help appreciated.

$q_args = array(

                'category__not_in' => array( 62,63,170,175,176,171,180 ),
                'post_type' => 'post',
                'posts_per_page'=>'-1',
    'order'   => 'DESC',
                'meta_query' =>array(
                        array(
                            'key' => 'picture_url',
                            'value' => 'none',
                            'compare' => '!='
                       ),
                                 array(
                                         'key' => 'totalviews',
                                         'value' => '0',
                                         'compare' => '>=',
                                         'type' => 'NUMERIC',
                                         'orderby' => 'meta_value_num'
                                )
    )
            );
            $query = new WP_Query( $q_args );

• wp-query

• The orderby doesn't belong in a meta_query. Instead, it's the main args and should be placed after the meta_query. – Sally CJ Commented Jul 11, 2019 at 1:30
• where exactly??? – stefanosn Commented Jul 11, 2019 at 1:35
• 'meta_query' => array( ... ), 'orderby' => 'meta_value_num' – Sally CJ Commented Jul 11, 2019 at 1:50
• nope does not work! let me remove the array( 'key' => 'picture_url', 'value' => 'none', 'compare' => '!=' ), – stefanosn Commented Jul 11, 2019 at 1:52
• hmmm it worked without the array( 'key' => 'picture_url', 'value' => 'none', 'compare' => '!=' ) but i need to include it in the query... is it possible? – stefanosn Commented Jul 11, 2019 at 1:53

1 Answer 1

From your comment:

it worked without the array( 'key' => 'picture_url', 'value' => 'none', 'compare' => '!=' ) but I need to include it in the query... is it possible?

Yes, using named sub-meta queries like so:

$q_args = [
    // ... other args here ...
    'meta_query' => [
        'picture_url' => [ 'key' => 'picture_url', 'value' => 'none', 'compare' => '!=' ],
        'totalviews'  => [ 'key' => 'totalviews', 'value' => '0', 'compare' => '>=', 'type' => 'NUMERIC' ],
    ],
    'orderby' => 'totalviews', // set this to a key in the above meta queries
    'order'   => 'DESC',
];

The orderby parameter can also be an array:

'orderby' => [
    'totalviews'  => 'DESC', // sort by meta_query key
    'picture_url' => 'ASC',  // sort by meta_query key
    'date'        => 'DESC', // sort by the post date
]

And (once again), orderby is not a valid argument for an array in the meta_query array. See here for more details.