add_option()

add_option() — Adds a new option. You do not need to serialize values. If the value needs to be serialized, then it will be serialized before it is inserted into the database. Remember, resources cannot be serialized or added as an option. You can create options without values and then update the values later. Existing options will not be updated and checks are performed to ensure that you aren’t adding a protected WordPress option. Care should be taken to not name options the same as the ones which are protected.

Inputs: $option (string): Name of the option to add. Expected to not be SQL-escaped. $value (mixed): Optional. Option value. Must be serializable if non-scalar. Expected to not be SQL-escaped. $deprecated (string): Optional. Description. Not used anymore. $autoload (bool|null): Optional. Whether to load the option when WordPress starts up. Accepts a boolean, or null to leave the decision up to default heuristics in WordPress. For backward compatibility ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are also accepted, though using these values is deprecated. Autoloading too many options can lead to performance problems, especially if the options are not frequently used. For options which are accessed across several places in the frontend, it is recommended to autoload them, by using true. For options which are accessed only on few specific URLs, it is recommended to not autoload them, by using false. Default is null, which means WordPress will determine the autoload value.

Returns bool: True if the option was added, false otherwise.