Overview: When you’re creating your WordPress website, you have the option of creating new posts or new pages. But what’s the difference, and in what situations should you use each one? Read on to get the scoop!
As you work on your WordPress website, you’ll probably find yourself wondering about the purpose of pages and posts, and the difference between the two — especially if you’re a WordPress newbie.
In WordPress, there are two quick ways to add content to your website or blog: You can write a post, or you can create a page. While the two may look similar to you as a beginner, there are several differences you should know before clicking on one or the other.
Pages and posts both serve useful purposes, but knowing which one to use will depend on the nature of the content you’re publishing. Keep reading to learn more about them and power-up your WordPress skills.
Understanding WordPress Posts vs. Pages:
Understanding the difference between a post and a page, and knowing the implications of choosing one over the other at the right time, is foundational knowledge for becoming familiar with WordPress.
Let’s take a look at them one at a time…
WordPress Post:
You’re probably familiar with the basic format of a blog. As you scroll through a blog, each piece of published content appears in chronological order, with the most recent entries on top.
WordPress posts make up the blog aspect of your site, which will be presented in this way. Once a new post pops up, it goes to the top of the list of blog posts. Meanwhile, if you set a particular post as a “pinned post,” it will always appear at the top, above the others. Older posts remain in the archive after they drop off your front page of posts, and you can categorize your posts to help visitors find them. Posts are also visible through your website’s RSS feed.
Here are a few things to know:
To put it in basic terms, your posts will generally be informational updates on a particular subject or talking point.
Posts are listed in chronological order, with the option to tag, categorize, and archive on your site.
Blog posts, news articles, and product updates can be used to share content for engagement purposes, depending on the purpose of your website.
WordPress posts will make up content from your blog that will be provided to RSS feeds.
For maximum effectiveness, new posts should appear on your website frequently, so visitors see that the site is dynamic and constantly changing.
If you want to publish your posts on a page other than the home page, it’s better to use the Front Page function. WordPress posts get published by default in the blog. The key point is that the more you keep your audience updated with the content, the more chances you’ll have to increase visitors. Moreover, it’s easier to publish most of your content as posts rather than creating a page every time.
Related Reading: A beginner’s guide to WordPress Posts
What is a WordPress Page?
WordPress pages are similar to posts, and you’ll assemble them the same way, choosing a title, images, and text. But a WordPress page contains content that is typically more general than what’s found in posts. Unlike posts, pages don’t include the date they were published. They serve as static sections of your website that usually offer your basic information and perhaps a list of services. The sections of your WordPress site that would be created as pages might include your FAQs, About Us, or Contact Us. And in fact, it’s altogether likely that you’ll have a page devoted to housing your blog posts!
Here are a few things you should know:
WordPress pages are usually reserved for static information.
Pages should include any source of information that you want visitors to be able to find quickly and easily, without too much scrolling.
Unlike posts, pages aren’t listed with dates and can’t be categorized or tagged.
Pages have a hierarchy, meaning you can nest pages under pages by making one the Parent of the other.
Since they don’t have the date or time they get published, pages aren’t included in RSS feeds.
Related Reading: What is page in WordPress and how to create pages?
WordPress Pages Explained: 3 Things You Should Know
Pages have static content: As we alluded to earlier, the most significant difference between pages and posts is that pages contain static content in most cases. The most obvious examples are FAQs, Contact Us, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policies… You get the idea. A page is a part of your site that always remains the same. Some WordPress enthusiasts also call it “evergreen content.”
Pages are optimized in the hierarchy of your website: Unlike blog posts, you can optimize pages in the hierarchy. In other words, you can create a Parent page and nest a Child page/s below it. All you need to do is to set the page’s attributes accordingly.
Pages have different templates: Another difference is that pages offer the option to apply page templates, which you’re unlikely to find for blog posts. These templates are simply generated by the WordPress themes you’re using. Templates allow you to customize the content on a pre-designed page to fit your needs.
WordPress Posts Explained: 3 Things You Should Know
Since the vast majority of content on WordPress sites is in the form of posts, you’ll begin to notice that “Posts” is the main menu option on your WordPress site.
Posts are dynamic: Blog posts are generally designed to be informational updates about a certain topic — unlike the “evergreen” concept of pages, posts are “right now.”
Posts are date-oriented, but the dates are flexible: When you create a post and add it to your WordPress site, it appears on the top. A timestamp is automatically inserted along with the author’s name when you publish a blog post. But note that you can schedule a post to automatically be published at a specified date and time in the future. And you can even back-date a post in WordPress if you need to for some reason.
Comments are enabled by default: If you’re using a standard template, WordPress will most likely allow other users to comment on your blogs, ask questions, and respond to each other. However, if you’d prefer not to allow comments, consider turning them off from the admin dashboard in Settings > Discussion.
In Summary:
Pages and posts, posts and pages — now you know the differences. WordPress is a great tool for running a website, but it comes with its share of processes and options that sometimes confuse newbies when they’re using the platform for the first time.
As you’re putting your new WordPress website together, think about each new piece of content before you create it. Ask yourself: Should this be a page or a post?
Of course, the easiest thing to do is to let somebody else worry about the tricky stuff. Fortunately, MyUnlimitedWP is just a few clicks away! Our experts have been working with WordPress since WordPress was brand-new. Let us take the guesswork out of your website upkeep. Contact us today!
