Need to understand how to differentiate posts and pages in WordPress ?
Often times, WordPress beginners confuse posts and pages. By default, WordPress comes with two types of content: posts and pages.
As a beginner you are probably wondering what is the difference between posts and pages?
In the dashboard, they look very similar, as well as on the website.
Readers often ask us:
Why do i need both?
When should I use the items?
When should I use pages?
In this article, we will explain the difference between posts and pages in WordPress.
But before, if you have never installed WordPress discover How to Install a WordPress Blog in 7 Steps et How to search, install and activate a WordPress theme on your blog.
Then, back to why we are here.
What is an article, publication or post in WordPress?
Posts are blog content listed in reverse chronological order (most recent content on top). You will see the articles listed on your blog page.
If you are using WordPress as a blog then you will end up using articles for the majority of your website content.
You can add and edit your WordPress posts from the " ArticlesFrom your dashboard. This is how the screen looks Add.
Due to their reverse chronological order, your articles are supposed to be posted in a timely manner. Older posts are archived by month and year.
As the items age, the user has to dig deeper to find them. You have the possibility to organize your publications according to categories and labels.
Because WordPress posts are published with the time and date in mind, they are syndicated across flux RSS. This allows your readers to be notified of the most recent article update via RSS feeds.
Bloggers can use RSS feeds to distribute emails through services like constant Contact, AWeber ou MailChimp . You can create a daily and weekly newsletter your audience can subscribe to.
The very timely nature of the articles makes them extremely social. You can use one of the many social sharing plugins to allow your users to share your publications on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc…
Articles encourage conversation. They have a comment feature which allows users to comment on a particular topic. By default, comments, pingbacks and trackbacks are enabled.
You can go to Settings »Discussion to disable comments on older posts if you wish.
WordPress posts usually have the author's name and the date published / updated.
The best example of a WordPress post may be this post you are reading right now. Go to the top, and you can see the category of the article 'WordPress plug-in, WordPress Tutorials' . Under the title there is also the author's name and the social sharing buttons are to the left of the content if you scroll down.
After the content of the main article, there is the comments section. You usually can't find them on a page.
Now that you know what posts are, let's take a look at the pages and how they are different.
What are pages in WordPress?
Pages are "one-off" type static content such as your information page, privacy policy, contact page, etc. Although the WordPress database stores the page's published date, pages are timeless entities.
For example, your page about a year old isn't supposed to expire. Of course, you can go back and update it, but chances are you won't find page 2012, page 2013, etc…. And since there is no date and time attached to the pages, they are not included in your RSS feeds by default.
You can add and edit pages in WordPress from the " Pages » from your dashboard. This is what the screen looks like Add :
Pages aren't meant to be social in most cases, so not including social share buttons won't be a problem.
Likewise, the pages do not include comments either. You don't want users to comment on your contact page or legal disclaimer page. However, there is an option to enable comments, but it is disabled by default for your WordPress pages.
Unlike posts, pages are hierarchical in nature. For example, you can have subpages or child pages in a page. You can easily turn a page into a subpage by choosing a parent page from the page attributes when editing a page.
A key example of this in action would be our Resources page. This feature allows you to organize your pages together, and even assign them a custom template.
WordPress by default comes with a feature that allows you to create custom page templates using your theme. This allows developers to customize the look of each page as needed.
In most WordPress themes, posts and pages look the same. But when you use your page to create a Landing Page or a gallery page, then the custom page templates feature comes in handy.
Pages also have this archaic feature called "Order" which allows you to customize the order of the pages by assigning a value to it. However, this functionality is extended by plugins like Single Page Ordering which allows you to change the order of pages by drag and drop.
WordPress Pages vs Posts (Key Differences)
To sum up, here are the main differences between posts and pages in WordPress.
- Posts are timely versus pages that are timeless.
- Articles are social, but Pages are not.
- Posts are organized using categories and labels relative to pages which are hierarchical and can be organized as child and parent pages.
- Posts are included in the RSS feed while Pages are not.
- Articles have an author and the date published on the other hand Pages does not.
The differences we have listed above may have exceptions. You can use plugins to extend the functionality of both types of content.
Despite these differences, there are some similarities between pages and posts in WordPress.
First of all, they are both used for posting content. You can add text, images, forms, etc. to publications and pages.
You can create a website without ever using the posts or blogging features of WordPress. You can also create a business website with pages and a separate blog section for your news, announcements, and other articles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we've heard from our users about posts and pages, and how to use them properly in WordPress.
1. How many posts and / or pages can I have?
You can have as many posts and / or pages as you want. There is no limit to the number of posts or pages that can be created.
2. Are there any SEO benefits to either?
Search engines love organized content. Timeless content is considered more important; however, there is a lot of priority to be given to the latest content in a timely manner.
In short, there might be a difference, but as a beginner you don't need to worry about that. Focus on organizing your website for the user.
3. What pages should I create on my website or blog?
It really depends on the kind of blog or website you are creating.
4. Can I change articles to pages and vice versa?
Many newbies accidentally add content to articles when they want to build pages. Likewise, some new bloggers may end up saving blog posts as pages.
If you are just getting started then you can easily fix this using the plugin post type switcher.
5. Are there other types of content in WordPress besides posts and pages?
Yes there is. However, these other default types of content include attachments, revisions, and navigation menus that are not normally used in the same way as posts and pages.
WordPress also allows developers to create their own custom post types. This feature is used by plugins to create additional types of content in WordPress.
For example, if you create a WooCommerce store, you will see a post type ' Products'in your WordPress admin area.
Discover also some premium WordPress plugins
You can use other WordPress plugins to give a modern appearance and to optimize the handling of your blog or website.
We offer you here some premium WordPress plugins that will help you do that.
1. Smart Podcast Player
Smart Postcast Player is designed for podcasts. This WordPress audio player plugin is a premium product. It can easily manage your entire media library using the player Smart Track for an entirely unique show.
This way you can use it for music, podcasts or even just so that your visitors can download media on an ad hoc basis.
You can even capture the email addresses of listeners through your mailing list.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
2.YITH WooCommerce Wishlist
The YITH WooCommerce Wishlist WordPress plugin lets you put together a wishlist, so your customers can throw in whatever they want in your online store the next time they visit.
See also our 10 WordPress plugins to create custom forms of commands
YITH WooCommerce Wishlist will do just this: it will help you get conversions and the returns will go up.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
3. WooCommerce PDF Invoice, Packing Slip & Shipping Label
The WordPress WooCommerce PDF Invoice plugin automates the creation of PDF invoices, packing slips and shipping labels. It allows your staff to save time, by making them ignore the tasks of copying the details of the order and sending it manually to the customer.
You will have the possibility to select an invoice template among the 6 available, to personalize it, and to add the name of the company, the address and the logo.
Find out in our next article How to add a query monitor to WordPress
It is very flexible and offers many other features that you can discover by trying its demo.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
Other recommended resources
We also invite you to consult the resources below to go further in the grip and control of your website and blog.
- How to install and configure the WP Super Cache plugin
- How to create a WordPress file upload form
- How to backup WordPress when you don't have access to it
- 5 excellent premium WordPress plugins to add a slider
- How to Add a Contextual Help Menu to WordPress
Conclusion
Here ! That's it for this tutorial. We hope this article has helped you learn the difference between pages and posts in WordPress and how to use them. Feel free to share the tip with your friends on your social networks.
However, you can also consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on WordPress blog creation.
But, in the meantime, let us know your comments and suggestions in the dedicated section.
...
