The Difference between WordPress Posts and Pages
When you’re just starting out in WordPress, things can get a little confusing. Be sure to check out my tutorial on the WordPress Dashboard if you haven’t already.
When you’re ready to begin writing and publishing posts, it’s important to know the difference between Posts and Pages. They each have a distinct purpose, and you’ll want to ensure you’re using them correctly.
WordPress Posts
Posts are the articles you create for your blog itself. They will be what are included in your RSS feed as well. They appear in chronological order on your blog and within your RSS feed. It’s possible to pre-date a post and have it ‘change places’ within your feed.
WordPress Pages
Pages are static content that you don’t want to appear in your feed. I use WordPress Pages for my About page, my Contact page, and for my Disclosure and Copyright. You could also use a Page as a landing page to link out to various posts over a common theme.
Both Posts and Pages are similiar to create; however, there are a few differences.
Creating a WordPress Post
New Post
In the left pane of the WordPress Dashboard, Click on >Posts >Add New
Visual/Text Tabs
Visual tab displays how your post will actually look on your blog.
Text tab displays the html code for your post
Most often, you’ll create your posts in the Visual tab.
Kitchen Sink
This is where you’ll find the editing tools for your post. It’s located at the top of your post window. By default, the Visual editor shows just one line of buttons, so you click on the Kitchen Sink button to expand and display more buttons.
Distraction Free Writing
Click this button to change to full screen writing mode in order to cut down on screen distractions.
Draft/Preview a Post
Save as you go by clicking Save Draft (I click it a million times because I’m paranoid about losing my work lol). You can also Preview your post and see what it will look like published.
Schedule a Post
You can publish your post right away or schedule it for a future day and time. I like to use this and try to keep ahead on my schedule.
Set a Featured Image
I recommend setting a featured image so that social media will know what image to pull when readers share your posts. The featured image dimensions are determined by your blog theme.
Add Images to Your Post
Use the Add Media button to add images to your post. You’ll be able to upload new images or insert images already in your library.
As I mentioned previously, creating a Page is very close to the same as creating a Post. The important thing between the two will be to remember what each is best used for.
Check out these additional WordPress articles:
Learn to Create Menus in WordPress
Simple Explanation and Samples for Creating Categories in WordPress
Getting Started with the WordPress Dashboard
Easy Steps to Installing WordPress on a SiteGround Hosted Blog
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