Where do I find it?
SIDE PANEL> POSTS
What does it mean?
This article guides you through the process of creating, editing, and optimising blog posts within your WordPress website, detailing how these articles contribute to your site's content and appearance.
Blog posts (often simply referred to as 'blogs' or 'articles') are individual entries designed to share information, insights, news, or updates on a particular topic. These posts are dynamically displayed on your Blog Listing Page (often labelled 'Magazine' or 'Blog') – which typically serves as a key section on your website's homepage. This organised display makes it straightforward for visitors to access the latest content and engage with a variety of subjects.
The Blog Listing Page presents all your posts in reverse chronological order, meaning the most recent article appears at the top. For a comprehensive understanding of how this special page functions, please refer to our dedicated guide.
What should I do?
| Please note that some images may vary slightly from those shown in this article. |
How to create a Blog/Post?
To create a new blog post, navigate to the 'Posts' menu in your WordPress backend and follow these steps:
1. From the left-hand side panel, click on 'Posts'.
2. Click the 'Add New' button (usually located at the top of the 'Posts' screen).
3. Add a compelling title for your post in the designated title field.
4. Begin adding your content by utilising the WordPress Block Editor below the title area.
- Blocks: The Block Editor allows you to add and configure various types of content, such as text (Paragraph blocks), media (Image, Video blocks), design elements (Columns, Buttons), widgets, and theme-specific blocks.
- Block Configuration: Each block has its own settings panel (typically on the right-hand side of the editor), where you can customise its appearance and behaviour. For example, a Paragraph block's font size, colour, or alignment can be configured here.
5. Set as Featured (Optional): You can choose to feature this blog post, which means it will be prominently displayed at the very top of your Blog Listing Page, overriding the default chronological order. Locate and select the 'Sticky to the top of the blog' option (often found under the 'Visibility' settings in the 'Status & Visibility' panel on the right).
6. Configure Yoast SEO: For optimal search engine visibility, populate the necessary data in the Yoast SEO section, which is typically located below the main content editor.
Post settings
The right-hand sidebar of the post editor provides crucial settings for your blog post:
- Title: While you enter the main title at the top, this section ensures it's correctly set.
- Featured image: This is the main visual that represents your post on the Blog Listing Page and when shared on social media. Click on 'Set featured image' to either select an existing image from your Media Library or upload a new one. We recommend giving new images a descriptive file name for better organisation and SEO.
- Excerpt: Add a concise summary here. This text is displayed as a brief description in post listings, such as on the Blog Listing Page.
- Status: Control the publication status of your post (e.g., Draft, Pending Review, Published).
- Publish: This section allows you to specify the publication date and time. By default, posts are published immediately upon clicking 'Publish'. You can schedule posts for a future date.
- Permalink (Link): Customise the final part of your post's URL (known as the slug) here. A clean permalink is beneficial for SEO and user-friendliness.
- Author: Select a different author for your post if multiple users contribute to your site.
- Discussion: Enable or disable the comment section for this specific post, allowing or preventing readers from leaving comments.
- Yoast SEO: This section provides further options for configuring SEO titles, meta descriptions, and other settings to improve your post's search engine performance.
Categorisation and tagging
- Categories: These are essential for structuring your content. You can add new categories to logically group your posts (e.g., by country, then city, like 'Brazil > Florianópolis'). Categories are typically displayed on the website, allowing users to browse related content.
- Tags: You can also add tags. Unlike categories, tags are generally not displayed on the front-end of the website but are used internally for more granular content management and searchability within your WordPress backend.
Finalising your post
Once you have completed the post content and configured all settings, you have the following options (usually located in the top-right corner of the editor):
1. Save draft: Save your work without making the post live, allowing you to return and continue editing later.
2. Preview: See how your post will look on your website before publishing.
3. Publish: Make your post immediately available to the public on your website.