All WordPress themes provide two options for adding content: you can choose to add content to a page or you can choose to add content to a post. Some themes offer a third option and is often titled Portfolio. Portfolio is a custom post type that the theme developers have created. If you’re using a theme with this option, check out the themes documentation to see what kind of cool stuff you can use it for! For now, let’s focus on pages and posts.
What do you mean pages and posts? Aren’t they the same? They look the same and they have nearly the same editing interface! What’s the difference?
Pages vs Posts
Pages and posts are where you’ll create the content that makes up your ePortfolio. Don’t worry, we too struggled with understanding the differences between pages and posts when we were new to WordPress. The biggest difference between pages and posts are that posts are timestamped, whereas pages are timeless.
Pages are for static content. They do not have a publish date. Use pages when it does not make sense to list the content by date because you want your visitors to always be able to see that content in that spot, no matter when they visit your ePortfolio. Most themes support comments at the bottom of pages.
Posts are for timely content. They have a publish date, and they are displayed in reverse chronological order on your site’s blog page. Older posts can “fall off” the blog page (the content is still kept, but no longer visible). Posts are what you should think of when you hear the term “blog post.” All themes have a link to comments, and this is where readers can click to write a comment in response to your post. This may be a handy way to receive feedback from your peers! Also, you can categorize your posts, which is useful to help readers locate posts on your blog.
Below are key differences between pages and posts:
Properties of a page
- Pages are displayed independently of post history and are more static. They remain the same from day to day since they are rarely updated
- Normally used for information that you want to share with readers but don’t expect to update frequently.
- Pages don’t have time stamps so don’t show the date they are published.
- You can change the order pages appear.
- You can’t assign category and tags to pages.
- Pages don’t appear in RSS feeds so readers need to visit your blog to view latest page updates.
- You can create sub-pages which you assign to a parent page to create nested pages.
Properties of a post
- Blog posts appear in reverse chronological order so that the most recent posts is the first post that your readers see.
- Post are dynamic and updated regularly.
- Posts have a time show which displays the date and time the post was published.
- You can assign categories and tags to posts which make them easier to find.
- Posts appear in RSS feed so readers who subscribe to your blog will receive your latest post in their RSS reader.
- Posts display the name of the post author.
(Differences Between Posts and Pages, 2019)
Categories and Tags
Now that you understand the differences between pages and posts, you my be wondering what categories and tags are. Categories and tags are two ways to group your content. Categories are meant for broad grouping, similar to a table of contents. All WordPress posts must be filed under a category. Tags are meant to be granular and descriptive. They can be used to describe specific details of your posts. They are not required for every post. For more detailed information about categories and tags, check out the Beginner’s Guide for WordPress page outlining categories vs tags at: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/categories-vs-tags-seo-best-practices-which-one-is-better/
Let’s get practical
All of this is great information, but how do you add new pages and posts and how do you edit them? What about media and accessibility? Follow the links below to learn more.
Adding New Pages and Posts
Editing/Updating Pages and Posts
Adding Media to WordPress
Accessible Design
Academic Integrity
Wait! How did you do that?
References
- Differences Between Posts and Pages. (2019, April 9). Edublogs. https://help.edublogs.org/the-differences-between-posts-and-pages/#Post_vs_Pages_Video
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