WordPress Pages Versus Posts, Which to Choose
Written by Nile | Posted in WordPress | Posted on 
21-01-2012 | 
50 Comments
Tags: content, pages, posts, seo, wordpress
So you have content, but you are not sure you want to go with pages or posts. Well, it really is not that difficult. A lot of people put together a site completely in posts without few pages. Or they make a page and enable comments, depending if their theme has that coded into the page template.
Even you can customize individual pages, since WordPress 3.0, you can customize individual posts. You also have the ability to adjust your menu from your WordPress admin panel to whatever you like if you have the wp_nav_menu php call into the theme itself.
Posts are normally considered an area of your website that will be updated frequently, while pages are more considered to be static. The difference- while both pages and posts are included in a sitemap (if you have a sitemap plugin installed… and you should), only posts are included in your RSS feeds (RSS- really simple syndication.) With the RSS, you can feed it into social network aggregation tools that will publish your posts to your social network handles.
However, you have to ask yourself – do you want comments on a page you will rarely update? What type of content are you putting up and how much of it? Remember for those internet marketers who like to use landing pages, enabling comments on a squeeze page might not be ideal.
If you like to put up mass quantities of items, for example, pixel images where you have a lot of images, you may want to use a page. Or you could release a few at a time in posts.
This is really something you have to decide on how you want to organize your site. If you make a page, you will have to announce the page somehow, especially if you want to drive attention to it.
Navigation is a big part to most sites. It is often the source of a visitor’s problem if your site is confusing to go from one area to the next, and back again with ease. Both posts and pages allow you to implement elements like breadcrumb navigation (a navigation you put at the top that tells you the path from that page you are on, and gives you a way to go back to the home page), links for next and previous post, navigation with numeral navigation (instead of older or newer post links), WP 3.0+ navigation menus, subpage navigation (you can have whole sections as a parent page and then children pages related to that section) and more.
It boils down how you want to organize your site. In fact, your sites organization has pull on your SEO. If search engines see that you have sections of your site that are grouped, they will list those under you
I usually put posts for what I am going to talk about and pages for things I may not update a lot.
Here is a good example of what I was talking about:
How have you organized your site by using pages and posts in WordPress?
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Twitter: flatrocktech
says:
Thank you for the tips for wordpress. They are really helpful for start-up bloggers.
Milena K recently posted..The Main Building Blocks of Every Website Part 2
Thanks for all the ideas. As a new blogger myself,I can really really to the post and use it to my advantage.
Twitter: insitedesignlab
says:
Nice Write Up. I agree that pages should be added less frequently and should be reserved for timeless, static content; posts should be the go to for updates, news, blog posts, etc.
Jon recently posted..Another Awesome CSS3 Button
Twitter: HotBlogTips
says:
You touched on it bit but I like the fact we can now easily mix pages and categories in the menus section of our dashboard. I don’t see an option to add an individual blog posts to the nav menu (through the dashboard) so that’s another reason separate pages and posts.
Like you said, it’s about organization. Links you want permanently displayed for everyone might be better suited as pages and included in the main navigation. That’s not to say pages have to be included in the menus, we can pick and choose now with WordPress without altering code e.g. [wp_list_pages('exclude=285,355].
I just reorganized my blog categories to simplify navigation so this topic is pretty interesting to me.
Brian D. Hawkins recently posted..How To Use Social Media Monitoring To Grow Your Blog
You can add a post to your navigation by adding a custom link in your Menu section in your WordPress backend.
Twitter: trainermikem
says:
Great tips that I will have to give a try on my wordpress site. Thanks for sharing.
Mike recently posted..The Difference Between Weight Loss and Fat Loss
Twitter: martyinmaui
says:
Really interesting Niles. I’ve wondered about the logic behind a page only site … of course I’ve seen many, but never understood what would bring someone back to a site with fixed content unless there was some sort of registration or service involved. Thanks for the information!
marquita herald recently posted..The Key to Managing Major Life Change is to have a Strategy
I am with you Marquita! I too didn’t understand this concept. Thank you Niles for making it clear. This is great information in which I can understand. (I’m not good at these things) Learning from your blog posts have been great. Please Keep it up.
Blessings,
Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Find Your Passion | Key Lifecoach Strategies
Twitter: techsparx1
says:
hello nile
thnx for this nice tips and post really helpful for me to blog better in future thnx
vishvast recently posted..Windows Phone 7.5: How To Create Custom Ringtones
In my opinion it would all depend on what you want to promote. If its a landing page, I am good with the post, else, I would stay with pages.
Eddie Gear recently posted..Keep It Simple Stupid Is Your Way To Blog Success
I agree, I’ve observed this method and I also feel that it depends on what we actually want to promote. Its really interesting to think about the logic behind a page only site.
Agree with you. I usually use page only for static content like “About us” page…. and Post for regular updated content.
Jenni recently posted..Don’t Hire This Guy for Your Website
Twitter: tekgazet
says:
I generally use pages for static pages about the site itself, whereas the posts are means for regular topics covered on the site for which the site is meant.
Ashok recently posted..Speed up thumbnail display on Taskbar in Windows 7
Twitter: womengamechange
says:
I have never heard of a page site until this post. Interesting. But I prefer to have both. There is some content that I want to stay up all the time and I love posting everyday to share with my readers.
Anonymous recently posted..Pariah vs. Redtails: Why Can’t We Support Both Films?
One of my pages is a static wordpress page that I do allow comments on. But it is run as a review site with associate links so it works. I can see however if it were simply an informative page, comments would not work.
Again, as you pointed out, its all about the content and purpose.
Twitter: MustBeCollege
says:
I use pages for more informational static pages, whereas posts are used for things that should be added to some sort of list.
Very informative article you posted, it will help a lot of newbie WordPress owners to learn the true difference.
Twitter: greencountrylaw
says:
I am in LOVE with wordpress 3+. I have often wondered what the real difference is between pages and posts. I tend to look at this in terms of pages being the equivalent to static content and treat posts as dynamic content for news and rss feeds. Thanks for sharing, Nile !
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I think that pages should be kept to static only content, more informational and “resource-like”. Posts are obviously for regularly updated info, and the option to add comments to have interaction with visitors. I think that it is better for SEO purposes to have your site set up this way.
I use both and pretty much like you stated. Except I never really thought of that image issue. I am not a photo site or have large images on my blog but if I choose to “show off” some images it seems like such a better idea to place them in a page.
Thanks for the tip!
~Allie
Allie recently posted..Blogging Success: Failure Is Success
Thanks for this innovative ideas, it is really applicable to improve our wordpress site.
Arjun Rai recently posted..International recruitment agencies
I like the ideas that you mentioned in this post. In reality, navigation is one of the things that can make or break your blog. Thanks for your thoughts!
Christopher Campbell recently posted..Feel Good Friday: All About Bamboo
If you are a blogger and the site is intended for blogging then choosing ‘post’ is a good decision since managing posts are easy and are supported by a lot of themes. Pages are also ‘posts’ as you can see in the URL if you use the default permalink but there are reasons why they are treated as special. There are also plugins that treat pages and posts differently.
Farrell recently posted..The Year to Improve Eyesight
Twitter: lifeintorontoco
says:
Great tips, thanks! On my wordpress site I am going to use static pages for description of my services and posts for articles that may be somehow useful to my potental clients.
Svetlana recently posted..Jan 24, Job Interview Preparation – Enhance Your Job Interview Skills
Twitter: incomestream
says:
Hello Nile
I have not used this feature. Are you saying WordPress can do more than just run a blog?
Thanks
Perry A Davis Jr
Music City
WordPress can do just about anything you want. It has gone from blog to fully functional CMS with the right plugins, and can do almost anything in-between rather well.
Joe recently posted..WP Htaccess Editor
Thanks for your tips. Many bloggers uses wordpress and newbies will get a lot from your post. Thanks so much and continue writing great post!
Vernette Carbon recently posted..MLM Coach – Home Based Business Success Story
Twitter: Cindilu79
says:
To page or post has been a recurring question for me on my site since it is mostly a business directory site. I have opted to go more for posts because I do update my info in the directory and write posts for each organization. I didn’t have a good plan when I first started the site and did have some major reorganization. This post was great for those starting out and I wish I would have found a similar post before I started mapping out my site as it would have saved me a lot of time.
Cindi F recently posted..Boys & Girls Clubs in Indian Country
That was some nice work done above,with examples.
so Page or post depends more upon the update ability of the content i guess in short.
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Twitter: TechTeric
says:
I choose posts!
TechTeric recently posted..Google unifying & rolling updates on its privacy policies and ToS
This seem new to me. I don’t know the difference of post and pages until I read this. On my blog I only have 3 pages and a lot of post.
matt recently posted..Smart Blackberry Phones Plan, Price, Philippines
Thanks! very informative.
Still depends on the purpose.
Twitter: clarekelway
says:
Hi Nile,
Thanks for considering this subject of pages and posts. It is a key issue for me. I recently put together a content site for a client that has many pages and we are yet to put up many posts. They achieved immediate rankings and I was blown away by the traffic that has converted into sales for them!! Also, Google organized their pages just as you show in the example above.
It has taught me something. I think you want your pages to be very clearly planned out with the different areas of your business.
Now that I am re-organizing my own businesses, I will pay close attention to this area.
regards
Clare
clare recently posted..2012 Holistic Health Theme for ClareKelway.com
i would go with POSTS . my site is having only 4-5 pages and rest all are posts
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Twitter: techo_talk
says:
neat post must say i agree page should be update less frequently and i ll give it a try on my wordpress blog
rohit kothari recently posted..3 Ways to Solve Slow Internet Experience In 2012
Before me and my friends were contemplating about this. When do we use page and post, and here is my opinion on the matter. I use page if the content is very broad and I use post to support that page.
I appreciate your post! I am trying to create a website similar. I have been reading a lot and found WordPress Posts VS. Pages … thanks again!
Twitter: SrinivasYReddy
says:
Hello again, Nile. Your posts are always very informative to us bloggers. Like you, I too use pages as static pools of information and posts for the dynamic content. Even if one is doing the right thing, it helps to know the “why” of it, especially from the SEO standpoint. Keep ‘em coming. Cheers!
Srinivas Reddy recently posted..Problem Solving Steps
Twitter: bxunet
says:
As what I have heard from fellow bloggers, a post is better that a static page as it will be indexed faster than the page. Now I know.. Thanks Niles
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Twitter: johncooper123
says:
Although this is very simple to understand, there are still many people out there who simply don’t understand the differences when they first used WordPress. I would think this might be a good idea to keep their curiosity at ease…
John Cooper recently posted..Dinosaur Bedding
Twitter: yboggledeals
says:
I can start using your tips right away. Thanks so much, I am a new blogger and your instructions are so easy to follow.
alicia recently posted..Comment on yBoggle Travel by Benefiting From Discount Cruise Prices | Article Shop
Thanks for the tips ahead. Post is the crucial part of a certain website than to have a static page. This is truly helpful. Thanks!
Shameka Hennagir recently posted..Timber Doors Brisbane
Twitter: ForteProperties
says:
I use posts for blog updates and random articles. Pages are more for resources that i know will be frequently visited for the life of the site. Posts also keep content fresh!
Chris recently posted..Where To Find Owner Financed Homes Austin
Your instructions and guidance are easy to follow. Your content is updated and user friendly.
Cool tips
I think it all depends on the site you are building. Some sites, I use more posts, while others I use more pages. That’s one of the great things about WordPress.
Bill recently posted..Tips For Renting A Car In Europe
Twitter: katiepecbvda
says:
I use both pages and posts on my wordpress site. I update it daily with new posts that include new music and such. I use pages for my static stuff like my About Me and stuff I have for sale, so that someone looking at my page can very easily find it by looking in the right hand column.
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Twitter: BrianHumek
says:
I’ve recently been using more pages because of the way I want the content to look. I know posts can be customized but I have not figured out how to make posts full-width compared to how easy it is to do that with pages. My needs have changed over the years and not until the past two months or so have I desired full-width pages. Now I use pages more than ever.
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Twitter: shimanoreels
says:
This is very helpful information for someone just starting out like myself. I have struggled with understanding when I should use a page vs. a post right from the start. This clears it up for the most part, and I appreciate your effort to do so for us!
John Pruskowski recently posted..10 Tree Stand Success Tips For Trophy Whitetail Deer Hunting
Good advice — I would add that on the post vs page debate, for most of my websites I use pages for information that does not become dated, and add posts for news and trends.
Great tips. I’m always looking for good posts on WordPress sites. Thanks for sharing
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Twitter: namaserajesh
says:
Nice tips, you have cleared doubts that were in my mind from few days ago. Thanks for posting.
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