how to create content on WordPress
Lesson - 3
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Steps To Create content on WordPress
Creating content in WordPress is easy and fun. You can create almost any type of content on your WordPress website either it’s a;
- Blog
- Shop
- Gallery
- Portfolio
- Testimonials, etc
Just anything you just have to choose the proper format and plugin to fulfil your task.
Mostly WordPress content is divided into two parts – posts and pages.
The dynamic content comes under the post ( like blog article ) and static content comes under the page ( like the contact us page, about us page ).
As per the need of your website you can choose the layout of your web pages and post.
To help you understand which one is right, the first thing we will see, what is the difference between creating a post and a page.
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What is the Difference Between Posts and Pages in WordPress
When it comes to creating content for your WordPress site, you have the option to choose between creating either a post or a page.
Both have their respective uses and can add very dynamic elements to your site.
So it’s very important to know when you should use a post and when you should use a page.
This is exactly what we will see below and how to create them in simple steps.
Post vs Page
Posts:
Dynamic Content: Posts are dynamic and time-sensitive content pieces. They are often used for creating a blog, news articles, updates, and any content that gets added regularly.
Categories and Tags: Posts can be organized into categories and tagged, making it easier for visitors to navigate and find specific topics.
Archive: Posts are displayed in reverse chronological order, with the latest post appearing at the top. They have an archive based on date and are suitable for content with discussions and interactions.
Social Sharing: Posts are more suitable for social sharing and engagement, as they invite readers to comment and participate in discussions.
RSS Feed: Posts are automatically included in your website’s RSS feed, allowing subscribers to receive updates.
Pages:
Static Content: Pages are meant for static and timeless content like an “About Us” page, “Contact” page, services, portfolio, or any content that doesn’t change frequently.
No Categories or Tags: Pages do not have categories or tags like posts. They are standalone and are usually organized in the main navigation menu.
Hierarchy: Pages can be arranged hierarchically, creating parent-child relationships. For instance, a “Services” page can have sub-pages for different types of services.
Less Social Interaction: Pages are less interactive than posts, as they usually don’t have comments or social engagement features by default.
Not in RSS Feed: Pages are not typically included in the RSS feed, as they often contain non-dynamic information.
In summary, posts are ideal for regularly updated content, discussions, and dynamic information, while pages are better suited for static, hierarchical, and non-time-sensitive information. Understanding this distinction helps you structure your WordPress site effectively and deliver a seamless user experience.
How to create a post in WordPress?
Posts are searchable content entries listed in reverse chronological order (newest content on top) on your blog’s homepage.
If you look closely at a post you will see it consists:
1. Post Title – tells the reader what the post is about. A great post title grabs the reader’s attention and is more likely to encourage them to read your post.
Also, it gives clues to search engines about the overall content of the post. So try to make your post title SEO friendly and use the H1 tag.
2. Date Published – all posts display the date a post was published. You’ll normally see this displayed at the top of the post.
Example of a blog post:
3. Author – most themes display the name of the post author. Your username is automatically displayed unless you have changed your display name.
4. Comments – all themes have a comment section at the bottom of the post. This is where your readers can click to write a comment in response to your post. Comments allow readers, to engage in discussions, share their thoughts and connect with your site.
5. Your Post Content – this is the main area of your post where you put information that you want to share or reflect on with your readers.
Inside the content, you can insert media files, photos, buttons, subheadings, etc.
6. Categories – are the most general method of grouping content on a WordPress site. Categories help visitors quickly know what topics your website is about and allows them to navigate your site faster.
7. Tags – if you want to identify a piece of content by some specific keywords then the tag is very useful.
To get started creating your first WordPress post, locate and click on the Posts menu followed by Add New on the left-hand side of the WordPress Dashboard
or
Click on the + New link in the WordPress Admin Bar followed by Add New button.
After that, a text editor will open which is also known as Gutenberg.
First, add the post title. Then to create content, start typing in the section provided or choose the different element block by clicking on the + sign provided at the top of the editor page.
From the block, you can choose the heading tags, tables, paragraphs, lists, and more. Hovering over the block icon reveals the description and a preview of that block.
If you scroll down, you can find all the other blocks that are available to use.
How to add images and other elements in the blog post?
Putting images, videos or graphs in your content is a great way to make your site visually appealing.
Optimized images not only help in driving more traffic but also keep your visitors stick to your post.
To add images first you have to determine where you’d like to insert an image in your post.
Then click on the image icon option followed by the “+” icon as shown below.
WordPress then add the image block to the editor. Click on the ‘Upload’ button to select and upload the image from your computer.
Simple as that. In the same way, you can choose different block elements to insert in your WordPress post.
To know more about alignment, captions, descriptions and creating a photo gallery have a look at this details guide:
How to create links and buttons?
There are several different ways to add links in WordPress. You can add links to your posts, pages, navigation menu, sidebar widgets, footer area, and more.
Right now we will see how to insert links and buttons inside the post.
How To Add Text Link
To insert a text link first of all highlight the text that you want to attach the link to.
The selected text is called anchor text.
In the above example, we have selected “add text (highlighted in the red box)”, upon selection you will get an option to add a link to it. Click on the link icon that appeared above the text.
You’ll see a box where you can enter a URL. You can simply copy and paste the URL of the post or page you want to link to, as shown above.
If you want to set your link to open in a new tab, click the toggle and set your link to open in a new tab.
How To Add Link Buttons
The easiest way to add a button to your WordPress posts or pages is by using WordPress’s built-in Button block.
First, click the (+) icon to create a new block and select ‘Button’ from the ‘Layout Elements’ options.
Type the text for your button by clicking in the coloured area. Enter the URL that the button should go to in the ‘Link’ box.
For additional settings such as text style, colour, etc click on the 3 dots and you will get all the options to style your button as per your requirement.
You can also add the ‘nofollow’ attribute to the link by typing it in the ‘Link rel’ box.
How to add a featured image?
A featured image is the image that appears on your blog post list page, and sometimes at the top of your individual blog posts (depending on the theme settings).
Also, whenever your visitors will share your post, the featured image will be shared along with the site link.
If you use high quality and relevant images then there is a good chance that people will open your shared post.
To add a featured image click on the setting icon on the right side of the text editor. Scroll down and click on the featured image block.
Upload the image you want to display as your post thumbnail. This is how you set the featured images on your WordPress website.
Categories and Tags in WordPress? How to Use Them Properly
Categories and tags have much more significance when it comes to the content organization on your site, as well as help in SEO.
We often see the website content segregated into different categories and put under certain tags. It helps website visitors to find the content of the website in more efficient ways.
Let’s discuss categories and tags in WordPress one at a time:
What are categories in WordPress?
Categories are the most general method of grouping content on a WordPress site.
For instance, if I write a post on keyword research, I’ll put it in the “SEO” category. If I write a tutorial on how to start an online store, I’ll put it in “WordPress.”
But, if I add a new post on the best SEO plugin for a WordPress website, I could add my post to both categories: “SEO” and “WordPress.”
How to Add Categories
When editing a blog post, you can add it to a category by checking the box next to the category name.
However, if you want to create a new category, just click the Add New Category link below the list of your existing categories.
You can also add a category directly from the Posts » Categories from the WordPress admin area.
What are Tags in WordPress?
If you want to identify a piece of content by some specific keywords then tags will be a great help for you.
You can add tags in WordPress posts along with categories. However, while a category may cover a broad range of topics, tags are smaller in scope and focused on specific topics.
For example, if I write about Michael Jackson’s biography, then I can add the following tags: Michael Jackson, PoP star, Singer, Moon- Walk, and the list could go on.
Just like categories, you can also assign tags when editing a blog post. Just type the word in the tag section as shown above.
How to publish a post in WordPress?
After you write a post on your WordPress blog, you have to decide whether to publish it (yet).
WordPress gives you three options for saving or publishing your post when you’re done writing it.
If you want to save the post as a draft click on ‘Save Draft’ or to preview your post click on the ‘Preview’ button provided at the top right corner of the editor page.
1. Save Draft: The post is saved as a draft until you decide to publish it or delete it now, tomorrow, the next day, or next year.
2. Preview: It gives you the opportunity to preview your post and check it for any formatting or content changes you want to make.
3. Publish: Upon clicking on publish button it expands into a few sub-options (explained below). Hitting again the publish button will bypass all the previous draft, pending review, or settings, and publishes the post directly to your blog immediately.
• Public: Select this option to make the post viewable to everyone who visits your site.
• Private: Publish this post to your blog so that only you can see it.
• Password Protected: Your post will be password protected so that only members or visitors who have the password will see that particular post.
• Publish Immediately: If you want to publish your post immediately then ignore this setting. However, if you want to schedule the post then set the time and date here and WordPress will automatically publish your post at the selected timestamp.
How to create a new page in WordPress?
Creating WordPress pages is the same as creating a WordPress post. Instead of choosing the Post option, you have to choose the Page option in the admin dashboard.
Upon clicking on ‘Add New’ a text editor will option. Just start creating the content for your page, and add the page title, images, gallery, etc (same as we did in creating our post).
Once you have finished adding content, sizing images and proofing your page, it’s time to publish! Preview it one last time and then click the Publish button.
Unlike posts, pages are hierarchical by nature. For example, you can have subpages or child pages within a page.
In most themes, posts and pages look the same. But when you are using your page to create a landing page or a gallery page, then a page builder like, ‘Elementor‘ comes in very handy.
Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder that comes with so many pre-built website layouts. You can use those beautiful website templates and edited as per your requirement.
A few examples are:
How to Edit Existing Posts
To edit a post that already exists on your site, go to Posts > All Posts in your WordPress dashboard.
Hover on the title of the post you want to edit in the list provided. Choose the quick edit option if you just want to update the post title, slug, published date, categories, or status.
Make the changes that you want to make and then click the Update button.
However, if you are looking to update the content of your post then choose the ‘edit’ option and make all the changes you want.
Once you’re finished, click the Update button to save your edited post.
How To Create Page or Post In WordPress (overview)
Creating content in WordPress is a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
Log In to Your Dashboard: Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard using your credentials.
Navigate to the “Posts” or “Pages” Section: Depending on whether you want to create a blog post or a static page, navigate to either the “Posts” or “Pages” section in the left sidebar.
Click “Add New”: Click on the “Add New” button at the top of the “Posts” or “Pages” section.
Enter a Title: Enter a descriptive title for your content in the provided field.
Add Content: Use the visual editor to create your content. You can type or paste text directly, add images, videos, and other media, and format your content using the provided toolbar.
Formatting and Styles: Use the formatting options to make headings, apply bold or italic styles, create lists, align text, and more.
Adding Media: To add images or other media, click the “Add Media” button and upload or select files from your media library.
Categories and Tags (For Posts): If you’re creating a blog post, you can assign categories and tags to help organize your content and make it easier for users to find.
Save Draft: Periodically click the “Save Draft” button to save your work as you go.
Preview: To see how your content will look on your website, click the “Preview” button.
Publish: Once you’re satisfied with your content, click the “Publish” button to make it live on your website.
Additional Options: Explore additional options like setting a featured image, adjusting the publishing date, and more.
Editing Existing Content: If you need to edit the content you’ve already created, go to the “Posts” or “Pages” section, find the content, and click the “Edit” link below the title.
Remember, this process may vary slightly depending on your theme and any plugins you have installed. Additionally, you can enhance your content creation experience by using the Gutenberg block editor or other content creation tools available in the WordPress ecosystem.
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