In this tutorial, we will discuss about the difference between posts and pages in WordPress. Although they are quite similar, their usage varies due to their behavioral attributes. Hence, we thought to write a brief article on WordPress Posts vs Pages, so that you can take right decision while creating content for your blog.
WordPress Posts vs Pages: Introduction:
Most of the WordPress beginners get confused between posts and pages while first starting their blogs. We don't blame them as both pages and posts are very similar as we understand them from a beginner's point of view.
By default, WordPress comes with two types of content publishing methods, i.e. - posts and pages. They seem to have similar editing interface, similar options in the dashboard. You may have questioned yourself that what is the difference between them? Why do you need both? When to use posts and when to use pages? In this article, we will answer all of those questions along with the difference between posts vs pages in WordPress.
What is a Post in WordPress?
In case you are using WordPress as a blog, then you will be using posts to create the majority of your site’s contents. Posts are content entries that are by default listed in reverse chronological order on your blog’s homepage. As they are displayed in reverse chronological order, your posts are very much time dependant. As the posts on your blog get older, the deeper the user has to browse to find it. To make the searching of posts somewhat easier you have the option to organize your posts based on categories and tags. See our complete guide on how to create and manage posts in WordPress.
As WordPress posts are published with time and date in mind, they can also be syndicated through the RSS feed which acts as a notifier to the users who are following you via RSS. You can also use the same RSS feeds to broadcast email notification or newsletter to your subscribers by the help of services such as Aweber or MailChimp etc.
Because of the timely nature of posts, they seem to be highly relevant for social sharing. You can use any social sharing plugin to allow your users to share your posts in social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn etc.
Posts in WordPress also have a built-in commenting feature that allows users to comment on a particular topic. This is one of the best features to engage people in your site's content. You can control this feature through the WordPress Discussion Settings.
A Quick Summery about WordPress Posts:
- Posts are generally news or informational updates about certain topics.
- They generally represent dynamic content.
- They are listed in reverse chronological order and can be grouped by categories and tags.
- WordPress posts can be published as RSS feed.
What is a Page in WordPress?
Pages are originally meant to be for static content types such as your about page, privacy policy, contact page etc. Although WordPress database stores the published date of the pages, they are timeless entities. For example, your contact page or about page is not supposed to expire, though it’s obvious that you may update the contents of those pages.
Because the pages are not time-bound, they are not included in your site's RSS syndication feeds by default. Pages also don't have comments section by default, because most probably you would not want users to comment on your about or contact page.
Unlike posts, pages can be arranged in a hierarchical order. For example, you can have sub-pages within a page. This feature allows you to organize your site's pages in a hierarchical order, and even assign a custom template to them. Pages also have a unique feature called "Order" which allows you customize the display order of pages by assigning a number value to it.
See our complete guide on how to create and manage pages in WordPress.
Quick Summary about WordPress Pages:
- Pages are usually used to publish static content or information.
- Examples of this would be a contact page, about page etc.
- Pages are not ordered/sorted by date and can’t be assigned to any category,
- Pages can be arranged in hierarchic order, which means you have the option to nest a page under another page (called “Parent” page), thus creating a group of pages.
- Due to the static nature and timelessness, pages aren’t included in RSS feeds by default and won’t show the date or time of publishing
Key Differences Between Posts vs. Pages:
The below list describes key differences between Posts and Pages in WordPress. But be noted that, these differences between pages and posts are based on default WordPress configuration. You can always extend these functionalities by using plugins.
Posts are time-bound vs. Pages are timeless.
Posts can be categorized vs. Pages can be grouped in a hierarchy.
Posts are social vs. Pages are NOT.
Posts are included in RSS syndication feed vs. Pages are not included in RSS.
Posts don't have custom template feature vs Pages have custom template feature.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
How many Posts and/Pages Can I Create?
You can create as many posts and/or pages you want. WordPress has no limits on the number of posts or pages that can be created. But, this can be limited by your hosting provider by defining a maximum limit on the WordPress database size.
This is the reason why we always recommend Bluehost and Siteground, as even in their lowest price plans the limit is set to quite higher than that a small/medium website requires.
Are There Any SEO Advantages to One Over Another?
Yes! Definitely. Advanced search engines such as google, bing like website contents to be organized. Although Timeless contents (Pages) are considered to be more important, posts tent to be rank higher if you can properly organize them in categories and tags.
But remember that content is the king. If you write quality content your website will rank higher in search engines.
We hope that you have enjoyed the above article describing the difference between Posts and pages in WordPress. Be with us to explore free training on Leading Technologies and Certifications.
Leave us some comments if you have any questions or doubts about WordPress pages or posts, we will be happy to help you.
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