WordPress was created as a way for bloggers to create websites without having to know any code. WordPress was, therefore, originally designed for creating posts. Over time, web creators began using WordPress to create full-fledged websites, and pages became more important.
In this article, you’ll learn the differences between posts and pages. You’ll also learn when it’s best to use posts and when you’d be better off using pages.
What are posts? #
Posts are used when you want to share information that changes frequently or when you want to share content on social media. If you have a blog that you update daily, each daily blog entry is a post.
Organization #
Posts will appear in reverse chronological order. That means your newest posts will appear at the top of the page, and your older posts will be located at the bottom.
Features #
Posts come with numerous built-in features that allow you to make them interactive:
- Comment section
- Buttons to share posts on social media
Posts also have built-in features that allow you to organize them more effectively:
- Author credit (you can include an author picture or avatar and a short biography)
- Publication date
- Categories
- Tags
When to use #
You don’t have to limit your posts to blog entries. Posts are also great when you want to announce new product releases or exciting information about your company, when you have time-sensitive content, or when you have a schedule of events, etc.
What are pages? #
Pages are a great way to describe your business or organization as a whole. The most common pages are the Home, About Us, Contact, and Product or Services pages. You can also use the 404 page to let your visitors know they’ve tried to reach a non-existent page on your site.
Organization #
The organization of pages is hierarchical with parent pages and child pages. Parent pages have characteristics that they pass down to the child pages, like the overall theme or just the location of it.
Features #
Pages come with no built-in features. If you want a specific feature on one of your pages, you can achieve that functionality by installing plugins.
When to use #
It’s best to use pages for static content that rarely, or never, changes.
Posts and pages, a side-by-side comparison #
| What are Posts? | What are Pages? |
Time: Dependent | Time: Independent |
Organization: Reverse chronological | Organization: Hierarchical |
Built-in features: Numerous | Built-in features: None |
Note: You may, at certain points, come across the term “Post Types”. This is a category definition in WordPress and is unrelated to the term “post” as we use it in this article.
Conclusion #
In this article, we’ve covered the key differences between posts and pages. You now know when it’s best to use them and are well on your way to building a stunning website!
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