WordPress has two types of pages to share your content on. It can be confusing for new bloggers to know when to use a Page and when to use a Post. Post vs Page will make your choice easy.
This post will show you how to make that decision
- The differences
- Examples
- Changing from a post to a page and visa-versa.
In my post How to Change a Page URL |Protect SEO|Traffic One reason I needed to make changes was that when I started blogging I sometimes added content to Pages and sometimes to Posts. In the Admin of a site both these types of pages look very much alike, and it is confusing.
In the comments of this post, Nikki recently asked – ” I need a bit of clarification to understand. What’s the difference between Pages and Post Pages?“
This is a very good question, and Nikki just wanted confirmation that she was doing it correctly, assigning her content to either a Post or a Page.
Post vs Page WP |When to Use Each
1. The differences Post vs Page
Post – carries content that you want read and shared
Page – carries content that is not generally shared, but they can be shared
Post – goes into your RSS feed
Page – Pages do not go into the RSS feed
Post – joins a blog page index that records your content posts, in reverse chronological order. The newest is placed first.
Page – Pages do not go to this index of shared content
Post – are dated with the published date
Page – are not dated with the published date
Post – can be placed into categories
Page – uses a hierarchical system.
Post – Many bloggers use e.g. Shareaholic. Shareaholic can advertize your posts to encourage readers to enjoy your other pages.
Page – Plugins like Shareaholic do not advertize Pages
2. Examples – when to use each
Post –
- All of your content that you want on a reverse chronological index, will come from a Post.
- All content to be shared under a category will be put on a Post.
- Everything that you want in your RSS feed will be published on a Post.
Page –
- Your About page is best on a Page – it is static and not dated.
- The landing page for an e-book or other product would be on a Page.
- A thank you page should be on a Page.
- A Download page would be on a Page.
- Your Contact form might be on a Page, or code into a widget.
- A shopping cart would be on a Page.
- My Blogger’s Pit Stop linky has a Helps page, it is on a Page and can only be viewed via a link.
- A linky party banner page usually is on a Page
- Any content not to be openly shared, put it on a Page. You may have a link from a Post leading to a Page, but the Page itself is not shared on the menu.
3. Changing from a Post to a Page or visa-versa
It is important not to transfer the content from one to the other and delete the one you don’t want.
If you do, the result is that you lose search engine ranking.
You will lose visitors who try to reach the deleted page.
Your visitors will become frustrated with your site judging it as difficult to navigate.
Use a 301 redirect as described in Change a Page URL
That way anyone who tries to go to the old page will seamlessly be redirected to the new page. Even if you are retiring a page and not renewing it, do a 301 redirect to any of your other helpful pages.
There are several Plugins that say they can do the change for you; many seem old and not updated. One recently updated plugin is Post Type Switcher.
I use this to change a Page to a Post. I am impressed. It is much easier than doing a 301 redirect. When the change was made it put the ‘new post’ under the date that it was originally published as a Page. The URL stays the same.
Reviving an old Page and making it as a ‘NEW’ Post
If you are reviving the content of an old page don’t use the plugin because you don’t want a stale date on it. To turn an old Page into a ‘NEW’ Post, use the 301 redirect method. This way the ‘new post’ goes in as a new post with the new date on it making it look fresh.
I trust you have found this information helpful – Post vs Page WP |When to Use Each
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9 thoughts on “Post vs Page WP |When to Use”
Very helpful information, Kathleen. Thank you for posting. Shared!
Kathleen, This is very helpful, especially for any new blogger, especially the 301 redirect! Appreciate the information! Have a great week!
ah ha! i had no idea and I have a 301 but had no idea what it was doing! thanks for explaining the difference between post and page so clearly Kathleen!
Thanks Millie for your kind words
Thank you so much for the 301 tip, Kathleen! I have just been struggling with this issue this week, so this is super timely and helpful!
More great information here, Kathleen. You are the go to site for so many valuable tips for bloggers.
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I am not tech savvy when it comes to blogging and it’s information like this, Kathleen, that keeps bloggers like me informed and on the right track. Thanks for explaining the difference between post and page!
I love this article. Pinned to my Blogging 101 board.
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