While posts handle your dynamic content, pages form your website's permanent foundation. Understanding how to create and organize pages is essential for building a professional, easy-to-navigate website.
Pages vs Posts: Understanding the Difference
Pages are timeless content designed for information that doesn't change frequently. Your About page, contact page, Services overview, and Privacy Policy are all pages. Unlike posts, pages don't have publish dates displayed, don't use categories or tags, and don't appear in your blog feed or RSS. Pages are meant to be discovered through navigation menus rather than chronological browsing.
Creating Your First Page
Navigate to Pages > Add New in your dashboard. The page editor is nearly identical to the post editor, using the same Gutenberg block system. Type your page title in the title field, then add content using blocks. Pages typically contain more structured, permanent information than posts, so you might use more heading blocks, column layouts, and call-to-action buttons.
Essential Pages Every Website Needs
Professional websites should include several core pages. The Homepage sets the first impression—whether showcasing recent posts or custom content depends on your site's purpose. The About page tells your story, mission, or company background, helping visitors connect personally. The Contact page provides communication methods—email, phone, contact form, or physical address.
Many sites benefit from additional pages: Services or Products pages describe what you offer, Portfolio showcases your work, Testimonials build credibility, FAQ answers common questions, Blog serves as the archive page for your posts, and Privacy Policy and Terms of Service address legal requirements (increasingly important with GDPR and similar regulations).
Page Attributes and Hierarchy
In the right sidebar under Page Attributes, you'll find powerful organizational tools. The Parent setting lets you create hierarchical page structures. For example, you might have a parent page called "Services" with child pages "Web Design," "SEO," and "Consulting." This creates nested URLs like yoursite.com/services/web-design/.
Hierarchical organization improves navigation and SEO by clearly demonstrating content relationships. Visitors can easily understand your site's structure, and search engines better comprehend how your content connects.
The Template setting appears if your theme offers multiple page layouts. Common options include full-width templates (no sidebar), blank templates (minimal header/footer for landing pages), and specialized templates like portfolio or contact layouts. Choose templates that best showcase each page's content.
The Order attribute controls page sequence in menus and widgets displaying page lists. Lower numbers appear first, allowing precise control over display order.
Creating Navigation Menus
Menus guide visitors through your site, making navigation intuitive. Go to Appearance > Menus to access the menu builder. First, create a new menu by clicking "create a new menu," naming it something descriptive like "Primary Menu" or "Header Navigation," and clicking "Create Menu."
Now add items to your menu. The left panel shows available menu items: Pages, Posts, Custom Links, and Categories. Check pages you want in your menu and click "Add to Menu." They appear in the right panel where you can drag and drop to reorder them.
Create dropdown submenus by dragging items slightly right beneath parent items. Visual indentation indicates menu hierarchy. Your menu structure might look like: Home, About, Services (with sub-items: Web Design, SEO, Consulting), Blog, Contact.
Custom Links in Menus
Custom Links let you add any URL to menus—external websites, email links, or specific posts. Expand the "Custom Links" section, enter the URL and link text, then click "Add to Menu." This flexibility allows complete control over navigation, including links to social media profiles or downloadable resources.
Menu Locations
Most themes offer multiple menu locations—Primary Menu (main navigation), Footer Menu, Social Menu, etc. At the bottom of the menu editor, under "Menu Settings," check boxes indicating where this menu should display. Some themes support multiple menus in different locations simultaneously; others require separate menus for each location.
After configuring your menu, click "Save Menu." Visit your live site to verify navigation appears and functions correctly. Menus are responsive—they typically transform into mobile-friendly hamburger menus on smaller screens automatically.
Homepage Settings
By default, WordPress displays your latest blog posts on the homepage. For most business sites, portfolios, and personal websites, a static homepage makes more sense. Go to Settings > Reading. Under "Your homepage displays," select "A static page." Choose which page serves as your homepage from the dropdown. If you're running a blog, select a different page as your "Posts page" where blog archives will display.
This configuration gives you complete control over your visitor's first impression while maintaining a separate area for blog content.
Building Effective Page Structure
Plan your site structure before creating all pages. Sketch a simple sitemap showing how pages relate. Keep navigation shallow—visitors should reach any page within three clicks from the homepage. Group related pages logically, use clear, descriptive page titles, and maintain consistent naming conventions.
For large sites with many pages, consider mega menus (available through themes or plugins) that display multiple columns of links. This prevents navigation from becoming cluttered while keeping everything accessible.
Page-Specific Settings
Individual pages can have unique features. Disable comments on pages where discussion isn't relevant (like Contact or Privacy Policy). Some themes allow per-page header or footer customization. You might hide page titles on certain pages (like your homepage) for design purposes—check your theme's customization options.
Using Page Builders
While Gutenberg provides solid page-building capabilities, many users employ dedicated page builder plugins like Elementor, Beaver Builder, or Divi for advanced designs. These offer drag-and-drop interfaces with pre-designed sections, advanced styling options, and no coding required. Page builders excel at creating custom landing pages, product showcases, and unique layouts beyond what standard blocks offer.
Organizing Content for Users
Always consider user experience when structuring pages. Use breadcrumb navigation (many SEO plugins add this) showing users their location within your site hierarchy. Include obvious calls-to-action directing visitors to next steps. Ensure your navigation menu isn't overwhelming—seven items or fewer is ideal for primary navigation. Use footer menus for Less critical pages like legal documents.
Well-structured pages and intuitive navigation keep visitors engaged longer, reduce bounce rates, and improve conversions. Taking time to plan your site structure pays dividends in user satisfaction and search engine rankings.
Your website's page structure is its skeleton—build it thoughtfully, and everything else falls into place naturally.
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