So, you've decided to add a Post to your website because you have some topical content that could change, for example a seasonal article, a news item, etc. If you've got more static content the you'll want to create a Page instead.
Adding a WordPress Post is easy once you follow these steps...
- Log in to WordPress
If you're not sure how to log in the visit the page on how to log into WordPress. - Add a Post
On the left menu you can see Posts there are two options:
If you mouse over the menu item you will see two choices All Posts, Add New, Categories and Tags.
Alternately if you click on Posts then you will be taken to the All Posts screen with - not surprisingly - a list of all the pages. From there you can click the Add Post menu item, or the Add Post Button at the top of the screen. - Add your Title
Choose a title that will capture peoples attention. Think if you were searching for this information in Google how would you search? What title would catch your attention if you had made that search. - Add your content
This is where you deliver what people are looking for - whether you attracted them from a Search Engine, emailed them a link or shared the page on Social Media - you need to give them great content. The internet is too crowded for mediocrity to stand out. - Save your Post as you go
You can save your work as you go by clicking the Save Draft button in the top right panel of the New Post screen. - Add an image
Images will help improve your visitors experience. There are several steps to this so we've made a separate post on how to add an image to your WordPress Post. - Optimise for SEO
All our sites include the Yoast SEO Plugin to help you optimise you page for search engines. Remember, your primary concern is making your Post great for the visitors - not Search Engines - once we have a great page then you make the technical tweaks to improve the results for Search Engines.
This is also a bit more complex so we've made another post on how to use Yoast SEO. - Optimise for Social Media
Social Media e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc. is how lots of people discover new content (the search engines have lost their monopoly) so you need to optimise your WordPress Post for Social Media. - Preview your Page
Before you publish have a look at the post on your site. Simply click the Preview, you'll find the Preview button in the top right panel, where you found the Save Draft button. - Final Edit
You can edit and preview until you are happy. If you want to come back later - with fresh eyes - then you can Save Draft. You'll find your Draft Page in the list of Posts. - Publish
Ready to hit the button? Don't panic - it's not like the days of the printing press when you watched a thousand copies of a typo fly off the press. If you make a mistake then you can jump in and fix it, even if it's live. - Proof
Do you have someone you can get to proof your page? Email them a link to the Post so they can cast their eye over the Post. You can go back and edit if required. - Share
Who do you know that would like to read your Post? Share your work on Social Media, email or in conversation. It will take a while for Google to catch up with your new content - we've optimised your site so they will index the page at their convenience, because Posts are more dynamic than Pages then it may take a little less time.
Next Steps
Great, you've got some content up.... now what? More please!
Research what your competitors are doing, can you create some content that's even better?
What's something topical you can write about in a new Post?
Keep an eye on your Google Analytics to see how engaged your audience is.
Remember, your website is never finished - there's always room for improvement.
