Post

A WordPress Post is a flexible content type that can be used any number of ways on a website.

Posts are not part of the site structure. Think of a website as a house. Pages are rooms while posts are furniture. Unless changes to the site’s structure are required, most content that develops after the content strategy is defined and the site is launched, should likely be added as Posts.

Because Posts are not structural, they do not appear in the site navigation and aren’t limited to one place. They can be displayed on any page or on multiple pages of a site using the Latest post block or Single post feature block, depending on the Post Category that an author selects for a Post.

When to use posts

These are some instances when it makes sense to use posts:

• For content in a series or that is timely. Blog posts are the perfect example but also announcements, news, and program updates.
• As an archive of letters or messages that are sent out via email
• For content that is too granular to be included in a site’s navigation
• If a type of content can be grouped and displayed together.
  • For example, an office might have list of programs and services. Each program/service would be a Post and they could all be displayed on a Page titled Programs and Services.
• If your site navigation is too long and unwieldy
  • Change any child/grandchild/great great grandchild pages to posts instead

Post Categories

You can create as many Post Categories as you need to manage where the posts display. Post categories are used in conjunction with the Latest post block to display any group of posts a site admin defines.

How to add a post

1. Navigate to the Post section of the dashboard and select Add New.
2. Add a title (headline) for your post.
3. Add the body text for your post.
4. In the right sidebar, select a Category for your post if applicable.
5. In the right sidebar, add a Featured Image for your post if applicable.
6. In the right sidebar, add an Excerpt for your post—a brief summary that will appear on landing pages and post rollup pages.
7. In the right sidebar, select the Post Template Layout you would like to use.
   • If the Default is selected, you will also need to choose the Header Alignment.

Additional details

There is additional information that can be added to a Post for various reasons. These can be added by scrolling to the bottom of the Post Editor area past the Yoast SEO section. They are especially helpful when you are needing to add information to a post that is linking to content outside of your site or a post that was specifically authored as timely content. The following options are available:

Optional External URL – External URL or External Source

Post Fields – Subtitle, Show Byline and Date toggle, Alternative Title, or Alternative Authors

How to edit a post

1. Navigate to the Post section of the dashboard.
2. Select the name of the post you wish to edit from the list of Posts.
3. Select Edit.
4. Once in the Post Editor, click in the area you wish to change and type your edits.
5. If the edit requires changing a Post Category or Image, make those changes in the right sidebar.
6. Once you have made your edits, click Update on the top of the right sidebar.

Post Template Layouts

You can change the Post Template Layout at the bottom of the right sidebar under the “Post” tab. There are 5 post layouts you can select from the “Which Page Layout?” dropdown menu.

• Default
• Title First
• Image First
• No Image
• Small Image

Layout usage suggestions

Default layout

This layout is recommended for content on your site that is purely informational (ie. resources, programs, initiatives) and not necessarily timely. The header style of this layout closely matches that of Pages on your site, so it creates a consistent experience for viewing content that is more informative in nature.

Title First and Image First

These two layouts are recommended for content that can be made visually appealing through the use of a high resolution featured image (ie. research stories, news articles). There are certain image size requirements associated with these layouts described in the Featured image section below. The featured image will be displayed full width and the header information overlaps it slightly, creating an impactful initial view that leads into the content.

No Image or Small Image

These layouts are especially useful for content that is either informational or descriptive, but has limited imagery available to be featured on the post. This can still be used for timely content, but the header will display in the center of the page with the background color behind it. If only a small image is available for featuring (according to the Featured image size requirements below) it will appear below the header within the body of the page.

Color

All post layout templates have a background fill which corresponds with your primary site color that has typically been previously selected to create consistency across the site.

Text alignment

The Default layout is the only one that has additional text alignment options for the information found in the header of the Post. If you’ve selected the Default layout, there will be a second “Header Alignment” dropdown, in which you can choose Left or Center for your text alignment.

All other layouts display the headline, date, and byline text centered in the header area.

Featured Images

If the image you select for your feature contains a caption, it will automatically display below your featured image on all post layout templates, except the No Image layout.

Post template layouts have minimum size requirements for the feature images: