Order your WordPress Posts to Appear As You Want Them to

If you’re a WordPress user, the arrangement of your posts may have left you perplexed. WordPress orders posts in a way that sometimes doesn’t correspond with how you’d like them to appear for your readers. Don’t worry though, because in this article, we’ll burst out how to order WordPress posts, so you can ensure that your content is being displayed in the way you desire.

The Default Ordering Method for WordPress Posts

WordPress will showcase your posts in reverse chronological order by default. The most recent post will appear at the top of the page, pushing down older posts. To accomplish this, WordPress uses the post’s publishing date as the main sorting method.

Manually Changing the Publication Date

One method of changing the order of your posts is by changing their publication dates. You can achieve this by accessing the post editor, scrolling down to the publish section, and clicking the Edit button beneath the post’s publishing date. You can then adjust the date and time to your liking.

If, for example, you want to move an older post to the top of the page, you can change the post’s publication date to a more recent one. It is worth noting that changing the publication date doesn’t influence the post’s URL or permalink. So, if you adapt the publication date of a post that’s already been shared on social media or linked to from other websites, those links will still take readers to the original post.

Using Categories and Tags

Another avenue to order your posts is by using categories and tags. WordPress grants you the ability to assign each post to one or more categories and tags, which can expedite how your readers locate specific content.

Categories are a way to group posts by similar topics. For example, if you’re running a food blog, you might have categories such as “recipes,” “restaurant reviews,” or “food news.” When readers click on the category link, they’ll see all the posts that have been assigned to that category.

Tags, on the other hand, are more particular than categories. They’re used to describe the content of your post in further detail. If you wrote a post about a vegan burger recipe, for instance, you might use tags like “vegan,” “burger,” and “recipe.” When readers click on a tag link, they’ll see all the posts that have been attributed to that tag.

By utilizing categories and tags, you can create a more structured and searchable blog. Depending on your WordPress theme, you may be able to show posts in a specific category or tag using a widget or shortcode.

Sorting by Custom Fields

WordPress also allows you to order your posts based on custom fields. Custom fields enable you to add extra information to your posts beyond the standard fields like title, content, and publication date.

For instance, if you run a real estate blog, you might use custom fields to add information about the property’s location or size. You can generate custom fields by navigating to the post editor, scrolling down to the Custom Fields section, and clicking on the Add Custom Field button.

Once you’ve created a custom field, you can sort your posts based on that field. You can perform this action using plugins like Advanced Post Types Order or by concocting a custom function in your theme’s functions.php file.

Customizing Post Ordering via Plugins

Finally, several plugins can allow you to customize how your posts are ordered. Some of the most popular ones include:

– Post Types Order: This plugin empowers you to drag and drop your posts into the order you want them to appear.
– Simple Custom Post Order: Much like Post Types Order, this plugin enables you to manually order your posts.
– ReOrder Posts: This plugin allows you to order your posts by any field, such as title, date, or custom fields.

Depending on the needs of your site, one of these plugins may be the most straightforward solution for customizing the order of your WordPress posts.

In conclusion, ordering your WordPress posts can be achieved in several ways. From manually changing the publication date to using categories and tags, or by using custom fields and plugins, you can decide how to order your posts that work best for you and your readers. Remember to experiment with different options until you find the one that’s right for your site.