WordPress uses two different formats on which content is created and stored: posts and pages. Some users assume these formats are the same, with no distinguishable differences between the two. While they share some similarities in terms of appearance and function, however, posts and pages are two very different formats.
Posts
Posts are content-based entries that are displayed in chronological order (most recent appearing on top) on either the blog’s home page by default. When you publish a new post, it will appear at the top of your home page, either in its entirety or as an excerpt (varies depending your theme and settings). Of course, any sticky posts you create will be shown first, even higher than your most recent posts.
Posts are stored in the Archives, Categories, Author, and Tags.
By default, WordPress displays 10 posts on the home page. You can adjust this number, however, by accessing your blog’s Settings > and changing the number next to “Blog pages show at most.” This section of the WordPress dashboard also includes an option to display a static page on your blog’s homepage instead of posts.
Pages
WordPress pages differ from posts in the sense that they are not stored on tags or categories. They are intended to be used as static pages, with most blogs using them for things like the contact page, privacy policy, terms and conditions, legal jargon, etc. With that said, you can modify your blog so the bulk of your content is managed on pages. This is one of the great things about WordPress. It gives you near-limitless freedom to customize your blog the way you want it.
Since there’s no date or time attached to pages, they do not show up in a blog’s RSS feed by default, nor will you find an option to include them in your RSS feed in the WordPress interface. You can, however, add pages to your blog’s RSS feed by downloading and using the RSS Include Pages plugin, which does just that: includes pages to the RSS feed.
Should I Use Posts or Pages?
It’s entirely up to you which publishing format you want to use. If you’re building a traditional blog and plan to publish one or two new articles per week, posts would probably be a better choice. But if you’re building a landing page to use in PPC marketing, pages would likely work better.
Have anything else you would like to add? Let us know in the comments section below!
I do just as you said – pages for landing pages, contact, etc, and posts for my blog, seems to work well.
I didn’t know that much about the difference, good article, I’m going to restructure my blog.
i didn’t know you could change the # of posts displayed on the home pg, thx