As we’ve discussed in previous posts, by default, WordPress treats your site as a ‘blog’ and shows your newest blog posts on the home page, unless you set a specific page as a home page.
In a previously published tutorial, we also cover how to create a blog page to show your latest post.
Regardless of your choice to make blog post entries on your front page or your blog page, WordPress lets you specify the number of posts to show up on these pages (e.g. ’2’, ’4’, ’12’ etc.)
Your WP site will then display blog posts on your blog page up to the maximum number of blog post entries you have set, even if your website contains more posts than the number of posts set to display …
The ability to set how many posts can display on your WordPress site is useful.
For example, you can set your blog to display only the latest single post that you have published. This is handy for example, if you promote a weekly special, a ‘deal of the day’ type of offer, publish the latest results of a local sports competition, post an upcoming event, set up a quarterly community page for announcements, etc.
Or, you can use this great feature to fill an ugly space on your blog if your sidebar menu runs too long …
Whatever the reason, With WordPress you have the flexibility to change the number of posts that you want to display on your blog page.
Let’s show you, then, how easy it is to set the number of blog posts you want to display on your blog page.
Setting The Number Of Blog Post Entries Displayed On Your Blog Page
WordPress lets you choose how many blog post entries you want to have displaying on the blog page of your website.
The number of posts you want to display is entirely up to you. there is no limit to this number …
Note: Select a sensible setting that won’t slow down your page as the entries load on your site. You can always raise or lower the amount of posts displayed.
To specify how many posts you want to display on your blog page website, choose Settings > Reading from the WP dashboard menu …
Configure the settings in the Reading Settings page as per the screenshot below:
How To Edit The Number Of Posts Displayed On Your Main Page
If you are using your WordPress site as a blog (i.e. the default WordPress option), where the front page displays your newest post entries, then set your options as described below:
- Front page displays: Set this to Your latest posts
- Blog pages show at most: X posts (where ‘X’ is the number of blog posts you want showing – i.e. ‘1’, ’5’, ‘7’, ’15’ etc.)
- Click the Save Changes button when finished…
Specifying The Number Of Posts Displayed On Your Blog Page
If you are using your WP site as a website, where the home page shows a fixed page and your latest blog posts display on a separate blog page, then edit your settings as described below:
- Front page displays: Set this to A static page, then select Posts page: > your Blog Page from the drop down menu
- Blog pages show at most: X posts X posts (where ‘X’ is the number of posts that you want showing – e.g. ‘1’, ‘3’, ‘7’, ’15’ etc.)
- Click on Save Changes when done to update your settings …
Now, when visitors land on your site, they will see your newest blog posts showing either on your front page or blog page, as per the settings you have specified …
To learn how to change the length of your post excerpts, see the tutorial below:
Congratulations! Now you know how to set the number of published posts you would like to show on the blog page of your web site.
Related Posts
If you are learning how to use WordPress, you may also find the following posts useful:
- How To Show Any Page You Select As The Home Page Of Your WP Site
- How To Create A Blog Page In WordPress
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)