If you frequent online discussion boards, then you are probably already familiar with the concept of a ”sticky” or featured topic.
In a sticky post, the item does not get replaced by more recent entries while older threads move lower down the page.
Like online forums, WordPress also lets you ‘pin’ important blog posts to the top of your blog page while the newer items appear below the featured item and older post entries get pushed further down the page.
This tutorial explains how to create sticky posts in WordPress.
Before going through this tutorial, you should already be familiar with basic features of WordPress like:
- The difference between WordPress Posts and Pages
- Creating new blog posts in WordPress
- How to edit posts in WordPress
- How to use the WordPress inline editor
- Setting up a blog page
- How to specify the number of blog posts to show on the blog page
Contents
Sticky WordPress Posts
In WordPress, posts are listed in reverse chronological order on your blog post page with the latest posts displayed at the top …
(Latest posts show at the top of your blog posts summary page and older items get pushed further down)
Depending on how many blog posts your site is configured to display on your blog page, newer posts get added to the top of the blog summary page while older items get pushed further down.
You can set some of your posts as Sticky if you want to make these display above all other posts. Sticky posts will stay pinned at the top of your blog post page until you uncheck the ‘Sticky’ option on the Edit screen for that particular post.
To make your blog post sticky, do this:
In the main menu section of your WordPress admin area, choose Posts > All Posts …
(Posts – All Posts)
This brings up the Posts screen, which displays all your WordPress posts …
(Table Of Posts)
Once you get to this screen, you have a couple of methods to make posts sticky:
Sticky Posts - Quick Edit Method
Locate the post item you would like to edit, then hover your mouse over the title to view the options menu and click on the ‘Quick Edit’ link …
(Click on the ‘Quick Edit’ link)
The Quick Edit inline editor expands and displays all the editing options. Find the ‘Make this post sticky’ option …
(Inline editor - Sticky post option)
Select the Make this post sticky check box …
(’Make post sticky’ option – Inline editor screen)
Click the ‘Update’ button to save your changes …
(Quick Edit – Update)
How To Make A Post In WordPress Sticky - Post Edit Method
If you are adding a new post or editing content in an existing item, you can make the post sticky by going to Publish > Visibility: Public > Edit …
(Post publish box – Visibility settings)
Tick the checkbox next to ‘Stick this post to the front page’ then click OK, and click Update to save your settings when finished …
(Publish section)
Your Table of Posts will change your post status to “Sticky” …
(’Sticky’ post)
The sticky post will be featured at the top of your blog post page when new posts are added …
(Featured posts are added to the top of your blog page while other regular items are pushed further down)
Depending on the active WordPress theme you are using, your sticky post could also stand out from normal blog posts.
For example, your sticky post could have a distinctive label or highlight color …
(Featured posts can stand out from regular posts)
Here’s the same example with another theme installed …
(Sticky posts can stand out from regular posts)
Your post will stay sticky until you decide to “unstick” it.
How To Unstick Your Post
Unsticking a post in WordPress is easy.
To unstick a post, navigate to your Posts > All Posts and select the ‘Sticky’ link on the Posts menu to return all post entries assigned a sticky status …
(Posts section – List all sticky posts)
Click on Quick Edit …
(Click on ‘Quick Edit’)
Uncheck the ‘Make this post sticky’ box and click the ‘Update’ button to save your new settings …
(Deselect the box to unstick your post)
Alternatively, if you are editing content in an existing post, you can unstick your post by going to Publish > Visibility: Public > Edit …
(Publish box – Visibility settings)
Unselect ‘Stick this post to the front page’ then click OK and remember to click Update to save your new changes when finished …
(Publish post section)
Your post will now behave like all other regular posts.
Congratulations, now you know how to make your posts stick.
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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)
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