If you participate in an online forum, then you are probably familiar with the concept of a featured post.
In a featured or sticky forum post, the item does not get displaced by newer entries while older threads display further down the screen.
Like forums, WordPress allows you to display important blog posts at the top of your blog page while the newer blog posts display below the pinned item and older posts get pushed further down your page.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to make WordPress posts sticky.
To get the most from this article, you should already be familiar with basic features of WordPress like:
- The difference between WordPress Posts and Pages
- Creating a new post
- How to edit a WordPress blog post
- How to use Quick Edit
- How to create a blog page
- How to set the number of blog posts to display on your blog post page
Featured WordPress Posts
In WordPress, posts appear in reverse chronological order on your blog page with the latest post entries listed at the top …
(Latest posts get added to the top of the blog posts page while older posts get pushed down the page)
Depending on how many blog posts your site’s settings is configured to display on your blog page, when newer posts are published, older posts will display further down the page.
You can set posts as Sticky if you want to make them display above all other posts. Sticky posts will remain pinned above all other posts until you uncheck the ‘Sticky’ option on the Edit screen for that particular post.
Here is how to make any WordPress post sticky:
Log into your WordPress admin section, then go to the navigation menu and choose select Posts > All Posts …
(WP Posts Menu – All Posts)
The Posts screen will appear, displaying all your WordPress posts …
(Table Of Posts)
Here you have two ways of making WordPress posts sticky. Let’s take a look at each method:
Sticky WordPress Posts - Quick Edit Method
Search for the post you want to edit, hover over the item’s title to display the options menu and click on Quick Edit …
(’Quick Edit’ feature)
The Quick Edit inline editor expands and displays all of the editing options. Find the ‘Make this post sticky’ option …
(Quick Edit options – ‘Make this post sticky’)
Select the Make this post sticky check box …
(’Make this post sticky’ checkbox – Inline editor section)
Update your settings …
(Quick Edit – ’Update’ button)
Featured Posts - Post Edit Method
If you are adding a new blog post or editing your post content, you can make your post sticky by clicking on Publish > Visibility: Public > Edit …
(Publish section – Visibility settings)
Check ‘Stick this post to the front page’, click OK, and remember to update your new changes when finished …
(Publish section)
The post status will now be changed to “Sticky” …
(’Sticky’ post)
Visitors will see your sticky post at the very top of the page, followed by other recent posts …
(Featured posts get added to the top of the blog summary page and your regular entries are pushed further down)
Depending on your theme, your sticky post could also be made to display differently than your normal blog posts.
For example, your sticky post could have a distinct label and highlight color …
(Sticky posts can display differently from regular posts)
Here’s the same sticky post using a different WordPress theme …
(Featured posts can display differently than regular posts)
Your post will now remain sticky until you make a decision to “unstick” it.
Unsticking A Post Item
Unsticking posts in WordPress is as simple as reversing the process used to make your posts sticky.
To unstick a post, navigate to the Table of Posts in your WP admin area and select the ‘Sticky’ link on the Posts menu to return all post entries assigned as sticky …
(Table of Posts – Sticky posts menu)
Click on Quick Edit …
(Click on ‘Quick Edit’)
Deselect the ‘Make this post sticky’ checkbox and click the ‘Update’ button to save your new settings …
(Unselect the box to unstick your post inside the Quick Edit function)
Alternatively, if you are editing content in an existing post, you can unstick your post by clicking on Publish > Visibility: Public > Edit …
(Post publish section – Visibility > Edit)
Untick the checkbox next to ‘Stick this post to the front page’ then click OK and remember to click Update to save your new settings …
(Publish post box)
Your post will now behave like all of your other posts.
Congratulations! Now you know how to make a post 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)