If you participate in an online discussion board, then you are probably already familiar with the concept of ”sticky” or featured posts.
With a sticky post, the entry remains at the top of the page while older threads move lower down the screen.
Like forums, WordPress allows you to feature important posts at the top of your blog post page while the newer items appear below the featured item and older posts get pushed further down the page.
This step-by-step tutorial explains how to create a sticky post.
You will really benefit from this tutorial if you are already familiar with basic features of WordPress like:
- Understanding the difference between Posts and Pages
- Creating a blog post in WordPress
- Editing a blog post
- Using WordPress Quick Edit
- Setting up a blog page
- How to specify the number of posts to show on the blog post page
Featured Posts
In WordPress, blog posts display at the top of your blog page in reverse chronological order (i.e. most recently published entries first) …
(Newer posts show at the top of the blog posts page and 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, latest posts get added to the top of your blog page while older posts get pushed down the page.
In WordPress, you can mark your posts as Sticky if you want them to display above all other posts. Sticky posts will remain pinned to the top of your blog page until you deselect the ‘Sticky’ option on the Edit screen for that particular post.
Here is how to make any blog post sticky:
Log into your WordPress dashboard, then go to the admin navigation menu and select choose Posts > All Posts …
(Posts – All Posts)
This brings up the Posts screen, which displays all the posts you have created …
(Posts Table)
Here you have a couple of methods of making your posts sticky:
Make A Post In WordPress Sticky Using Quick Edit Method
In the Posts screen, locate the entry you want to edit, hover over the item’s title to display the options menu and click on the ‘Quick Edit’ link …
(’Quick Edit’ feature)
The inline editor displays several post editing options. Find the option to make posts sticky …
(Inline editor options – ‘Make this post sticky’)
Select Make this post sticky …
(’Make post sticky’ checkbox – Inline editor screen)
Update your settings …
(Quick Edit – Update)
Sticky WordPress Posts Using Post Edit Method
If you are adding a new post or editing an existing entry, you can make the post sticky by clicking on Publish > Visibility: Public > Edit …
(Publish box – Visibility settings)
Select ‘Stick this post to the front page’ then click OK, and remember to update your changes …
(Publish section)
The blog post will now be displayed as “Sticky” …
(Post status: Sticky)
Visitors will see your sticky post at the very top of the blog post page, followed by your most recent posts …
(Sticky posts show at the top of the blog page while other regular items are pushed further down the page)
Depending on your theme, your sticky posts could also stand out from normal blog posts.
For example, it could have a distinctive label or highlight color …
(Featured posts can stand out from regular posts)
Here’s the same sticky post with another WordPress theme installed …
(Sticky posts can appear differently from other posts)
Your post will now remain sticky for as long as you want.
Unsticking Your Posts
Unsticking a post is as simple as reversing the process used to make your posts sticky.
To unstick a post, go back to to the Table of Posts in the WP admin area and select the ‘Sticky’ link at the top of the post entries to view all post entries with a sticky status …
(Sticky menu – Posts section)
Hover your mouse over the post title to display the options menu and click on the ‘Quick Edit’ link …
(’Quick Edit’ link)
Untick the ‘Make this post sticky’ checkbox and click the ‘Update’ button to save your new settings …
(Unselect the box to unstick your post)
Alternatively, when editing an existing post, you can unstick your post by clicking on Publish > Visibility: Public > Edit …
(Publish post section – Visibility settings)
Deselect ‘Stick this post to the front page’ then click OK and remember to update your settings when finished …
(Post publishing section)
Your post will now behave like all regular posts.
Congratulations! Now you know how to make your blog posts sticky.
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