A page or webpage is a document written in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and is accessible on the Internet. Webpages make up websites. They are what pages are to a book. Pages give your site structure, organize your content, and provide information about your blog to search engines and to your visitors. They can usually be accessed via your blog’s main menu. They’re mostly static content, which means that they aren’t created or updated as regularly as posts.
When you have a brand-new website (like you do now), there are a couple of webpages that you need to create first, namely:
- Homepage. This is the page that visitors will land on when they type in your domain name on their browser’s address bar. Homepages vary in design, but an ideal one usually includes a brief introduction on what your blog is all about, a selection of your most popular or recent posts, a display of products or services you’re offering, etc. And since first impressions last, you should make your homepage as appealing and as engaging as much as possible.
- About (Me/Us). This is the page where you provide more information about your blog and about yourself. This is usually where you introduce yourself as the author, tell something about your blogging journey, what motivated you to start blogging, what plans do you have for your blog, etc. As you can already tell, an About page is as personal as it gets – it’s your chance to share your story, build a connection, and convince visitors to trust you.
- Contact (Me/Us). This is the page where you have your contact information – email address, business address, telephone number, etc. – displayed, and a functional contact form furnished, for persons or organizations who want to get in touch with you.
Other pages that are less commonly thought of, but are no less important, include:
- Disclaimer. This is the page that explains how you monetize your blog. If you plan on making money off your blog, such as by displaying ads or promoting affiliate links, then this page is a must.
- Terms and Conditions. This is the page that displays your Terms and Conditions agreement, otherwise known as Terms of Use or Terms of Service, which outline the rules that visitors must abide by when they use your blog. These terms are designed to protect you from abusive users, intellectual property theft, and even unnecessary litigation.
- Privacy Policy. This is the page that contains your Privacy Policy, which outlines how your blog collects and uses data from its visitors. If you plan on running ads, posting affiliate links, or even just using Google Analytics on your blog, you’ll inevitably be collecting data from your readers, so this page is another must-have.
These are just some of the pages you want to have on your website before anything else. As your blog grows, you can add more webpages to fit your needs, like a separate page for an ebook or online course you’ll be selling, or one for your archives to display all your posts – you get the idea. But for now, these first pages will do.
How to create a new page
To manage all your blog’s webpages, simply click PAGES on the lefthand menu of your WordPress dashboard. That will open a panel where a list of your blog’s pages is displayed, as well as options to create new ones and edit, duplicate, or delete existing ones.
To create a new page, click ADD NEW. That will open an editor where you can create your blog’s pages (or posts). It’s called the Gutenberg Block editor. As its name says, it allows you to create content using blocks.
There’s a block for titles or headings, another for paragraphs, separate blocks for images, audios, videos, quotes, lists, buttons, columns, tables, everything. The idea is that if you want to create something, just add the appropriate block.
Say you want to add a title to your page – then simply add the appropriate block (heading) via the plus (+) button. To insert an image, add an image block. To add a video, add a video block. You get the point. Each block offers plenty of customization, allowing you to increase font sizes, change the background color, align images to the left, right, or center, etc.
The Gutenberg block editor is very intuitive – you’ll learn how to use it in no time. You’ll simply be adding and arranging blocks according to your preferred design and layout. So go ahead and start building the first pages for your blog.
You can use PREVIEW to get a peek on how your page will look like before you publish it. Every time you save your work, you can refresh the preview so it will reflect your most recent changes. And your page will remain a draft until you publish it, so you can keep editing it until you’re ready.
Once you’re done, you can click PUBLISH to make it live. Remember, if for some reason you don’t like the look of your page, or you need to add something to it, you can always edit your page anytime you want. And you can even unpublish it, too, or delete it altogether.
