The first step of controlling your own content in a WordPress website is knowing how to create pages. Here, we will explain not only how to create a page, but how to add it to the navigation bar so that users can access it.
[ctt template=”5″ link=”DX7Rp” via=”no” ]Here, we will explain not only how to create a page, but how to add it to the navigation bar so that users can access it. [/ctt]
After logging in to the back end of the WordPress site, click on “Pages” on the left, as in number 1 in the diagram below. Then click on “Add New” as beside number 2.
Then Enter your page title where it says “Enter Title Here”. This is the title of the page as it will appear in the address bar and the navigation bar, so pick something that is sensible and easily recognisable, so that if you need to search for it later, it will be easy to find.
Next, on the right hand side of the page (as illustrated in the image below), you can choose if the page should have a parent i.e. will your page be a sub-menu of a main menu title. If so, you can select which menu item will be its parent. Otherwise, it can be left with no parent.
The page can also be non-standard, or it can follow a template used for other pages. The drop down menu here allows the user to see the other templates available.
Below this, where it says “Featured Image”, is where it is possible to add the featured image for the page. For more detailed instructions on how to do this, read our blog post on how to upload images in WordPress.
One of the best plugins available for WordPress is Visual Composer. This allows the user to easily add text and images, and to align them together on the page in whatever format is desired. It not already installed, it can be downloaded from Plugins, which can be found in the sidebar on the left.
Another essential plugin that should be installed, if it isn’t already, is “All in One SEO”. This allows the addition of a page title and description which will allow Google and other search engines to find and understand what your page is about. It also allows for the stipulation of social media settings. The title and description should be the same in “Main Settings” and “Social Settings”. See below for a guideline:
Once this is done and you are happy with the content created for the page, it is time to publish it. The publish box appears at the top right of the page (and is shown below). It is good practice to save a draft regularly through the writing of the page, to ensure that no key data is lost.
Beside this is “Preview”. This allows you to view the page at any stage without it being made public.
Visibility settings allow for the page to be made public, password protected or private.
The page is automatically set to publish immediately, but this can be edited to publish at a specific date and time.
Once you are happy with the look of the page, click Publish. The page is now live.
To add the new page to a menu, hover over “Appearance” on the left hand side and select “Menus” when it appears.
In here, there is a list of pages under “Most Recent” as seen on the left hand side, tick the box of the page you want to add, and click “Add to Menu”. This will bring the page to the bottom of the list of pages under “Menu Structure”. Click on your page and drag it to where you want to put it. As you can see from the diagram below, “Home”, “About Us” and “Our Services” are menu items, whereas “Our Team”, “Digital Marketing” and “Web Design” are sub-menu items of the menu above them. Use this guide to make your page a menu or sub-menu item. It is also possible to make your page a sub-menu of a sub-menu, by moving it slightly to the right of it, instead of directly underneath.
By using this guide, you should now be able to create a page in WordPress and you should be well on your way to managing the content of your site. WordPress also offer some tutorials on their site at this link.
