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You are now ready to publish your first article on your website. You have two choices with WordPress, post vs. page. How do you choose?
Both pages and posts are used to create documents, or articles, for your website. They are simply files you create when creating content. Both are similar to creating a “Word” document on your word processor.
Technical Differences between WordPress Pages and Posts
There are several technical differences between the post and the page. Some of these differences are; pages are not time-stamped, pages are not distributed via RSS, pages usually don’t offer the ability to add comments and posts are listed in reverse chronological order (the most recent first) on your site.
When to Create a Page
In general, pages are linked to the home page or the navigation bar. They are highly visible and easy to find because pages contain good general information about your practice and the services your provide. Pages tend to serve as great references on your website.
Examples of “pages;”
- About Page
- Contact Page
- Insurance Participation Page
- Disclaimers
- Patient Information Forms
- Services Provided
Create 3 Overviews and Publish as a Page
In addition, we recommend creating 3 “anchor articles” as pages. Create 3 different articles about 600-800 words in length. Each article should be an “overview” about a particular topic/disease/service that your practice is proud to provide.
Pages are usually automatically added to the WordPress navigation bar once published.
Use pages to quickly convey to your readers the main themes/services of your practice. Refrain from trying to write a lengthy article about each and every procedure or service in which you “specialize.” This will be distracting to the reader and they will leave.
(Don’t worry. As your site grows with additional content, you’ll naturally be broadening the scope of the content of your website, and thus, all of your services and specialties will become evident!)
When to Create a Post
Posts should be shorter than pages. Somewhere between 300-500 words. No more. Posts are the core of a website. By publishing regularly, your readers are kept up to date via your posts, your website gets refreshed and your SEO values improve.
Posts should be shorter than pages, contain one idea or topic and should compliment the overviews. Posts are the core of your SEO of your site!
After creating your 3 main articles, we suggest publishing regular posts…at a rate of once a week in the beginning. This is the core of content marketing. Following the “3 R’s” of content marketing, should get your pages ranked in no time!
Posts should be focused on one topic. In the beginning, make the subject of your posts related to one of the anchor articles. These posts should be a bit more detailed than the larger overview article. Thus, your information in your posts will compliment the larger overview pages. Here are some other suggestions for writing great content.
Creating links from the post to the page, and vice versa, is also a great way to improve your SEO. By creating “internal links” within your site, the search engines will be sure to index each and every article of your site.
Make sure to allow comments on your posts. While you may “turn off” comments on pages, make sure comments are “on” for your posts.
The most powerful part of your website is to allow user generated content, i.e. allowing your readers to leave a comment…followed by a response!
To the Growth of You and Your Practice!
Randall V. Wong, M.D.
www.MedicalMarketingEnterprises.com