6 ways to create better posts in WordPress
If you’re like most people, you probably stick to the basics when it comes to posting in WordPress. Write a little text, add an image, write some more text, add a few links, and maybe bold or italicize some text. But it’s the extra little details that can really help your post stand out and be more user-friendly. Here are a few of my favorite ways to create better posts in WordPress.
Use headings
Did you know that the toolbar in the editor actually has two rows? By default, WordPress only shows one, but you can click on the far right icon to toggle the toolbar and show the second row.
On the far right of that second row, you’ll see a dropdown menu that defaults to paragraph. Click on your heading in the text, and then choose a heading option from the dropdown menu. Most themes have default styles set for your headings. Using headings will help separate those section titles from the rest of your text and make your content more friendly for skimming!
Bonus points: if you don’t like the styles for headings set in your theme, you can use a plugin like Easy Google Fonts to customize them without code.
Using headings in #wordpress helps make your content skim-friendly.
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Add alt text to your photos
When you upload images to the media library in WordPress, there’s a field for alt text that many people overlook. What you write for the alt text is what Pinterest will pull for the default description when someone pins your image. Furthermore, alt text is how you tell search engines what your photo is about for image searches.
Bonus points: give your images descriptive names before you upload them. Which are you going to search for, IMG_5748.jpg or home-office-styling-inspiration.jpg?
Use captions
WordPress has a pretty handy image caption feature that most people ignore. Like the alt text, it has its own field when you upload an image. It’s the perfect place to add photo credits or shopping links so you can give them a different style than the rest of your text. You can write HTML in the box, but the easiest way to add links to your captions is to write the caption text, insert the image, then highlight the caption text just as you would any other part of your post and add your link.
Add a pin it button
The jQuery Pin It Button for Images plugin is so easy to use, there really isn’t an excuse for not having your own pin it button. You can even upload your own branded image. Heads up: you’ll see a notice that the plugin is no longer being actively developed, but it still works just fine. If you prefer something that is in active development, their plugin Frizzly is a neat alternative that also adds Facebook and Twitter sharing to image hovers. I use it on this site!
Use click to tweet
Nearly all of my Twitter shares come from my click-to-tweets in my posts. This makes it super easy for your readers to share as you’ve already given them something to say about your post, and they only have to click a button! I use the Click to Tweet plugin by Todaymade, creators of another favorite plugin of mine, CoSchedule (referral link). It adds a Twitter icon to the post editor toolbar. Click on that, enter your tweet text, and it does the rest. Just be sure to preview your post first — it doesn’t count the characters, and you may find your tweet has been cut off.
Click-to-tweets take the guesswork out of sharing.
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Show related posts
Oh, related posts. They are such a great way to introduce people to more of your content, but some plugins out there aren’t that great. For years, I used nRelate until they suddenly shut it down. I’ve tried alternatives and have settled on Related Posts by Zemanta. It’s not without fault — they recently released an update that completely reset your settings (see also: why it’s important to pay attention to what you’re updating). But it allows you to use your own CSS and has some great styles to choose from if you don’t want to mess with code. I also like the related posts module in the Jetpack plugin from WordPress.
I hope this has given you a few ideas to improve your posts in WordPress! Let me know in the comments if you have questions, or if I didn’t include your favorite way to create better posts in WordPress. If you like this, you’ll love Make WordPress Work, my ebook on all things WordPress.
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