A sticky post in WordPress is one that stays at the top of the page no matter what gets posted after that. This is useful for a post that you want to highlight or for an announcement.
Way back the best way to make a post sticky was to fudge with the date – I would make it a date way in the future so it would stay the top post.
Then the WP-Sticky plugin was created, which allowed me to make a post sticky and gave me some control over styling. For example, if the sticky post is an announcement, I don’t want the date to be included because then it looks like a regular post.
Fast forward to now with WordPress 2.7 and the ability to make a post sticky is built right in. Of course, once I upgraded to 2.7 I couldn’t find where the setting was. I figured that maybe I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t find it so here we are with this article.
On the right hand side of the Posts (Edit and Add New) the top block is called Publish. The second section of Publish is Visibility. If you click on the linked Edit button, you will then see the checkbox for “Stick this post to the front page”.
But the sticky post isn’t showing up as sticky? How do I fix that? That will be the topic of my next post. Oh, you want to know how to style it too? Well, you’re in luck – I’m going to discuss that this week too.
photo credit: tlr3automaton
Yip, WordPress is fast becoming the lazy man’s CMS. As a lazy man, I love it.
Dave´s last blog post – 35 ways to make money selling web management services
HI Kim,
Sounds like a cool week of posts. I’m looking forward to the others.
And I love your picture. Mmmm, sticky buns. ;-)
Jim´s last blog post – Nintendo DS – Rekindling My Childhood Love of Videogames
Yes, I did just recently discover this feature.
@Dave: Indeed. WordPress really is a great, simply CMS. And at the same time has potential to run even the most ‘complicated’ of websites. I use it almost exclusively for the websites that I build.
Shirley´s last blog post – How Slow (or Fast) Is Your Website on Dial Up?
This is exactly what I need – I am trying to figure out how to have the first thing visitors see when they first hit my URL be a good overview of all the different places you can go (forums, different categories in my blogs, etc)
Tracy´s last blog post – Nutella and Go!
Bummer! I would miss that feature as I am yet to upgrade. Looks like 2.7 has added a lot of little useful features.
On the other hand, I am apprehencive of these little changse affecting theme developers to focus on micro aspects of the WP data model. I still feel that WP needs to get more organized in terms of their release plans and roll out new features only in big annual releases.
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Hmmm. That’s one good reason to upgrade. I know I need to do it. Great info…. Thanks!
Tawnya´s last blog post – Hard Times
Love the photo. :)
I basically upgraded because of security. All the bells and whistles – I could do without.
Vered – MomGrind´s last blog post – Breaking: Cosmo Magazine To Change Its Name
@Dave – Hmm … lazy huh?
@Jim – Thanks and LOL
@Shirley – Oh good – I’m glad I’m not the only one who couldn’t locate the setting ;-)
@Tracy – That sounds like a great use of the sticky post feature.
@Ajith – So far, I really like 2.7 Sticky post is just one of the new features.
@Tawnya – Thanks. And I haven’t had any problems with any of the 2.7 upgrades that I’ve done (so far).
@Vered – Yeah, I can’t think of a reason to use sticky posts on your site. More people need you minimalist approach to blogging :-)
Great! Finally something built in (not another plugin I have to download). Thank you for posting this.
Carla´s last blog post – Clearing Out
I knew this biut the next few posts in these series gonna be rockers for sure, styling of sticky posts!!!!!!!
Raju´s last blog post – 45 Awesome Websites to Watch Online TV for FREE!
Once again you deliver what I was lookin’ fer. I know there have been times in the past where this little tip would have been very helpful.
Truthfully, I use 2.7 on my most recent niche site, but I’ve not upgraded on TM yet ’cause I’m a scared…
Cheers,
George
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@Carla – We used to need a plugin for this but not with 2.7
@Raju – Thanks! I hope it ends up being helpful.
@George – I know! I upgraded all my sites way before I did this one.
I prefer sticky rice to a sticky post, but this sure is helpful :)
Gennaro´s last blog post – 6 Steps To A Lucky Chinese New Year
@Gennaro – LOL – I’m not too fond of sticky food as my daughter frequently covers me in it ;-)
Hi Kim:
I just found that little hidden secret yesterday, had no clue what it meant but now, thanks to you I do. I will certainly come back for the other post cliffhangers you crafted.
Dee Langdon – BloggerNewbie´s last blog post – In Order To Succeed
Of course, styling is dependent on the theme you have but I’ll wait to see what you write next.
I’ve toyed with sticky posts, but I don’t grasp the point. It’s one thing if new(er) content is sent by RSS, but for browser users, it’s confusing.
Ari Herzog´s last blog post – How to Watch Super Bowl Ads at $0 Cost
@Dee – Thanks! I had the opposite problem – I knew the feature was included but didn’t know where the setting was ;-)
@Ari – Well, any theme can have edits made to it’s styling although Thesis does handle that differently.
I think sticky posts work better on some sites than others. If it is styled differently, if won’t look like a regular post and can be used for announcements or something like that. For example, say I was going to run a special discount – I could make that information sticky so it would always be seen while the special was being run.
that’s super cool. i’m loving wp 2.7 features and i haven’t even installed the thing yet.
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@Natural – LOL :-) You always make me laugh.
Very interesting. I didn’t even notice that. Might be useful for sites that aren’t suitable for children. I could probably think of other uses, but I’ll wait until I need it. The sticky buns look delicious.
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Gee, you know so much.
I haven’t even switched to 2.7 yet.
Jannie Funster´s last blog post – Twinkle Shooters
@Dot – I can’t think of too many uses for it actually – I think others have more creative ideas than I do.
@Jannie – Thanks – I just spend a lot of time researching. There’s a lot I know absolutely nothing about ;-)
Kim, thanks for the tip. I have upgraded my blog to wordpress 2.7 as soon as it was out. But never tried creating a sticky post. If i require in future. This will help.
Thanks again!
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@Nihar – You’re welcome. I don’t really use sticky posts on this site but think I might for a post I am working on for next week.
I heard about this too but I’ve yet to upgrade to v2.7 that allows this as I am comfortable with my present v2.6. Besides I read that someone who did, found many problems with v2.7 and had to downgrade to the older version. I think I’ll pass for now but will keep it in mind.
Hi – I haven’t heard of too many problems after upgrading to 2.7. That’s the best thing about having a backup – can always downgrade if there is a problem.
Thank you! I wasted a ton of time today trying to figure this out. I should have just googled it from the beginning. I have 2 sites I now have to go re-edit.
Hi Rhonda – I’m glad the tutorial helped you out. :-)
Thanks! You were the first site I found in my search – no wasting time looking everywhere!
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Exciting! Printable Blowgun Game Targets! =-.
Hi Chris – Great! I’m glad the article helped you out.
Whew, I could not find the checkbox. Thanks for the step by step.
Often, even with lots of caffiene I need my hand help. Much appreciated!
Cheers,
John
.-= John Conti´s last blog ..Internet Luddites Attack! =-.
Hi John – Well, you can never have too much caffeine ;-)
The checkbox is kind of hidden – it’s not obvious. I’m glad the article
helped.
Hi Kim,
In the most recent version of WordPress you can now just use “quick edit” and there is a checkbox to “make this post sticky.” Super quick and easy.
Thanks for posting this – wasn’t sure what it meant but now I do.
.-= Liberty´s last blog ..Atkins Cuisine Recipe Contest =-.
Hi Liberty – Thanks for the extra info! :-)
Thanks so much for reminding me how to make the top post sticky!
Have a great day!
Maureen
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Hi Maureen – I’m glad the article was helpful. :-)
lol I spent 20mins looking for that setting, thanks for the post
Hi Juzzy – I don’t think the setting is in a intuitive location :-)
Hey there,
Is it possible to make the second post sticky? That way a new post will always be at the top of the page, which makes the site look fresher.
Thanks in advance
Hi Anton – I don’t know how to do that – the nature of the sticky post is to make the post stay on the top of the list. If you wanted something before that, it shouldn’t be a post. You can add a Featured Content Gallery or insert content from a page.
http://www.featuredcontentgallery.com/
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/improved-include-page/
Thanks, this was very helpful.
I sure appreciate it.
Theresa
.-= Theresa´s last blog ..Keyword Marketing Research =-.
Hi Theresa – I’m glad it helped. I rarely use the sticky post feature but it’s good to know how.
Awesome – your post might be from more than a year ago, but it sure remains current. I just updated my WP to 3.0 and the sticky feature is still where you said it is.
Thanks!
Hi Terry – I guess they decided not to move that one around. :-)
Excellent information, I was pulling my hair out looking for this.
I’m using WordPress 3.0 and it works the same as in your post.
Many thanks.
Hi Simon – Great! I haven’t tested it recently and I’m glad to know that it still works.
Yes, I agree with others, still very relevant today with version 3.0. Thanks for this info.
But one silly question: I want to make a post sticky, but for only 1 or two weeks. It’s for a donation drive, and once the campaign ends, I want the post no longer sticky. Is it as simple as just unchecking the box afterward?
.-= Sheila´s last blog ..Will eBooks ever replace print books =-.
Hi Shelia – That’s exactly right :-) I’ve done that for contests in the past – when the contest is over, I uncheck the sticky and the post is no longer on top.
Hello Kim,
You have some very detailed info on WordPress here at this site…thanks! Quick question on the “sticky post” feature of WordPress. While the whole issue of duplicate content is certainly overblown, Google has said that they don’t want to see duplicate content between multiple pages on the same domain. That being the case, isn’t this essentially what happens when utilizing this feature of WordPress? i.e., let’s say I create a post called “Welcome” and set it to be sticky so that it also appears on my home page. Wouldn’t Google then find the exact same content at both http://mydomain.com/welcome as well as http://mydomain.com? Is it a “best practice” to set the “/welcome” post to noindex/nofollow?
Appreciate your thoughts on this!
Thanks,
– Dave
Hi Dave – Don’t the posts on the front page always duplicate the content on the single post page whether the post is sticky or not? I use excerpts on the front page so the content isn’t identical to the single post.
That’s a good point, Kim, however if not using a sticky the content on the index page is (usually) fairly dynamic. Excerpts are safe, I’m sure, that sounds like a good strategy. Either way, think I will test this out and measure the results. Thanks for your input! :)
So happy I Googled and found your post! Because I was like I SWORE I saw the sticky button here somewhere lol!