Contents
Introduction to WordPress Reading Settings
WordPress Reading Settings is a crucial tool in website management that can significantly enhance your site’s functionality and appeal. This guide aims to comprehensively understand this feature, particularly for those new to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
The current article is "5.8. WP Reading Settings" of our Complete SEO Guide Box.
Previous Article: 5.7. RSS Feeds. Next Article: 5.9. Trackbacks/Pingbacks
What are WordPress Reading Settings and their Importance?
WordPress Reading Settings is a component of the WordPress dashboard that allows users to control how their blog appears to visitors. It’s a customizable feature that is pivotal in the user experience.
This settings page is where you can define what your visitors see when they land on your homepage. It also allows you to control the number of blog posts displayed per page and how they are displayed. This feature is essential in presenting your content in the most effective way possible.
Vital Elements of WordPress Reading Settings
Let’s get over the Key elements.
Homepage Display Settings
WordPress Reading Settings lets you choose what your visitors see when visiting your website’s main URL. You can select a static page you have created or display the latest posts. If you opt for a static page, you can choose different pages for your homepage and your posts page. You will not see the selection option if you don’t have any pages or posts. Finally, we will return to this section when we create the homepage in our Complete SEO Guide Box.
Blog Page Display Settings
With WordPress Reading Settings, you can control the number of blog posts displayed on one page. While you can set any number you prefer, it’s important to remember that selecting a high number of posts may affect your website’s loading time, which is essential for SEO.
This feature of WordPress Reading Settings is for your RSS feed. It lets you determine how many recent posts will be included in your feed.
Post Inclusion Settings
In this section, you can choose whether to include full text or a summary of your posts in your RSS feed.
Search Engine Visibility Settings
One of the most essential features of WordPress Reading Settings is the ability to discourage search engines from indexing your site. While it doesn’t guarantee your site won’t be indexed, it requests search engines not to index it. This is particularly useful if you’re still developing your site and you’re not ready for it to appear in search results.
Recommended WordPress Reading Settings Step-by-Step
Login to your WordPress Dashboard.
On the left side menu bar, Hover over [Settings], then click [Reading] in the drop-down menu.
- Blog pages show at most: 10
This is the default setting. You don’t need more than that. The more posts you set, the slower the page loading will be.
- Syndication feeds show the most recent: 10
This is the default setting. You don’t need more than that either. The RSS feed is an XML file. The more entries you set, the larger the file will be. This means you will spend more on bandwidth, and the user must download larger files. The main feature of the RSS feed is to tell the users that there is a new post, so 10 posts are enough to serve this purpose.
- For each post in a feed, include (not a default): (*) Excerpt
You should select “(*) Excerpt” in the WordPress Reading settings since you don’t want entire posts’ content in your RSS Feeds. You want the user to navigate to your posts to visit instead of getting all the content in its RSS subscription application. So, there is no point in handing the full post’s content in the RSS Feeds.
- Search engine visibility (default setting): [ ] Discourage search engines from indexing this site
By default, this option is unchecked, and you should leave it that way since we want the search engines to index our site.
Click [Save changes].
Read More
You can read more about the WordPress Reading Settings in WordPress Docs.
Conclusion: The Power of WordPress Reading Settings
WordPress Reading Settings is a powerful tool that allows you to control how your content is displayed and accessed. By understanding and effectively utilizing these settings, you can shape the user experience on your site and ensure your content is presented in the best possible way. Whether you’re a seasoned WordPress user or a beginner, exploring these settings can significantly enhance your website’s functionality and appeal.
The current article is "5.8. WP Reading Settings" of our Complete SEO Guide Box.
Previous Article: 5.7. RSS Feeds. Next Article: 5.9. Trackbacks/Pingbacks
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