I can’t delete my home page, so I want to start again

  • themysteryworshippers · Member ·

    Please help me start again. There’s no option to delete the home page and I don’t want to run the home page as a blog. I want a static home page that links to a blog page.

    WP.com: Yes
    Correct account: Yes

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • aleone89 · Staff ·

    Hey there,

    We can totally help with this.

    Before we push the big red button and delete the content – can you tell us more about the site you’re looking to build? This will help with getting you set up and we can perhaps advise on theme selection.

    Also, do you know what features, or functionality you’ll need for the site? (for example, a contact form, an online store…etc).

    Many thanks in advance.

  • themysteryworshippers · Member ·

    Hey Aleone89,

    I managed to find a work around for most of the problems I was having and have managed to build a fixed home page that links to my blog page.

    However, I’ve still got a problem with setting it as my posts page. If I choose the option below, it will link my review page to an earlier one I had deleted – I have no idea how it’s still there! I’ve managed to get round this by including a block of blog posts, rather than using the default, so it works now, but if you could help me work out why setting my posts page to my review page reverts to a deleted page, that would be most helpful.

    Many thanks in advance.

  • aleone89 · Staff ·

    Hey there,

    Many thanks for reaching out.

    I suspect this could be the result of a quirk on our end – if you empty the trash indefinitely – does this behaviour still happen?

  • themysteryworshippers · Member ·

    Thanks for taking the time to respond, aleone89. Yes, it’s been gone for a while now, and not in the trash page either and it still happens.

  • staff-totoro · Staff ·

    Hi there, reading through your thread here I have a question about this:

    There’s no option to delete the home page and I don’t want to run the home page as a blog. I want a static home page that links to a blog page.

    and

    I managed to find a work around for most of the problems I was having and have managed to build a fixed home page that links to my blog page.

    Typically, you would set your homepage to be the “posts page” when you want to show your blog posts (and nothing but blog posts) directly on the homepage of your site. I.e., when someone types in themysteryworshippers.wordpress.com, they will see your blog posts immediately, but will not see the introductory message you have on your homepage now.

    With that in mind I’m hoping we can clarify what you are trying to set up further:

    • You want your homepage to stay as it is, and display it’s current contents, yes?
    • How had you hoped to have blog posts connect to this page? You are trying to offer a button of some kind to a separate “blog page” so posts are shown separately there?
    • Or is it the case you want to add a section of blog posts (maybe the 3 most recent) on the homepage, but offer a way for visitors to click a button to visit the blog and see the rest?

    Thanks for the additional info!

  • themysteryworshippers · Member ·

    Thanks for engaging Staff-totoro. On your three questions:

    1. Yes, I’m fairly happy with the static home page, but I might include a better menu. Although reading your third question I may be inclined to add the 3 most recent reviews on there also.
    2. Yes, a button or a link to the review (blog) page. I’ve got a link at the moment, and there is a drop down menu, but I may try to get a banner menu instead.
    3. Yes, I think I may go that way.
  • staff-totoro · Staff ·

    Hi again,

    Yes, I’m fairly happy with the static home page, but I might include a better menu.

    Perfect, that would explain the issue I think. The way your theme is set up, it’s not possible to set the homepage template to display as a “posts page” which is why you are getting that error. You are however, on the right track.

    Instead what I recommend is creating a new (3rd) page on your site with a descriptive title like “Blog” or “Reviews” for example. You can leave the page totally blank, just the title, then publish. Once you do that you can return to the full page list, and set the Blog page as your Posts page. This will automatically fill the page with blog posts, no other work needed on your part. From there you can add the new page to your menu so it displays there (for visitors) along with the other two options.

    Yes, a button or a link to the review (blog) page. I’ve got a link at the moment, and there is a drop down menu, but I may try to get a banner menu instead.

    Yes, I think I may go that way.

    That was my thought as well, it might help to add both a button and a small feed of recent posts to the homepage. We actually cover how to do this in our recent webinar on custom homepages. You can attend a live session if you wish (there is also live Q&A for questions) by signing up here: https://wordpress.com/learn/webinars/compelling-homepages/

    If the times available don’t fit your schedule, you can also watch a re-play of a recent session here:

    The demo will walk you through the process of adding a short blog feed to the homepage, and also shows how the button block works, so you will be able to add buttons on your site wherever you wish.

    Hope that helps. Please let us know if you have any more questions.

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