When you first install WordPress, the site shows your latest blog posts on the front page by default. That makes sense for a traditional blog, but most websites need something different. A business site, a tutorial site, a portfolio — all of these need a proper homepage that tells visitors what the site is about and points them to the right content.
Setting a custom homepage in WordPress takes a few minutes once you know where the setting lives. The process involves creating two pages, configuring one Reading setting, and verifying your navigation. That’s it.
This guide covers the full setup — including what to put on the homepage, how to assign a separate blog page, and what to check afterwards.
Quick Answer
To create a homepage in WordPress: go to Settings → Reading, set Your homepage displays to A static page, then select a page as your Homepage and another as your Posts page. You’ll need to create both pages first if they don’t exist yet.
Why This Matters
Without a static homepage, WordPress shows your most recent posts at the root URL. That’s the right setup for a blog where fresh content is the point, but it creates a poor first impression for most other types of sites.
A custom homepage gives you control over what visitors see first. It can introduce the site, highlight important content, direct people to key sections, and make the site feel deliberately built rather than installed and left running. It also helps with SEO — a focused homepage with clear internal links gives search engines a better picture of how the site is structured.
In most WordPress sites I build, the homepage and Reading settings are configured before anything else goes live.
Step 1: Create a Home Page
Start by creating the page that will become your homepage.
- Go to Pages → Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
- Set the title to Home (or whatever you’d like to call it — the title isn’t the key part, the assignment in settings is).
- Add your homepage content using the block editor.
- Click Publish.
At this point the page exists but WordPress isn’t using it as the homepage yet. That happens in Step 3.
What to put on the homepage
A homepage doesn’t need to be complex. The most effective ones are clear and focused. A typical structure includes a short intro explaining what the site is about, links or highlights pointing to key content, and a simple call to action — read a guide, explore a category, get in touch.
What to avoid: long walls of text, auto-displaying all your posts, or burying the point of the site under too many sections. Visitors usually decide within seconds whether to stay or leave.
Step 2: Create a Blog Page
If your site publishes posts — articles, tutorials, updates — you need a separate page to list them. WordPress can’t show posts on both the homepage and a blog page simultaneously without this setup.
- Go to Pages → Add New.
- Set the title to Blog (or Articles, Posts — whatever fits your site).
- Leave the content area empty.
- Click Publish.
You don’t add anything to this page. Once assigned in Settings → Reading, WordPress automatically fills it with your published posts. For a full walkthrough of how this page works and what options it gives you, see the guide on how to create a blog page in WordPress.
Step 3: Assign the Pages in Settings → Reading
This is the setting that actually makes your homepage work.
- Go to Settings → Reading in your WordPress dashboard.
- Find Your homepage displays at the top of the page.
- Select A static page.
- Under Homepage, select your Home page.
- Under Posts page, select your Blog page.
- Click Save Changes.
After saving, your site root URL shows the custom homepage, and your blog page URL displays your posts automatically. The WordPress Settings Reading documentation covers all the options on this screen if you need more detail on any of the other fields.
Step 4: Update Your Navigation Menu
After configuring the homepage, check your navigation menu to make sure both pages appear correctly.
- Go to Appearance → Menus.
- Add the Home page to the menu if it isn’t there.
- Add the Blog page if your site publishes posts and you want it accessible.
- Arrange the order so Home sits first.
- Click Save Menu.
Some themes auto-populate the menu with pages, but I always check manually. It’s easy to end up with duplicate links or a missing home entry if you don’t verify after changing the Reading settings.
Practical Tips
Keep the homepage content focused on directing visitors, not displaying everything. A homepage that tries to show all categories, all recent posts, and a full site intro often ends up harder to read than one that makes a simple point and links out clearly.
After setting up the homepage, view it in a private browser window. Ask yourself whether someone arriving for the first time would understand what the site offers within a few seconds. If the answer is uncertain, simplify.
If you’re using a block theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four or Twenty Twenty-Five), the Customizer may not be available. Block themes use the Site Editor for design instead. The Reading settings work the same way regardless of theme type.
Common Mistakes
Creating the page but forgetting to assign it. This is the most common issue — the page exists, but Settings → Reading still shows “Your latest posts”, so the homepage never changes. Always complete Step 3.
Leaving the homepage blank. Some people publish the page without adding content and wonder why the front page looks empty. Build the content before publishing, or update it immediately after.
Not creating a separate blog page. If you skip Step 2, WordPress has nowhere to display your posts once the static homepage is set. Your posts don’t disappear — they just become harder to find. Always create the blog page alongside the homepage.
Overloading the homepage with sections. More sections don’t always improve the page. A clear, simple homepage with a strong intro and a few links usually outperforms a visually complex one.
When to Use a Static Homepage vs the Default
Use a static homepage for any site where the front page should introduce the site rather than list posts. This covers most websites: business sites, service sites, tutorial sites, portfolios, resource sites.
Keep the default blog homepage only if your site is a traditional blog where the most recent posts are genuinely the best thing to show a new visitor first — a personal journal, a news publication, or a blog-first content site where post frequency drives traffic.
If you’re unsure, go with the static homepage. It gives you more control and works better for most WordPress setups.
Conclusion
Create a Home page, create a Blog page, go to Settings → Reading, and assign them. That’s the full process. Once it’s done, your site has a proper starting point that you control — and your posts have a dedicated place to live.
Etienne Basson works with website systems, SEO-driven site architecture, and technical implementation. He writes practical guides on building, structuring, and optimizing websites for long-term growth.