aa

How to Hide a Post From Home Page in WordPress

2 months ago, WordPress Plugin, 1 Views
Hide Posts from Home Page in WordPress

Understanding Why You Might Want to Hide a Post

There are numerous legitimate reasons why you might want to hide a post from your WordPress homepage while still keeping it accessible through a direct link. This could be for aesthetic reasons, functional purposes, or strategic marketing considerations.

  • You want to keep your homepage uncluttered and focus on evergreen content.
  • You have a landing page that you only want accessed through specific campaigns.
  • You want to publish a post for a select audience and share the link privately.
  • The post is outdated but contains valuable information you don’t want to delete.
  • You are running an A/B test and want to control which posts are visible on the homepage.
  • The post is highly specialized and only relevant to a small segment of your audience.
  • You need to fix errors or make edits without impacting the homepage display.

Methods to Hide a Post From the Homepage

WordPress provides several methods to hide posts from the homepage, ranging from simple plugin solutions to more complex code-based approaches. The best method for you will depend on your technical skill level and specific needs.

1. Using the “Exclude Pages From Navigation” Plugin

This is one of the simplest methods, requiring no coding knowledge. The “Exclude Pages From Navigation” plugin allows you to hide specific posts or pages from various areas of your website, including the homepage. While the name suggests it’s only for pages, it works equally well for posts.

Installation and Setup

  • Navigate to your WordPress dashboard.
  • Go to “Plugins” > “Add New”.
  • Search for “Exclude Pages From Navigation”.
  • Install and activate the plugin.

Hiding a Post

  • Open the post you want to hide from the homepage.
  • Look for the “Exclude Pages” meta box in the sidebar (usually below the Publish or Update button).
  • Check the box labeled “Exclude from Homepage”.
  • Update the post.

This method is generally straightforward and suitable for beginners. However, it provides limited customization options.

2. Using the “Display Posts” Plugin

The “Display Posts” plugin offers more control over which posts appear on your homepage, or any other page, through shortcodes. You can use it to create custom loops and exclude specific posts by ID.

Installation and Setup

  • Navigate to your WordPress dashboard.
  • Go to “Plugins” > “Add New”.
  • Search for “Display Posts”.
  • Install and activate the plugin.

Creating a Custom Loop and Excluding a Post

  • Identify the ID of the post you want to exclude. You can find this in the URL when editing the post (e.g., post=123, where 123 is the ID).
  • Create or edit the page that displays your posts (typically your homepage).
  • Use the following shortcode, replacing ‘123’ with the actual post ID:
    [display-posts exclude="123" wrapper="div" wrapper_class="your-custom-class"]
  • Adjust the `wrapper` and `wrapper_class` attributes to customize the HTML structure if needed. You can also use other `display-posts` attributes to further filter and style your posts.

This method offers more flexibility than the previous one, allowing you to customize the display of your posts while excluding specific ones. You can exclude multiple posts by separating their IDs with commas within the `exclude` attribute. For example, `exclude=”123,456,789″`.

3. Modifying the Theme’s `functions.php` File

This method involves adding code to your theme’s `functions.php` file. It provides a more permanent and direct way to exclude posts from the homepage. **Caution: Editing the `functions.php` file can cause errors if done incorrectly. Always back up your theme or use a child theme before making changes.**

Creating a Child Theme (Recommended)

  • Create a new folder in your `wp-content/themes/` directory. Name it something descriptive, like `your-theme-child`.
  • Inside the child theme folder, create a file named `style.css` with the following content: 
            
        /*
        Theme Name:   Your Theme Child
        Template:     your-theme  (replace 'your-theme' with the parent theme's folder name)
        */

        @import url("../your-theme/style.css"); /* Import the parent theme's stylesheet */
  • Activate the child theme in your WordPress dashboard under “Appearance” > “Themes”.

Adding Code to `functions.php`

  • Open the `functions.php` file in your child theme (or parent theme if you didn’t create a child theme).
  • Add the following code snippet: 
            
        function exclude_single_posts_home($query) {
            if ( is_home() && $query->is_main_query() ) {
                $query->set( 'post__not_in', array( 123 ) ); // Replace 123 with the post ID you want to exclude
            }
        }
        add_action( 'pre_get_posts', 'exclude_single_posts_home' );
  • Replace `123` with the ID of the post you want to hide. You can add multiple post IDs to the array, separated by commas: `array(123, 456, 789)`.
  • Save the `functions.php` file.

This code snippet modifies the main query that WordPress uses to display posts on the homepage. The `is_home()` function ensures that the code only applies to the homepage. The `is_main_query()` function ensures that it only modifies the main query and doesn’t interfere with other queries on the page. The `post__not_in` parameter tells WordPress to exclude the specified post IDs from the query.

4. Using a Category to Control Homepage Display

This method involves assigning posts to a specific category and then excluding that category from the homepage display. This is particularly useful if you have a group of posts you regularly want to hide.

Creating a Category

  • Navigate to “Posts” > “Categories” in your WordPress dashboard.
  • Create a new category, for example, “Hidden From Homepage”.
  • You don’t need to add a description or change any other settings.

Assigning Posts to the Category

  • Open the post you want to hide.
  • In the “Categories” meta box, check the “Hidden From Homepage” category.
  • Update the post.

Excluding the Category From the Homepage (using `functions.php`)

  • Open the `functions.php` file in your child theme (or parent theme, with caution).
  • Add the following code snippet: 
            
        function exclude_category_home($query) {
            if ( is_home() && $query->is_main_query() ) {
                $query->set( 'category__not_in', array( 4 ) ); // Replace 4 with the category ID you want to exclude
            }
        }
        add_action( 'pre_get_posts', 'exclude_category_home' );
  • Replace `4` with the ID of the “Hidden From Homepage” category. To find the category ID, go to “Posts” > “Categories” in your dashboard. Hover over the category name, and the URL in the bottom left corner of your browser will contain the category ID (e.g., `category&tag_ID=4`).
  • Save the `functions.php` file.

This method is similar to the previous one, but instead of excluding specific post IDs, it excludes an entire category. The `category__not_in` parameter tells WordPress to exclude posts belonging to the specified category ID from the homepage query.

5. Using Conditional Tags in Your Theme Templates

This method involves modifying your theme’s template files directly. It requires a good understanding of WordPress theme structure and PHP. **Caution: Editing theme files can cause errors. Always back up your theme or use a child theme.**

Identifying the Relevant Template File

  • The template file that displays your posts on the homepage varies depending on your theme. Common files include `index.php`, `home.php`, and sometimes `front-page.php`. Consult your theme’s documentation or inspect the page source to identify the correct file.

Using Conditional Tags

  • Open the identified template file in a text editor.
  • Locate the loop that displays your posts. It usually looks something like this: 
            
        <?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
            <!-- Post content here -->
        <?php endwhile; else : ?>
            <p><?php esc_html_e( 'Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.' ); ?></p>
        <?php endif; ?>
  • Add a conditional tag to exclude the specific post ID: 
            
        <?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
            <?php if ( get_the_ID() != 123 ) : ?> <!-- Replace 123 with the post ID -->
                <!-- Post content here -->
            <?php endif; ?>
        <?php endwhile; else : ?>
            <p><?php esc_html_e( 'Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.' ); ?></p>
        <?php endif; ?>
  • Replace `123` with the ID of the post you want to exclude.
  • Save the template file.

This code checks the ID of each post within the loop. If the ID matches the specified ID, the post content is not displayed.

6. Using CSS to Hide the Post (Less Recommended)

While technically possible, using CSS to hide a post is **not recommended** as it only hides the post from view, but the post data is still loaded. This can impact performance and SEO. However, if you only need a quick and temporary solution, it can be used.

Finding the Post’s CSS Class or ID

  • Inspect the post on your homepage using your browser’s developer tools (right-click and select “Inspect” or “Inspect Element”).
  • Look for a unique CSS class or ID associated with the post’s container. This is usually a `<div>` or `<article>` element. Common classes might include `post-123` (where 123 is the post ID) or `type-post`.

Adding CSS to Hide the Post

  • Navigate to “Appearance” > “Customize” > “Additional CSS” in your WordPress dashboard.
  • Add the following CSS code, replacing `.post-123` with the actual CSS class or ID you found: 
            
        .post-123 {
            display: none;
        }
  • Publish the changes.

This method simply hides the post element from view using CSS. The post is still loaded in the background, which can affect performance. It’s best to use one of the other methods for a more efficient and SEO-friendly solution.

Important Considerations

Regardless of the method you choose, keep the following considerations in mind:

  • **Backup your website before making any changes**, especially when editing theme files or the `functions.php` file.
  • **Use a child theme** whenever possible to avoid losing your changes when the parent theme is updated.
  • **Test your changes thoroughly** to ensure that the post is hidden correctly and that no other functionality is affected.
  • **Consider the SEO implications** of hiding posts. While the posts are hidden from the homepage, they are still accessible through direct links and search engines may still index them. If you want to completely remove a post from search results, you should consider noindexing or deleting the post.
  • **Use descriptive category names** if using the category exclusion method to easily identify and manage hidden posts.
  • **Document your changes** so you can easily remember what you did and revert if necessary.
, , , ,

..