Content

by Gisle Hannemyr

This chapter is intended to give you a basic understanding of how to create and manage content using the Wordpress CMS using the GUI. It introduces the node-based content types that is part of the Wordpress core, with some brief notes about how to use and extend them.

Introduction
Where content appears
Wordpress posts content types
Creating content
Tracking content
RSS
Final word

Introduction

Content is of course what web publishing is all about. There is little point in having a website without content.

WordPress defines four kinds of content:

Posts
Comments
Users
Links

Posts are the most important kind of content. Note that the word “posts” is used to describe anything in the {posts} table, but it is also used to describe one particular (out of seven) posts type. There are seven posts content types that is described in more detail below.

Comments are stored in their own database table, {comments}. They work in a similar way to posts in that each can have metadata attached to it via the {commentmeta} table, but have different content and so different fields are required for their table. Comments will be linked to posts via a one-to-many relationship and they are also linked to each other using the comment_parent field – this is used to identify comments which are replies to other comments. They can also optionally be linked to the {users} table if they are made by users who are signed-in.

Users have their own table, {users}, and also have metadata stored in the {usermeta} table. At first glance users may seem to be a very different content type to posts, but they are more similar than you think – they can be queried and output in an author archive, and they have content in the form of biographical data about the users. This content is structured quite differently from posts, links and comments which is why users need their own table.

Links are not used much these days, with the blogroll feature no longer being available by default since version 3.5. Links work in a similar way to posts in that they have content and can have taxonomy terms assigned to them. However they are different from posts in that they have quite different fields, used to store data about the link target, its description and so forth. They aren't linked to users so can't be assigned an author, and they also don't have a field to identify a parent so can't be attached to a post – but you can use taxonomies to include them in archive pages.

Where content appears [D7]

There are two different locations to display content on a Wordpress website.

In a page (has path).
In a block (no path).

Wordpress posts content types

To create content with Wordpress, you first expand the Add content item in your personal menu (often found in the left sidebar when you are logged in). You are then shown a list of available content types, and pick the type you want to create.

By default, WordPress comes with two posts content types enables: “Posts” and “Pages”.

Below is a list of all the posts content types that available in Wordpress. I've added my own notes about how I think they should be used (or not).

Posts:: A Post is similar to a Page (see next item), except that it is published with an author byline, is automatically promoted to the site's front page, and provides the ability to post comments. It is suitable for publishing articles, blog entries, news items, press releases, site announcements, and similar material. This is one of the two content types that comes pre-enabled if you use the Wordpress default installation profile.
Pages:: A Page is for creating and displaying official and static information that rarely changes. It is a basic content container that is intended to be static and to stand alone. By default, a Page entry does not display the name of the author/owner, does not allow comments, and is not featured on the site's front page. You must create an explicit link to a Page if you want it to be visible. A Page is mainly for permanent notices that is made accessible through custom navigation, (e.g. the “About us“ page for the website, or “Privacy policy“). The Post content type is better suited for news and other topical content. This is one of the two content types that comes pre-enabled if you use the Wordpress default installation profile.
Attachments:: [TBA].
Revisions:: [TBA].
Navigation Menus:: [TBA].
Custom CSS:: [TBA].
Changesets:: [TBA].

Source: Wordpress.org: Post types.

Creating and editing content

[TBA]

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Tracking content [D7]

Wordpress can be set up to create a new revision every time a node is revised. This allows you to track how the node has changed over time on the site.

To enable this feature, go to the default node editing form (administer » structure » content types » bundle » edit » publishing options) and check the box Create a new revision in the node editing form. This will result in a new revision automatically being created every time the node is edited. (Administrators can override this when editing an individual node.)

An useful addition to revison tracking is the Diff module. This module displays the differences between two revisions.

The Tracker module (in core, but disabled by default) displays a site's most recently added or updated content. It also provides user level tracking. When you enable it a new meny entry (Recent content) is added to the navigation menu, and a new tab (Track) is added to each user's profile.

note The Tracker module has no administrator interface beyond enabling and disabling. Enabling a predefined view named Tracker allows administrators to customize the tracker view and to add access control to the menu entry. However, unless the Tracker module also is enabled, there will not be user level tracking.

RSS [D7]

In Wordpress, core Node module provides basic RSS publishing for content. An RSS feed is generated at /rss.xml. By default, the RSS feed will contain the ten most recently created pieces of content promoted to the front page. you can add a description, change the number of items displayed and contain the content of the feed by visiting Configuration » Web services » RSS publishing.

If fields attached to content are desired to be attached to the feed, these may be configured on the manage display page for the content type. Navigate to Structure » Content types, and click manage display for the content type you want to configure. Exapand the panel Custom display settings and tick “RSS”. There is now a manage display setting for “RSS”.

Final word