What Is a Static Front Page?
A static front page is a WordPress page you assign to load as your site’s homepage instead of the default latest-posts feed. The page can hold both manually edited and dynamic elements; “static” means the page you pick stays the homepage until you change it in your Reading settings.
More About Static Front Pages
WordPress automatically displays a list of your latest blog posts on your homepage by default. If you'd rather greet visitors with a page you design yourself, you assign a static front page instead.
When to use a static front page
Use a static front page when posts aren't the main thing your site offers. Keep the default latest-posts homepage when the blog is the site.
- Choose a static front page for business sites, portfolios, and online stores. A restaurant wants its menu, hours, and a booking button up front, not last month's news post. The homepage works like a landing page: a fixed headline, a hero image, and a clear call to action.
- Keep the latest-posts homepage for news sites and personal blogs, where putting new content in front of readers automatically is the whole point.
A static front page isn't a static website
They share a word, not a technology. A static website is built from fixed HTML files with no database behind them. A static front page is an ordinary WordPress page: WordPress normally generates it with PHP from your theme, content, and plugins, though a page cache may serve a stored copy of the result without running WordPress at all. Choosing a static front page also doesn't restrict what the page can hold. Contact forms, menus, widgets, and even a Query Loop block that lists your recent posts all work as they do on any other page. “Static” refers to the assignment, not the content: the page you pick stays the homepage until you change the setting, instead of the homepage updating automatically around your newest posts.
Setting a static front page in WordPress
You set a static front page in WordPress under Settings > Reading. You'll create 2 pages first: a Home page for your homepage content and an empty Blog page to hold your posts.
- Go to Pages > Add New and create a page titled Home. Add your content and publish it.
- Create and publish a second, empty page titled Blog.
- Go to Settings > Reading and select “A static page” under “Your homepage displays.”
- Choose Home from the “Homepage” dropdown and Blog from the “Posts page” dropdown.
- Click Save Changes.
The “Posts page” step is easy to miss. Without it, published posts still exist at their own URLs, but your site has no blog index that lists them. Assigning an empty page brings the index back: WordPress fills it with your latest posts automatically, so you never edit that page directly.
If your dashboard looks different, the same setting also lives under Appearance > Customize > Homepage Settings on themes that include the Customizer. Saving the setting is the quick part; designing the page is the real job. For a full walkthrough, including block editor and theme options, see our beginner's guide to the WordPress front page.
When the homepage won't update
If the homepage still shows the posts feed after you save, check 2 things before assuming the setting failed.
- Caching. Your host, a caching plugin, or your browser may be serving a stored copy of the old homepage. Clear the site's page cache, then reload in a private browser window.
- A front-page template. Per the WordPress Theme Handbook, a front-page template “always takes precedence, regardless of the Front page displays setting.” On a block theme, open the Site Editor (Appearance > Editor > Templates) and edit or remove the front-page template so your setting can take effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
- No. A static front page carries no inherent SEO penalty. It gives you a stable page to target your most important keywords, while the blog page you assign under “Posts page” keeps fresh content flowing for search engines to crawl.
- Yes. Go to Settings > Reading and set “Your homepage displays” back to “Your latest posts.” Nothing is deleted: your Home page simply stops being the front page and stays available like any other page.
- In everyday use, yes: the Settings > Reading screen itself says “Your homepage displays.” Theme templates draw a distinction, though. Per the WordPress Theme Handbook, “front page” means the site's front page, while the “home” template refers to the blog posts index.
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