How to Set Up a Custom Homepage in WordPress

By default, WordPress shows your latest blog posts on the homepage. That is fine for a simple diary-style blog, but the moment your site has a purpose — selling services, building a brand, growing an email list — a stream of recent posts is a weak front door. A custom homepage lets you decide exactly what visitors see first: your offer, your best content, your story, and your call to action, arranged the way you want. This guide shows you how to set one up in WordPress, from the basic settings to designing the page itself.

Quick Answer

To set up a custom homepage in WordPress, create a new page for your homepage (and optionally a separate page for your blog), then go to Settings → Reading, choose “A static page,” and select your new page as the Homepage and your blog page as the Posts page. Then edit the homepage with the block editor or your theme’s options to add your content. Your posts will move to the blog page automatically, and nothing is lost.

Step 1: Understand the Two Designs WordPress Offers

WordPress gives you two homepage models:

• Latest posts: the classic blog layout. Simple, always fresh, but offers no control over the first impression.
• Static page: a fixed page you design yourself, while your blog posts live on a separate page you choose (usually called Blog or Articles).

Most business sites, portfolios, magazines with a curated front page, and any site running ads or affiliate content benefit from the static model. Pure personal blogs can happily stay with latest posts. Switching between the two is reversible at any time, so you can experiment safely.

Step 2: Create the Two Pages

1. Go to Pages → Add New and create a page titled Home. For now, add a headline and a paragraph of placeholder text — you will design it properly in step 4.
2. Publish it.
3. Create a second page titled Blog and publish it completely empty. WordPress will fill it with your posts automatically once you assign it; any text you add here is ignored in most themes.
4. Check both pages appear under Pages → All Pages.

Step 3: Assign the Pages in Reading Settings

1. Go to Settings → Reading.
2. Under “Your homepage displays,” select A static page.
3. Set Homepage to your new Home page and Posts page to your Blog page.
4. Click Save Changes and visit your site — the front page now shows your Home page, and your posts live at yoursite.com/blog.

The same setting is also available in the Customizer under Homepage Settings, which shows a live preview as you choose. Either route changes the same option. The official WordPress documentation on Reading Settings covers every field on this screen if you want the details.

Step 4: Design the Homepage with the Block Editor

Now edit your Home page. A strong homepage for most sites in 2026 follows a simple structure:

1. Hero section: a clear headline saying what the site offers and for whom, one supporting sentence, and a single prominent button (Read the Guides, Shop Now, Book a Call). Use a Cover or Group block with your best image.
2. Trust or highlights strip: three short columns with icons — what makes you different, your experience, your guarantee.
3. Featured content: a Query Loop block set to show selected categories or hand-picked posts, or a row of your most important service/product pages.
4. About teaser: two or three sentences and a photo, linking to your full About page — one of the most important pages every website must have.
5. Testimonials or proof: quotes, numbers, or logos, if you have them.
6. Email signup or final call to action: one clear next step to close the page.

Use headings, spacers, and columns to give the page rhythm, and preview it on the mobile view in the editor — most of your visitors will see that version.

Step 5: If Your Theme Has Its Own Homepage System

Many themes — especially magazine, business, and WooCommerce themes — include dedicated homepage sections configured in the Customizer: sliders, featured categories, banners, and widget areas that appear only on the front page. If your theme offers this, the static page you assign simply activates that template, and you arrange the sections in the Customizer rather than the page editor. Check your theme’s documentation; using its built-in system is usually faster and looks more polished than building from raw blocks. Site Editor (full site editing) themes take yet another route: you edit the front-page template under Appearance → Editor → Templates, while the Reading settings still decide that a static page is the homepage.

Using a Page Builder Instead

If the block editor feels limiting, page builders such as Elementor can design the homepage with drag-and-drop sections and pre-made templates. They offer the most visual control and are a reasonable choice for a single important page. The trade-offs are extra weight on that page and another system to learn and keep updated. For most blogs and small business sites, the block editor plus a good theme achieves 90% of the result with none of the overhead.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting to assign the Posts page. If you set a static homepage but leave the Posts page unassigned, your blog becomes hard to reach and its archive may vanish from menus. Always set both.
• Trying to say everything on one page. A homepage that contains your whole site overwhelms. Summarise and link — the detail belongs on the inner pages.
• Two competing calls to action everywhere. One primary action per section. A page shouting five different instructions converts worse than a page with one clear path.
• Not adding the Blog page to your menu. After switching, add Blog to the navigation so readers can still find your articles in one click.
• Judging the design only on desktop. Check the stacked mobile layout carefully — hero text over images is the most common mobile failure.

Conclusion

A custom homepage turns your front page from an automatic list into a deliberate welcome: your offer, your proof, your best content, and one clear next step. Setting it up takes minutes — create the pages, assign them in Reading Settings, and design with blocks or your theme’s sections. Your blog keeps its own dedicated page, readers get a far stronger first impression, and you gain a page you can optimise for subscribers, sales, and search over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will switching to a static homepage delete my blog posts?

No. Your posts are untouched; they simply display on the Posts page you assign instead of the front page. Every post keeps its own URL, so existing links and search rankings are unaffected.

What should I name the Posts page and what will its address be?

“Blog” is the clearest name, giving you yoursite.com/blog. “News,” “Articles,” or “Guides” also work depending on your site’s style. Pick the word your audience would naturally look for in the menu.

Can I show some blog posts on my custom homepage too?

Yes, and most good homepages do. Add a Query Loop block (or your theme’s recent-posts section) showing the latest three to six posts. You get a designed front page that still feels fresh every time you publish.

My homepage changes are not showing. What is wrong?

Usually a cache. Clear your caching plugin and CDN cache, then check you edited the correct page — the one assigned under Settings → Reading. If your theme uses a front-page template in the Site Editor, your changes may live there instead of the page itself.

Is a static homepage better for SEO?

It can be, because you control the homepage’s text, headings, and internal links, letting you target your main topic clearly. A latest-posts homepage changes constantly and targets nothing in particular. For content sites it is roughly neutral; for businesses and brands the static page is the stronger choice.