A Beginner’s Guide to Improving User Engagement: Incorporating Featured Articles in the WordPress Sidebar

Are you looking to enhance user engagement and generate more traffic for your WordPress website’s key articles? One effective strategy is to include featured posts in the sidebar. In this article, we will discuss four methods that allow you to easily add featured posts to the WordPress sidebar.

Method 1: Using the List Widget

If you prefer a straightforward approach without relying on plugins, you can utilize the List widget. Here’s how:

1. Access the “Appearance » Widgets” page in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Add a List widget to your sidebar by dragging and dropping it.
3. In the widget’s visual editor, create a bulleted list featuring the titles of the posts you’d like to showcase.
4. Add a link to each blog post by selecting the post title and clicking on the link button.
5. Optionally, create a heading for the featured list by adding a Heading widget above the list.
6. Group the Heading and List widgets by selecting both and clicking on the Group icon.
7. Click the Update button to save your changes.

Upon visiting your website, your featured posts will be prominently displayed.

Method 2: Using a Navigation Menu

This method allows you to easily manage your featured posts and utilize the menu in multiple locations on your website. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the “Appearance » Menus” page.
2. Click the “create a new menu” link and give your menu a name.
3. Click the “Create Menu” button.
4. Select the posts you wish to feature from the Posts tab and click “Add to Menu”.
5. Edit the titles and rearrange the posts as desired.
6. Click the “Save Menu” button to save your changes.

Next, navigate to the “Appearance » Widgets” page and add the Navigation Menu widget to your sidebar. Provide a title for the widget and select the featured posts menu you created earlier. Save your widget settings by clicking the Update button.

Your sidebar will now display the featured posts menu on your website.

Method 3: Including Featured Posts within WordPress Posts/Pages

If you want to showcase your featured posts within a WordPress post or page, this method is for you. Follow these steps:

1. Edit the WordPress post or page where you want to display your featured posts.
2. Click the add new block button (+) and add the List block to your content area.
3. Add the title of each blog post you want to feature as an item on the list.
4. Select the text and use the link button to create a link to the respective article.
5. Save your changes and update or publish the post.

To reuse the featured posts block, make it reusable by clicking the three-dot menu icon in the block toolbar and selecting “Add to reusable blocks”. Name it and click the Save button. You can now easily add the featured posts block to any post or page by searching for its name.

Method 4: Enhancing Display with Thumbnails using a Plugin

To make your featured posts visually appealing to users, you can use a plugin to display thumbnails. Here’s how using the MonsterInsights plugin:

1. Install and activate the MonsterInsights plugin.
2. Connect Google Analytics with your WordPress site.
3. Access Insights » Popular Posts in your WordPress admin area.
4. Select a theme for your popular posts widget.
5. Customize the widget’s design and behavior according to your preferences.
6. Add your posts to the featured posts list.
7. Save your settings and go to the “Appearance » Widgets” page.
8. Add the “Popular Posts – MonsterInsights” widget to your sidebar.
9. Enter a title for the widget, specify the number of posts to display, and choose the same theme as before.
10. Click the Update button to save your widget settings.

Check your website to see your featured posts with thumbnails.

By following these methods, you can easily add featured posts to the WordPress sidebar, improving user engagement and increasing pageviews. If you found this article helpful, we recommend exploring our guides on email marketing services and WordPress SEO plugins, which can further enhance your website traffic. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more WordPress video tutorials and stay connected with us on Twitter and Facebook.