ThemeGrill AuthorIf you’re wondering how to show related posts in WordPress, this article is for you.
Related posts in WordPress are the content relevant to the post that the user is currently viewing. If they’re interested, they can view these posts for further reading.
So, displaying such related posts increases the chances of the reader engaging with more content on your website.
In this article, we’ll show you how to show related posts in WordPress. And we’ll also talk briefly about why you should show related articles in WordPress.
Let’s begin!
A. Why Show Related Posts in WordPress?
The related post feature is a simple yet significant feature for growing your website. The major reasons for using it are discussed below.
- The related posts feature increases user engagement as they’ll find relevant content that can be easily accessed.
- It acts as a navigational tool for visitors to further explore the content they like.
- When users find desired content and posts related to it, they’ll stay longer on your site. This, in turn, will increase your viewer engagement and decrease bounce rate.
- When visitors spend more time on your website, it’ll increase the revenue that you get by placing ads on the site.
- Your affiliate links are more likely to generate more revenue as well.
- The related posts feature also makes sure that your older content gets more views.
All this ultimately improves your website’s SEO. Thus, you must have a related posts section on your WordPress website, especially if you have a magazine or a blog website.
B. How to Show Related Posts in WordPress?
WordPress is a versatile, powerful and beginner friendly platform. And it lets its users do things in more than one way. If one method isn’t suitable for you, there are still other ways around it.
Same goes for showing related articles in WordPress. You can show related posts on your site with or without a plugin.
Hence, let’s look at these two easy ways on how to show related posts in WordPress.
i) Without Using a Plugin
Now, it’s true that the WordPress platform has seen some of the best plugins. And plugins make everything easy. But using too many plugins may slow down your site and they’re hard to manage as well.
This is where ColorMag comes to the rescue. It’s the best magazine theme which offers a feature that’ll show related posts on your WordPress website with a few clicks. And the best part is, you don’t need a plugin.
So, to do that, log in to your WordPress website’s dashboard first.
Next, head over to Appearance >> Customize. That’ll take you to the WordPress Customizer.
This is the WordPress Customizer interface for the ColorMag theme, from where you can customize your site to your heart’s content.
On the left sidebar of the customizer interface, click on the tab named Content.
Inside the Content tab, click on the Single Post option.
As you scroll down a bit, you’ll see a section dedicated to the feature: Related Posts.
Click on the Enable checkbox to turn the related posts feature on.
Furthermore, below the checkbox, you’ll find different options to customize the related posts section.
Related Posts Options on ColorMag
First, you get the Related Posts Must Be Shown As option. Using this filter, you can choose whether the related posts are shown according to categories or tags.
Moreover, if you’re using for ColorMag pro, you’ll be able to access more features for customizing your related posts section.
For instance, you can choose the number of posts to display. This can be done using the radio button that says Number of post to display.
Next option named “Choose the related posts layout as needed” lets you choose the layout of your related posts section. Using this option, you can choose from four different styles. Try them for yourselves and see which one fits your site the most.
Another cool option is the Change You May Also Like Text. This lets you change the text that initiates the related articles section.
Last but not least, there’s one more amazing feature here, the Flyout Related Posts.
This is a very cool feature that displays the related posts when a viewer scrolls and reaches the end of your page.
Like with the normal related posts section, you can change the Read Next text as well.
Finally, don’t forget to hit the Publish button on top to save your changes.
And that’s about it for the options regarding the related posts feature on ColorMag. Pretty quick and simple, isn’t it?
ii) Using a Plugin
If you want to use a plugin to show related posts on WordPress, then that’s also a good option. That’s because WordPress has some of the best related posts plugins.
In this section we’ll show you how to show related posts in WordPress using a plugin. But first let’s explore what plugins work best.
Best Related Posts Plugins in WordPress
1. Jetpack
Jetpack is one of the most powerful and feature-rich plugins in WordPress. It’ll help you with your website’s security, performance, content marketing, designing and more.
Some of the best features of this plugin are:
- 24/7 auto site security – manage backup, manage migration, malware scans, block spams and more
- Get peak speed and performance – increase AMP compatibility, lazy load images, high speed video hosting, custom site search, etc.
- Track performance and grow your site – advanced site stats and analytics, auto publish blog posts to social media, use SEO tools for Google, Bing, Twitter, etc.
- Powerful design tools – show related posts, get gallery and slideshow tools, easy subscription features and more
- Integrations – WooCommerce, Google Analytics, social media platforms, MailChimp, etc.
And we didn’t even include all of its awesome features. So, there’s no doubt that Jetpack is one of the best plugins to have in a WordPress website.
2. Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP)
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, YARPP is a simple yet powerful plugin to show related posts on your website. Some important features of the YARPP plugin include:
- Customizable, advanced and versatile algorithm
- Inbuilt cache makes showing related posts fast and efficient
- Custom templates and styles for showing related articles in WordPress
- Flexible placement options for related posts
- Works with almost every language
- Support for WooCommerce, WordPress multisite, bbPress forums
Unlike Jetpack, YARPP is specifically made for showing related posts in WordPress.
3. Contextual Related Posts (CRP)
Contextual Related Posts is a feature-rich WordPress related posts plugin. It offers you total control and a lot of styles to work with. Some important features of this plugin are:
- Block editor support
- Include custom post types in your list
- Auto creates and displays thumbnail for your related posts
- Extendable code
- Support for widgets and short code
And to top it off, the plugin is free. So, all gain and no loss.
How to Show Related Posts in WordPress Using a Plugin?
For this step-by-step tutorial, we’ll be using the beginner-friendly plugin, YARRP, to help you understand how to show related posts in WordPress.
First and foremost, you’ll need to install the plugin itself. To get started, head over to Plugins >> Add New.
Then, on the search bar, type YARPP. You’ll see the plugin show up in the search results.
Simply, click on Install Now.
After the plugin gets installed, click on the Activate button that appears on the same spot. With that, the installation is complete.
YARPP Settings
Now, if you’re wondering how to enable related posts, YARPP does all the work for you. You just have to configure some options to decide which posts to display and such.
From your dashboard, navigate to Settings >> YARPP.
We’re not going to explain all these options. However, we’ll talk briefly about different sections on the settings page to get you started.
Under “The Pool” section, you can decide what posts to include or not include. For instance, you can decide what post types to include, or display posts from past 12 months only, etc.
“The Algorithm” section is about deciding how closely the suggested article is related to the current article. For example, there’s an option called Match Threshold.
In this Match Threshold option, the higher the number, the stricter the plugin becomes when suggesting a related article.
And under this option are four other options that lets you decide whether to consider tags, categories, etc. when choosing a related post.
Next is the “Automatic Display Options” section. You can enable automatic related posts display for your site’s posts, pages, and media.
Moreover, using the Theme option, you can choose to list the related posts, use a thumbnail or even include php. By default, it’s set to the list option.
The other sections include RSS Feed Options and Rest API Options.
Lastly, there’s also an Empty Cache option to clear the YARPP related posts cache.
Once you’ve made your changes, just hit the Save Changes button.
That’s it! You’ve successfully added a section for related posts on your website using YARPP in no time.
Wrapping it Up
ColorMag makes it super easy to add related posts to your website’s pages. Using this theme, you can show related posts on your website with just a click.
An alternative is to use you use plugins like YARPP and Jetpack. If you opt for this method, YARPP does a fine job of making the job simple enough for beginners.
Besides making your content easily accessible through related posts, it’s just as important to make the content more readable. This is easily achievable through good themes like ColorMag.
We have a huge collection of themes, listing some of the best themes for websites of specific niches, such as agency themes, yoga themes, and more. So, do explore them in our blog if you’re interested.
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