3. Wordpress Next and Previous Links for Single Pages
On a single page (which uses your single.php template) “the loop” gets a single post, so you can’t use a pagination plugin like we just did. After a post on your “single.php” by default Wordpress shows a linked title to your previous and next posts (if there is one). I try to spruce this up just a little to users understand what these links really are with code like this:
<div class="navigation">
<div class="alignleft"><?php previous_post_link('<b>« Post before this:</b> %link') ?><br /></div>
<div class="alignright"><?php next_post_link('%link <b>» Post After This</b>') ?></div>
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
</div>Basically all I did here was add some bolded text before and after the links. Maybe you can think of something a little more poignant for your links – or style them better than my example here. Go to the next hack below…
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
This post has multiple pages...
- 10 Ways to Improve Navigation
- Page 2 - Adding Breadcrumbs to Wordpress Navigation
- Page 3 - How to Hack Ugly Wordpress Next and Previous Links
- Page 4 - Wordpress Next and Previous Links for Single Pages
- Page 5 - Wordpress More Links and Excerpts
- Page 6 - How to Achieve Multi-Paged Post Navigation in Wordpress
- Page 7 - How to Add Related Posts After Content in Wordpress
- Page 8 - How to Display the Most Viewed Posts in Wordpress
- Page 9 - How to Show Most Popular Posts in Wordpress
- Page 10 - How to Assign and Show Category Images in Wordpress
- Page 11 - Sidebar Navigation Options in Wordpress
- View All
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Thank you very much ! I’m glad you appreciate the Category Icons plugin.
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You !!Rock I Am in search of these Post ..
Thannks for putting such a nice hack Here
Thanks
Vevin.Com
Vevins last blog post..View Locked Albums and Increase Yours Fans
Very nice demonstration of breaking a post up into multiple pages.
This is something I love about wordpress also.
I post ebooks (old non-copyright books) and breaking them up into chapters, gives a lot of pages. Adding a few keyword links back to your home page or a page you want to push in the ranks is a great trick. You provide some useful content that is unique and add some link love back to your other pages.
I usually just make a “table of contents” and paste it in the beginning of the first page or on each page. I’ve noticed google likes this. Google wouldn’t really crawl the next pages that much until I started adding this. The plugin you suggest makes it quicker and adds more functions. I’ve downloaded it and will have to play![=)]](http://www.jtpratt.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/4.gif)
I am noticing that your title tag for each of the 11 pages for this post are all the same, does the plugin allow you to change that for each page? I know we can change the heading titles, but didn’t see anything about the meta tag. . . that would be another big bonus.
thx,
Charles
PS. . .
I’ve moded one of my sites, thus the earlier comments here go to a non-site now….
If you like…if easy, you can remove my old email and name (Charles linked to whateveryoneneedstoknow). Can’t keep up with all the sites.
I did you one short with my last comment. I found a hack I was searching for, but it seems there is quite a little bit more to be found here… so I had to say: awesome lists! I just subscribed to I’ll back for more![=[]](http://www.jtpratt.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/11.gif)
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You didn’t mention the sitemap plugin by Dagon Design. I think it makes it really easy to find all your posts sorted out by category.
I wrote about it and you can see it in action on my blog.
http://www.marketing-tools-review.com/blog/2007/06/favorite-wordpress-plugin-of-the-day-3-sitemap-generator/
Thanks for the comment, Hock. I didn’t mention that plugin because I don’t think it’s very good, and also because it doesn’t belong on this hack about navigation. That’s more of an archive page, which was Wordpress Hack #2.
Hock, thanks for the idea.
I checked out dagon design’s sitemap generator after seeing your comment here.
It works well for a noob like me.
I guess JT has two of us that like it![=[]](http://www.jtpratt.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/11.gif)
I just posted on JT’s other article about 404 pages. I’m using the sitemap generator on that page also. It gives everything for the lost visitor to find their way again.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Charles
Acupunctures last blog post..What are True Acupuncture points?
Just a heads up Breadcrumb Navigation XT, the page you linked to, is obsolete as of January, 2008. Breadcrumb NavXT replaced it. My server sometimes crashes
but you shouldn’t be seeing HTTP 500 messages. It’s probably safest to link to the wordpress.org plugin directory page for it, located at http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/breadcrumb-navxt/ since that’s where I’m actually hosting it now.
Story of my life…
I just spent 45 minutes figuring out how to build breadcrumbs and hardcoding them into my template after using them here for the last few days. And NOW I finally get to the article with the plugin! ARGH!! I guess I shoulda done a search before delving in.
On the other hand, I’m finally starting to understand how PHP works… a little.
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Cheers! I’ve been looking for a “Most Viewed” type widget plugin for WP for some time now!
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Thanks for the tips. I like the iframes widget myself – it does eliminate some of those slow loading annoyances.
Ians last blog post..Still here
Thank you Thank you Thank you
Just what I was looking for.
I am using most of these plugins with success now.. amazing
Sarbjit Singhs last blog post..FMS MBA Admission 2009, Delhi University
Thanks very much – I’ve been trying to find single post pagenavi for ages!
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Have you tried to do anything to make the title and meta descriptions different on the different pages?
malcolm coless last blog post..Wordpress comment pagination & duplicate content
I’m not sure what you mean…..that automatically happens my the wpSEO plugin I use…
If I click on page 2 of this post, the one about breadcrumbs, the title and meta description is the same as on page 1 of the intro page.
And they are the same as the title of the page about next and previous links.
By title I mean the HTML title that appears in the browser bar. I recently came up with a solution ot this for pages in the loop (see comment luv link) but haven’t sorted it for paged posts yet.
malcolm coless last blog post..How to avoid duplicate meta descriptions in pages 2 and higher of the Wordpress loop
Is this plugin still good or is there a more up to date one?
I want to stick something like this on my blog.
Tenerife Estate Agentss last blog post..Buy direct from the owner? Great idea or not so clever?
Hi, I mean page 2, page 3, page 4 … of this paginated post all have the same title and meta description don’t they??
malcolm coless last blog post..SEO friendly URLs: myth and fact
I personally think it is because there are tons of subscription plugins that allow you to have a signup option – and then you can send email back out to them too if you want. You can also use any of the “paypal” type plugins to charge for premium content if you want and only those who pay will get to see it. Wordpress is very, very flexible when it comes to building some type of community. I wouldn’t worry about it being hacked as long as you keep it up to date. I would install it on your server as well, you couldn’t use all those plugins if Wordpress hosts it.
Really great post. I’m new with wp and now I’m searching useful info to make some of SEO work in my site and this post is gold to learn this. Bookmarked this nice blog.
Thanks so much for the easy hack to give folks single post navigation! For some reason it wasn’t in the theme I’m using and yours is extra pretty and extra useful. :)
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Thanks for the tips. People who never were around to build their own websites but went straight for blogs don’t have that ingrained sense of navigation and usability thinking.
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Thanks for another geat post, wordpress can be a little confusing at times and your blog, and this post offer great help.
Thanks John. Really useful article for me. I needed adding breadcrumbs for my site and you have given me the solution. Your blog is a valuable site to learn hacks for WP. Thanks again.
Thanks mate for the info, didn’t hear about a few plugins. Will definitely us Drop down Archives Widget and Drop down Archives Widget!
This might seem as a stupid question (I’m a newby) but what is the difference between “most popular” and “most read” posts?
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Great, great site… am becoming avid reader.
Question: Do you have a recommended reading source for how to control the sequence of menu (page) items as they display in the top navigation bar of a Wordpress blog? That numerical sequence feature they currently have doesn’t seem to work very well.
I’m in the process of switching to a static front page, with a “blog” page for my posts, and that blog menu item is buried in with everything else up there. Would love to move it up next to “Home”.
Angela
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personally I think the most logical thing to do would be to “exclude” the page id of your blog page, and then manually add it back in (hardcode the link) before or after your pages. This way you can either style it or use a button as well.
Wow, awesomely detailed post dude! This is a bookmark for sure :)
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Thanks for this list of hacks. I’ve been looking for a fresh breadcrumb plugin but I haven’t been able to find it. Unfortunately the option you used didn’t work for me.
Any guidance you could offer would be much appreciated.
Try the NavXT breadcrumb plugin instead.
I am always looking for new plugins that turn anything into a dropdown. I like an uncluttered look to my blog, and I DON’T like long lists of things taking up room! It bugs me! :D Ironically, I like it on other peoples’ blogs – but not mine.
Thanks for the resources! I will be printing this out.
Thanks for this list of hacks. I’ve been looking for a fresh breadcrumb plugin but I haven’t been able to find it. Unfortunately the option you used didn’t work for me.
You are right, navigation is key, if you see your bounce rate is high, then they might not be able to find another page to go to or they might just leave because it is difficult to find their way around. I just deleted a page from my favorites because it was just to difficult to find what I wanted.
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