Can’t Edit Your Blog Page In WordPress? Here’s How To Fix It Fast!

To not be able to update the blog page is one of the most common challenges in WordPress. A Google search for “can’t edit blog page” returns 678 000 000(!) results. Here’s the explanation to why you can’t edit your posts page –  and how to fix it.

I will use Divi in this example, but the fast fix will work for any WordPress page builder, for example:

  • Elementor and Elementor Pro
  • WP Bakery
  • Gutenberg Blocks
  • Brizy Builder
  • Visual Composer

 

The problem: You can’t edit the blog page

When you try to customize your blog page you will see the message “You are currently editing the page that shows your latest posts”.

You are currently editing the page that shows your latest posts.

When you click the Edit button you’ll see a dull default template with a list displaying your blog posts. But you can’t see the actual page design that you’ve created with your page builder and there is now way to edit the posts page design from this interface.

The exact scenario will differ between different page builders but the basic problem is the same: You can simply not edit the blog page.

I can't edit my blog page

One example of a default theme posts page template that overrides the custom blog page.

The explanation: Why you can’t edit the blog page

The most likely reason is that you (or someone else) has assigned the blog page to be the default Post page in the WordPress settings. To confirm this, you can head over to your WordPress dashboard and click Pages. Look for the text – Posts Page to the right of your blog page title. Is it there? Good, than we are close to the solution.

The Posts Page in WordPress

The reason why you can’t edit the WordPress Posts Page is that it’s a template and not a regular page. The same goes for Archive pages, like Categories and Tags. This is just how WordPress works.

The solution: How to edit your blog page

There are actually two solutions to this problem: one fast and one more complex. Let’s start with the fast one!

1. The fast fix: Change your WordPress settings

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Click Settings » Reading
  3. Click the Post page dropdown and choose – Select – (this option means “none”)
  4. Save changes
  5. Go ahead and make your blog page beautiful!

That’s it! You are now free to edit your blog page with your page builder and you will see the result in frontend. Clear your browser cache and the website cache if you don’t notice any changes.

Remove the posts page settings

Make sure that the Post page is set to – Selected – which means “none” in this case (yes, I know that this is quite confusing).

2. The complex fix: Create a Posts Page template

As I mentioned earlier, the WordPress posts page is a template. If you keep your blog page as the Posts page in the settings, you need to create a Posts page template to be able to edit the blog design.

There are different ways to create WordPress templates. In Divi for example, you can create templates with the Divi Theme Builder using the intuitive Divi Visual Builder.

If you enjoy custom coding and have basic knowledge of HTML, CSS and PHP you can create your own templates using a child theme.

Do I need a Posts page template?

Not really. This is a relic from the early days of WordPress, before user-friendly page builders like Divi revolutionized the design process for web designers worldwide. A small upside from using a Posts page template is that you could reuse the template for Archive pages. But my WordPress setup of choice is always to not assign a Posts page in the Reading settings. Because it’s more convenient that way.

That’s all for today!

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👉 Related content: The most important WordPress settings (don’t make these mistakes)

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16 Comments

  1. I have been trying to figure out how to do this for nearly 5 years. It’s so hard to just have one posts page – especially in 2021 when there is just so much content out there. THANK YOU

    Reply
    • Thanks Rose, I’m glad that I could take that weight off your shoulders. 👉

      Reply
  2. Mine, God bless you. This saved me stress; been having issues with my theme for a week, and I needed to design from scratch. Thank you

    Reply
    • Thanks, I’m glad it worked out! It’s one of these WordPress mysteries. 👉

      Reply
  3. Hi,
    What a great solution !!
    Why is this not logged in wordpress forums

    Reply
  4. Thank you for this information! WordPress makes me want to tear my hair out. They are supposed to be a blogging platform, and they make it so ridiculously difficult to publish a simple blog. I am seriously thinking about linking my old Typepad blog to my WP site, because that’s how frustrated I am with WP right now.

    Question: where do I put the posts that used to live on the now deselected Posts page? How do I set up the new page as a blog? Never had these problems with Typepad.

    Reply
    • Hi Christine! I get your frustration but once you get a hang of it, WP is pretty awesome. 🙂

      That depends on what theme and/or page builder you are using. Here’s a tutorial on how to create a blog page using Divi (short version: insert a blog module and style it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LCnT-xrr6M&t=16373s

      Reply
  5. Re. Click the Post page dropdown and choose – Select – (this option means “none”)

    This option WAS set in my installation, and I STILL have the problem: You are currently editing the page that shows your latest posts.

    Any idea where to look for a solution? It’s like WordPress is convinced I am trying to edit the Blog page but I’m not.

    I get the message: “You are currently editing the page that shows your latest posts.” when trying to ADD a NEW post or page.

    So I am blocked from creating new posts and pages.

    Reply
    • Hi David! If you get the message “You are currently editing the page that shows your latest posts.” when you try to add pages or posts, there could be some custom code in your installation that messes things up. I would download my page layouts as json files (or upload them to the Divi Cloud) and start over from scratch with a clean WP installation.

      Reply
  6. Hello, I would like to ask if how can I fix a problem with my WordPress Post. Here’s the problem, every time I add a new post it automatically copied the old post and once I edited it, my old post was also edited. How come are they linked and how to stop it? Thanks.

    Reply
  7. If we set the Post page in Reading to -Select- (none), then where do the posts end up? And how will this fix the problem?

    Reply
  8. Very helpful article.

    Thank you, VERY much!

    Reply

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