To keep an update visible in your blog feed, publish it as a regular WordPress post and make it sticky. To show a short notice across selected pages, use an announcement-bar plugin or have a developer add a custom bar. A sticky post is not automatically a sitewide banner.
Choose the right announcement format
| What you need | Best starting point | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| A dated update that belongs with your articles | Regular post, optionally sticky | It appears in the blog feed; it does not necessarily appear across every page. WordPress sticky posts apply to the built-in post type, post, not custom post types. WordPress documentation. |
| A short message or call to action on selected pages | Announcement-bar plugin | Can offer placement, page targeting and dismissal settings, depending on the plugin. It adds a plugin dependency, and features and compatibility can change. Announcement Notification Bar listing. |
| A custom design or display rules | Theme or plugin code | Offers control over the implementation but needs developer work and ongoing maintenance. WordPress Developer Blog. |
| A browsable series of announcements | Dedicated page, category or custom post type with an archive | You need an appropriate page or archive design; core sticky-post behavior does not extend to custom post types. WordPress documentation. |
Pin an announcement to the blog feed
This option suits a post that should stay above newer posts on the front page of posts. The exact control label can vary by editor version, and themes may display sticky posts differently, so check the public page after publishing. WordPress describes sticky posts as posts kept at the top of the front page of posts. WordPress documentation.
- In your dashboard, go to Posts → All Posts and edit the announcement, or choose Posts → Add New to write it.
- In the post settings sidebar, open the document or post settings and find the visibility or status controls.
- Enable Stick to the Front Page, or the equivalent sticky-post control in your editor, then publish or update the post.
- Visit your blog’s posts front page and confirm that the announcement appears above newer posts.
- When the announcement is no longer current, edit the post and disable its sticky status. WordPress.com’s guide also describes removing a post’s sticky status.
Keep the number of unrelated sticky posts low: multiple pinned posts can make their priority and ordering less clear. Since theme templates affect presentation, verify the result on the actual front page. WordPress Theme Handbook.
Show a short notice across pages with a bar
A bar is a better fit for a compact maintenance notice, new-feature message or time-limited promotion that should accompany pages rather than live as a full article. WordPress.org’s Announcement Notification Bar listing describes top or bottom placement, fixed or scrolling display, targeting for the homepage, blog or selected posts and pages, a call to action, and a dismissal control.
The Announcer listing describes installing and activating the plugin, opening its announcement management screen, creating and configuring a message, and publishing it. It also describes floating bars and multiple announcements. These are plugin-specific features, not guarantees from WordPress core. Before installing, review the current listing for release information, compatibility, support activity and the settings you need; test the plugin on your site before relying on its behavior.
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Add a custom announcement bar with code
If a developer maintains your site, a custom bar can match its design and display rules. The WordPress Developer Blog demonstrates outputting a bar with the wp_body_open hook and escaping the message with esc_html(). Read the implementation example.
Adapt the implementation to your theme, visibility rules, styling and accessibility needs. Do not paste code into a production theme without understanding how it is maintained and updated.
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