The very first area you need to edit when creating a new website with WordPress is the homepage. That’s because a homepage is the primary representation of your business. In this post, I will show you how to edit the homepage of your WordPress website, regardless of the theme you use.
The default installation of WordPress brings in a block theme with a simple homepage design, which is created with block editor (aka Gutenberg).
You will see a different homepage design when switching to another theme because the design of the homepage is controlled by a theme by default. In most WordPress themes, you will see a list of the latest posts on your website on your homepage.
Instead of the latest posts, you can set the homepage to display a static page. But you need to create the page first.
Shortcuts ⤵️
- What to include in a homepage?
- Step 1: Pick the right page builder
- Step 2: Create a new page
- Step 3: Set a page as the homepage
- Summary
What to Include in a Homepage?
There is no exact rule about the elements you can add to your homepage. You can add any element you want.
However, you need to make sure every element you add to your hompage has a clear purpose.
If you are creating a blog, for instance, you need to add the post feed to make it easy for your visitors to find the latest posts on your blog.
If you are creating a portfolio website, adding the projects you have completed or the clients you have worked with can be a great idea to impress your potential clients.
Or if you are creating an online store, then it would be nice to showcase the most popular products in your store. Be it as a slideshow, carousel or any style.
You have total freedom about the elements you want to add to your homepage.
Here are some examples of homepages for several website types:



The Steps to Edit Homepage in WordPress
Although you can add any element to your homepage, it doesn’t mean you should add everything.
If you are creating an online store, for instance, it would be much better to create a dedicated blog page to display the latest posts on your website instead of displaying them (the latest pots) on the homepage.
Here are the steps to edit the homepage on your WordPress website.
Step 1: Pick the Right Page Builder
First thing first. Using a page builder is not an obligation when you are creating a website with WordPress. If you enjoy using Gutenberg (the default WordPress editor), then you can stick with it.
However, there will be some benefits you will get by using a page builder.
Since a page builder is a tool dedicated to creating a page (not content), it has a strong sense of design. You will have more design options and more design elements.
For instance, you can easily add a slideshow, a hover effect, an entrance animation and so on.
More importantly, a page builder allows you to create a fully responsive page thanks to their advanced responsive editing features.
Most page builders allow you to add a form, slider, accordion, toggle, and other elements. This can eliminate the need of installing too many plugins on your website, which is not the best practice.
Some Page Builders You Can Use
Once again. Using a page builder to build a WordPress website is completely optional. But if you want to use one, here are some best options of page builders that you can use:
- Elementor (Free)
- Breakdance (Free)
- Themify Builder (Free)
- Divi Builder (Paid)
Before sticking with a certain page builder, make sure that all the design elements and design options you need are available.
Step 2: Create the Homepage
Once you have decided which page builder you want to use to create the homepage, the next step is to create the homepage itself.
In this post, I will demonstrate how to create the homepage using Divi Builder, the page builder I use on my WordPress projects. Including this blog.
Divi Builder itself is available in two versions. It is available as the integral part of the Divi theme (meaning that you don’t need to install an extra plugin) and as a standalone plugin.
Each version offers precisely the same editing experience.
If you are interested in using Divi Builder too, you can try it first before making a purchase. Here is the link to try the demo of Divi Builder.
Or you can read my in-depth review of Divi Builder in case you want to learn more about it.
How to Create a Homepage Using Divi Builder
Before getting started, make sure you have installed Divi Builder on your WordPress website. If you are completely new to WordPress, I have dedicated posts covering how to install a new theme and plugin you might want to read.
Once everything is ready, create a new page by going to Pages -> Add New Page on your WordPress dashboard.

Give your homepage a title and click the Use Divi Builder button to edit the page using Divi Builder.

In Divi Builder, you have two options to create a page. First, you can create the page from scratch. Second, you can start from a pre-made template.
For this tutorial, I will show you how to create a page in Divi Builder using the latter method.
You can start by clicking the plus icon on the upper-left corner to open the template library window.

On the library window, you can pick a template pack you like by clicking on it. You can use the filtering feature on the left side to filter the template packs.

A template pack is a set of templates designed specifically to create a complete website. It consists of several page templates. Divi itself uses the term “layout” instead of “template”. The two terms refer to the same thing.
After clicking a template pack, you will see several page templates that you can import to the canvas area. Make sure to select the homepage template.
Click the Use This Layout button to import the template. You can also preview it first if you want to.

Wait a moment until the importing process is done and you will see the editable version of the template on the canvas area of Divi Builder.

In Divi Builder, a page is constructed of three elements as follows:
- Section. The largest container to host rows and modules. Represented in blue
- Row. The secondary container to arrange the layout of the design elements. Represented in green
- Module. The actual design element. Represented in black
You can use the Layers feature to learn the structure of a page or enable the Wireframe View mode.

To edit an element (section, row or module), you can simply click on the element you want to edit to display the settings panel. On the settings panel, you make any setting you want.
There are plenty of design settings you can apply.

Once you are done editing the page, you can click the Publish button on the top-right corner. But before that, you can also preview the page first by clicking the Preview button.

Setting the SEO of the Homepage
This step is optional, but I strongly recommend it. By setting SEO, your website will have a greater chance to get found via search engines.
To be able to make the SEO settings, you need to install an SEO plugin first. Yoast, AIOSEO (formerly All-in-one SEO Pack), Rank Math and SEOPress are top SEO plugins you can use on your WordPress website.
In this example, I will demonstrate how to set SEO on your homepage using Yoast.
Before getting started, make sure to install and activate the Yoast plugin first. Once you are ready, go to Pages -> All Pages on your WordPress dashboard.

Hover your cursor over the homepage you have just created and click on the Edit link.

Scroll down to the Yoast SEO settings block on the Gutenberg screen and open it. Add your SEO title on the SEO title field (you can delete the default fields) and meta description on the Meta description field.

You can click the Save button on the top-right corner to apply the changes. No worries. This won’t break your page design created with Divi Builder.

These are the basic SEO settings for a static page. If you plan to leverage blog posts to generate organic traffic to your website, you can learn how to write SEO friendly blog posts on this section.
Step 3: Set a Page as the Homepage
You have just created a page which you want to use as the homepage. Congratulations on that. But your job is not done yet.
You need to set the page you have just created as the homepage so that when someone types yoursite.com on the address bar of their web browser, they will be presented with the page you have just created.
To set a page as the homepage, first, go to Settings -> Reading on your WordPress dashboard.

On the Your homepage displays section, set it to A static page and select the page you have just created on the Homepage dropdown menu.
End by clicking the Save Changes button.

From now on. When a visitor directly accesses your website by typing yourdomain.com on the web browser address bar, they will be presented with the page you have just set above.
Summary
Although you can use WordPress to create any type of website, it is by nature a blogging tool. That’s why WordPress displays all the blog posts on the homepage by default.
The default look/design of the homepage itself is unique on each theme. You definitely can’t use the default homepage design for your project. Especially if you build a website for a client.
Instead, you need to design your own homepage according to the type of website you want to build.
Regardless of the theme you use on your website, you can edit the homepage using the same route as follows:
- Create a page which you want to use as the homepage.
- Set the page you have just created as the homepage on the Reading Settings screen.
To create the page itself, you can use any page builder of your choice. Or you can also use the default WordPress editor (Gutenberg).