WordPress Parent Page: What It Is & How To Set It Up

Summarize with:

ChatGPT

Claude

Perplexity

When you create content in WordPress, you’ll come across two main types: posts and pages. Unlike posts and other custom post types, pages can be arranged in a hierarchical structure.

So, WordPress users can create parent and child pages, which helps organize content effectively. This structure makes site navigation easier and helps visitors find what they need quickly. It also keeps your content well-organized and improves SEO.

This guide explains the steps to create a WordPress parent page and shows you three different ways to display a list of child pages. We also show you how to manage parent-child relationships between pages for better site organization.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A parent page in WordPress is a main page with child pages under it; this helps organize content.
• Child pages are subpages linked to a parent page, creating a clear WordPress website structure.
• Using parent and child pages makes site navigation easier and improves user experience.
• WordPress allows you to assign a Parent page when creating or revising a page under Page settings.
• A well-structured page hierarchy improves SEO by creating logical URLs and better linking between related content.
• You can display child pages under a parent page using a plugin, a shortcode, or a custom code with an action hook in your theme.
• Keeping your parent page WordPress hierarchy simple and organized helps users find content faster.
• If you rename, move, or delete a parent page, ensure you update the child pages and set up 301 redirects if needed.
• Using parent pages makes it easier to manage large websites with multiple sections.
• A well-organized WordPress website looks professional, user-friendly, and search-engine optimized.

What is a Parent Page in WordPress?

A WordPress parent page is a top-level page that may have other pages linked under it, called child pages or subpages. This helps create a clear structure for your website, making it easier to organize content.

For example, if you have a parent page called Services, you can add child pages like Web Design and SEO underneath it. This grouping keeps related information together, making your WordPress website easier to navigate.

WordPress Parent Page vs Child Pages

A parent page is a standalone page that can have multiple child pages connected to it. Child pages are subpages that belong to a parent page. They help break down information into smaller, more specific sections.

One key feature of child pages is that they inherit certain characteristics from the WordPress parent page. This includes their URL structure. For example, if your parent page is:

yourwebsite.com/services

a child page under it might be:

yourwebsite.com/services/web-design

This clarifies that the Web Design page is part of the Services section.

Furthermore, using parent and child pages also helps create a logical layout for your website. For instance, if you run an online store, you can have a parent page called Products with child pages for different WordPress categories like Clothing, and Accessories. This makes it easier for visitors to find what they’re looking for.

Benefits of Using Parent Pages

Using WordPress parent pages offers several advantages:

• Better Site Structure: Grouping related pages under a parent page makes your website more organized and user-friendly. Visitors can easily find the information they need without scrolling through unrelated pages.
• Improved Navigation: Pages that follow a logical structure make it easy for visitors to navigate different sections. A well-organized website encourages users to stay and explore more pages.
• Easier Content Management: If you have a large website, using parent and child pages helps you manage content more effectively. Instead of handling dozens of separate pages, you can group related pages, making updates and edits easier.
• SEO Advantages: Search engines like Google prefer websites with a clear hierarchy. A structured URL (e.g., yourwebsite.com/services/web-design) helps search engines understand how pages are connected, which can improve search rankings. An example of a structured URL:

yourwebsite.com/services/web-design

Now that you know what a WordPress parent page is, how it differs from child pages, and what benefits it offers, let’s see how to set up a parent and child page in WordPress.

How to Set up Parent & Child Pages in WordPress 

To create an organized hierarchical structure, create your first WordPress parent page.  To create one: 

Log in to your WordPress Admin Dashboard. Go to Pages → Add New Page. Enter a title for your parent page (e.g., Services). Add your content to the editor. Click Publish to save the page.

Repeat this process to create more parent pages in WordPress.

Now, your parent page is ready. You can create child page(s) under it to keep similar content together. Here’s how to set this up: 

Go to Pages → Add New Page once more. Enter a title for the child page (e.g., Web Design) and add your content to the child page. Then, on the right-hand side, switch to Page to access WordPress page attributes. Locate the Parent option, click on the link next to it, and choose the page you want as the parent (e.g., Services). Lastly, click Publish to save. 

The child page will appear under the parent page in your WordPress admin and the site’s URL structure.  You can repeat this process to create more child pages to offer multiple services, such as SEO and Website Migration, etc.

You can also adjust the order of the page by navigating to Actions (3 dot menu) → Order, specifying the order number, and clicking Save. Note: If multiple pages have the same order value, WordPress arranges them alphabetically by default.

Tips to Organize Pages for a Clear Structure

To keep your parent and child pages well-organized, follow these tips: 

• Use clear names for parent and child pages so visitors understand what they’re about. 
• Keep a simple structure. Avoid creating too many levels of child pages, as this may confuse visitors. 
• Update menus by adding your parent and child pages under Appearance → Menus so they appear properly in navigation. 
• Use breadcrumbs, a small navigation path that shows where a page is located. Many WordPress themes support breadcrumbs, or you can use an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO to enable them. 

If you set up WordPress parent and child pages correctly, your website will be easier to manage and more user-friendly. In the coming section, we explain how to display child pages under a parent page.

Display Child Pages Under a WordPress Parent Page 

When you create parent and child pages in WordPress, show a list of child pages under the parent page. This makes it easier for users to navigate your WordPress site and find related content without searching manually. Additionally, displaying child pages improves website organization and can boost SEO by creating a clear content structure. 

There are 3 main ways to show child pages under a WordPress parent page:

1. Using a WordPress Plugin
2. Adding Custom Code to Use Shortcode
3. Adding Custom Code with Action Hook.

Use WordPress Plugin

The easiest way to list child pages is by using a plugin. One great option is the Page-list plugin; it displays child pages on a parent page automatically without coding. Here’s how to use it:

Log in to your WordPress Dashboard. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin. In the search bar, type Page-list and click Install Now to install it. Then, click Activate.

Once the plugin is activated, you’ll see various shortcodes that allow you to customize how the page list appears. Here are some of the key shortcodes:

• [pagelist]: Displays a sitemap of your website.
• [subpages]: Lists all child pages of the current page.
• [siblings]: Shows pages that share the same parent page (sibling pages).
• [pagelist_ext]: Displays a list of pages along with their featured images and WordPress excerpts.

Next, open the WordPress parent page where you wish to display a list of child pages. Add the following shortcode inside the content area: 

[subpages]

Then, click Save to save changes. 

Now, all child pages of that parent page will automatically appear in a list format. 

Add Custom Code to Use Shortcode

If you prefer a coding approach, add a PHP snippet to the functions.php file to display child pages under a WordPress parent page. However, before you do this, we recommend creating a backup of your website and using a child theme if you wish to preserve customizations even after the theme update.

Once done with that, follow these steps:

Go to WordPress Dashboard → Appearance → Theme File Editor (or use an FTP client FileZilla to access your theme files or the Hosted® File Manager for direct edits). Find and open the functions.php file of your theme. Then, add the following code at the end of the file and click Update File to save changes.

function custom_list_child_pages() {
global $post;
// Ensure we're on a page and not the homepage
if (!is_page() || is_front_page()) {
return ''; // Exit early if not on a page
}
/ Determine the parent ID (if it's a child page, use the parent's ID; otherwise, use its own ID)
$parent_id = ($post->post_parent) ? $post->post_parent : $post->ID;
// Fetch child pages
$child_pages = wp_list_pages(array(
'sort_column' => 'menu_order', // Order based on menu order
'title_li'    => '',           // Remove default title
'child_of'    => $parent_id,   // Get child pages of this ID
'echo'        => false         // Return output instead of printing directly
));
// Display child pages only if they exist
if (!empty($child_pages)) {
return '<ul class="custom-page-list">' . $child_pages . '</ul>';
}
return ''; // Return an empty string if there are no child pages
}
// Register the shortcode
add_shortcode('child_pages', 'custom_list_child_pages');

Now, you can add [child_pages] shortcode within your WordPress parent page’s content area (as we did when using the Page-list plugin). Alternatively, you can use WordPress widgets to add a list of child pages on the sidebar. Here’s how:

Navigate to Appearance → Widget. Click + and select the Shortcode widget to insert it.

Then, write your shortcode and click Update to save.

Now, open your parent page to see if the child pages are shown on the sidebar:

IMPORTANT:

The [child_pages] shortcode will only work on pages which are part of a hierarchical structure. It will not function on standalone pages that don’t have parent or child relationships.

Add Custom Code with Action Hook

The above code will only show the child pages if you add a shortcode to the corresponding WordPress parent page; however, you can tweak the code to show child pages automatically. This method ensures that child pages appear on all parent pages without manually adding a shortcode. To do this, add the following code at the end of the functions.php file:

function custom_list_child_pages($content) {
global $post;
// Ensure we're on a page and not the homepage
if (!is_page() || is_front_page()) {
return $content; // Exit early if not on a page
}
// Determine the parent ID (if it's a child page, use the parent's ID; otherwise, use its ID)
$parent_id = ($post->post_parent) ? $post->post_parent : $post->ID;
// Fetch child pages
$child_pages = wp_list_pages(array(
'sort_column' => 'menu_order', // Order based on menu order
'title_li'    => '',           // Remove default title
'child_of'    => $parent_id,   // Get child pages of this ID
'echo'        => false         // Return output instead of printing directly
));
// Append child pages only if they exist
if (!empty($child_pages)) {
$content .= '<div class="custom-child-pages">';
$content .= '<h3>Related Pages</h3>';
$content .= '<ul class="custom-page-list">' . $child_pages . '</ul>';
$content .= '</div>';
}
return $content; // Return modified content
}
// Hook into the_content to display child pages automatically
add_filter('the_content', 'custom_list_child_pages');

Now, whenever a WordPress parent page is opened, it will automatically display a list of child pages below the content. 

You may be wondering which method to use. This depends on your requirements:

• If you want a quick and easy solution, use the plugin method.
• Or if you prefer using a shortcode without a plugin, choose the second solution.
• For an automatic child page display without extra effort, use the custom code with an action hook.

When you add child pages under a WordPress parent page, you will have a well-structured, user- and SEO-friendly site. Choose the method that makes your site easy to navigate.

Manage Parent & Child Pages 

Once you’ve set up parent and child pages in WordPress, keep them well-organized. A clear page hierarchy makes your WordPress site easier to navigate and improves user experience and SEO. If your pages are structured properly, visitors can quickly find the information they need, and search engines can better understand your content. 

To maintain a logical hierarchy, ensure child pages are always grouped under the right WordPress parent page. For example, a Web Design page should be under Services, not under an unrelated page like About Us.

Also, avoid creating too many levels of child pages, as this can make navigation incoherent. Keeping it simple with one or two levels of hierarchy works best. Remember to update your website menu under Appearance → Menus whenever you add or move pages to ensure visitors can access them easily. 

At some point, you may need to rename, move, or delete pages. If you rename a page, update its slug (URL) under Settings → Permalinks to keep links consistent. If you move a child page to a new WordPress parent page, edit it and change the Parent page setting under WordPress Page; WordPress will automatically update its position.

Be careful when deleting a parent page, as each child page will become a standalone page. To avoid breaking your WordPress site structure, assign the child pages to a new parent before deleting the old one. 

If you delete or move a page, you should also set up a 301 redirect to prevent visitors from landing on a broken link. A plugin like Redirection can help automatically send users to the correct page. 

By keeping your parent and child pages organized, your website will remain structured and easy to navigate. A well-maintained page hierarchy helps visitors and improves your WordPress site’s overall SEO and performance.

FAQS

Other Related Tutorials

– How to Choose a WordPress Theme: A Beginner’s Guide

– How to Install WordPress Themes: A Beginner’s Guide

– How To Delete A Theme In WordPress: 4 Ways And Tips

– How To Create A WordPress Child Theme

– How to Update WordPress Theme: 5 Effective Methods