WordPress 101 — The Blog Archive Engine

00

Foundation

Stabilize the house

No building on errors

Before archive dreams, make the public homepage reliable and leave yourself a rollback path. A blog can be messy; its entry point should not be broken.

Open blog.guerz.lol while logged in and identify the visible homepage error state.Record what the visitor sees and where it appears before touching blocks.F.01 Use the homepage editor or template List View to locate the final dynamic block.It may be a Query Loop, pagination, comments, embed, or another dynamic block—not a mystery to solve by randomly changing everything.F.02 Screenshot the current homepage on desktop and mobile.This is your before-image and your evidence if a change goes sideways.F.03 Write a rollback note: theme, template, block changed, and how to undo it.Store it privately; never put passwords, recovery codes, or secret links in a public build log.F.04 Repair, replace, or remove only the block causing the error, then test the public homepage in a private window.One change group at a time. The goal is a stable baseline, not a redesign spiral.F.05

01

Structure

Build the archive structure

Big doors, small cross-links

Categories are durable doors. Tags are smaller cross-links. The job is to make a growing archive browsable—not to create an archaeological disaster zone.

A useful starting category shape

essays
web dev
music / DJ
stream logs
life admin
racquelle saga
mutual aid

Use only categories that will still make sense after many more posts. Keep the set small enough to remember.

Audit the current category list.Write down duplicates, overly vague categories, and categories used once with no clear future.S.01 Choose and lock five to seven durable categories.They should describe recurring kinds of writing, not temporary moods or every thought near a post.S.02 Map existing categories to keep, merge, or retire—without deleting anything yet.Every post needs a future home before a category disappears.S.03 Audit tags and merge only obvious capitalization, singular/plural, and near-duplicate variants.Keep recurring, useful terms; stop creating one-use tags.S.04 Give a small first batch of recent posts one primary category where possible.Do not turn all 96 posts into a single hell-session. Work in humane batches.S.05

02

Structure

Make navigation obvious

Answer the first three questions

A first-time visitor should quickly know: where am I, what is this, and where else can I go?

Small, sufficient primary navigation

Home · About · Archive · guerz.lol

Keep Legacy Journal and RSS available in a footer or sidebar unless they truly belong in your primary route.

Check the existing pages and identify what can stay.Do not create replacement pages just for the emotional thrill of starting over.N.01 Tighten the About page with a plain-English explanation of blogguerz.Include what it is, who Guerz is, what gets posted, and the relevant other places online.N.02 Create or clarify an Archive page or archive route.Make it a real doorway into older writing, not a dead “coming soon” promise.N.03 Add and test Home, About, Archive, and guerz.lol in header navigation.Check desktop and mobile. Every link needs to earn its place.N.04 Add RSS to a supporting location and confirm it works.RSS is part of keeping the blog a real blog, not a social-profile substitute.N.05

03

Publish

Install the right rail

Navigation engine, not clutter shelf

The layout upgrade: a desktop sidebar that helps people roam the archive, then stacks below the feed on smaller screens.

Suggested sidebar order

search
browse by category
calendar
monthly archive
tags
legacy journal

Categories lead broad browsing. Calendar supports a dated journal. Tags stay lower because they are supporting metadata, not the whole navigation system.

Open the template that controls the post index or home feed.Duplicate it first if your WordPress.com/Pixl setup allows that safely.P.01 Wrap the feed in a wider-main-content Columns layout and create a sidebar Stack.Do this once; then add modules slowly instead of giving every block an independent crisis.P.02 Add Search and Categories List blocks first.These do the most practical navigation work.P.03 Add Calendar, monthly Archives, restrained Tags, and Legacy Journal only if each stays readable.Do not exceed six sidebar modules in the first pass.P.04 Test narrow-screen behavior and every result page.The sidebar must stack below the feed; test category, tag, calendar, archive, and search results.P.05

04

Publish

Standardize posts without sanding off the personality

Patterns, not a content factory

Repeatable post blocks reduce formatting friction. They should make publishing faster while leaving room for the journal voice to breathe.

Unsynced pattern kit

blogguerz post footer
blogguerz divider
optional link roll
filed-under / tagged-with line
previous / next post

Use unsynced patterns when changing a new post should not rewrite every old entry.

Create an unsynced post-footer pattern and a simple divider pattern.Build the smallest useful version first.R.01 Try the footer pattern on one real next post.A pattern is proven by use, not by existing beautifully in the editor drawer.R.02 Set a deliberate homepage-feed rhythm: date, category, readable excerpt/full-post choice, and separators.Featured images are optional; do not invent branded thumbnails for every diary entry.R.03 Add previous/next navigation if the template supports it cleanly.Keep it if it aids reading; skip it if it creates ugliness or confusion.R.04 Write one short release note and one future improvement after publishing.Document the win, then stop reopening a working page to chase plugin confetti.R.05

05

Care & discovery

Make it findable, resilient, and welcoming

The public pass

The editor is not the website. Review the public URL like someone who has never met you, using a private window, a phone, a keyboard, and ordinary patience.

Set a fuller site description and add useful post excerpts or meta descriptions for major posts.Make shared links explain themselves without writing an SEO novella.C.01 Test a shared post link and inspect its title, description, and image preview.Use a default social image only if it is easy and coherent.C.02 Confirm backups exist and document a restore or recovery path.A backup is only a plan after you know where it lives and how you would use it.C.03 Review admin/recovery access, unique passwords, and 2FA where available.Use the least privilege that fits each person’s role.C.04 Run a keyboard, zoom, heading, alt-text, and contrast pass through the header, feed, sidebar, and contact route.Accessibility is an ordinary publishing requirement, not polish after the fact.C.05 Schedule a monthly 15-minute care pass.Check updates, backups, forms, broken links, mobile behavior, and then stop.C.06

THE BLOG
ARCHIVE
ENGINE

Name the platform you are standing on.

Stabilize the house

Build the archive structure

Make navigation obvious

Install the right rail

Standardize posts without sanding off the personality

Make it findable, resilient, and welcoming

Before you call it published.

Useful future work that does not get to hijack the quest.

Do not start these yet

Unlock conditions

Leave a breadcrumb for future you.

Share the workshop. Keep the keys.