Creating blog with direct links to PDF documents

  • Unknown's avatar
    melisdavis · Member ·

    I am trying to create a blog using content that is in PDF documents.

    Can WordPress create a blog using PDF documents saved in the Media Library?

    I ask this question since I commonly see blog users go through two steps to access the PDF. Blog users typically open a post first. They then access the PDF by clicking the link to the PDF document included in the post.

    I am trying to understand if WordPress can create a blog by linking directly to PDFs stored in the Media Library (without requiring users to go through posts to get to the PDF).

    Thanks,

    Melissa

  • Unknown's avatar
    melisdavis · Member ·

    Added tags to this support request.

  • aleone89 · Staff ·

    Hello there,

    Many thanks for reaching out.

    Are you able to confirm the URL of the website that you need assistance with please?

  • Unknown's avatar
    melisdavis · Member ·

    Hello aleone89,

    Thank you for your reply. At this point I am trying to understand the feasibility (or the ease) of creating a blog by linking directly to PDFs stored in the Media Library. I do not have a URL yet.

    Melissa

  • Unknown's avatar
    aisajib · Member ·

    Hi there!

    So, generally speaking, when you publish a new post, it will show up on a dedicated Posts page (or the homepage, depending on how the site is set up).

    By default, the posts show up in reverse chronological order with the title, featured image, and an excerpt from the post (this also depends on the theme being used, as different themes will display the blog posts differently).

    When visitors click those posts, they will see the post in its ‘full view.’

    I understand you want the visitors to see a PDF file uploaded to the media file when they click the post title. This feature is not available on regular WordPress sites, but you can add custom code or plugins that add this. I did a quick lookup and found a plugin that adds this option to WordPress sites.

    There are more plugins that you can search for and add to your WordPress.com site. With the WordPress.com Business plan, not only you can add such plugins to your site, but you also get access to real-time backups, high-performance servers, automated security scanning, 200 GB of space, live chat support (with the annual plan), and many more hosting features.

    You can start with the Business plan using the button below.

    Hope that helps! Feel free to let us know if there’s anything else you need and we’ll be happy to help.

  • Unknown's avatar
    melisdavis · Member ·

    Thanks much for your helpful reply. It is good to know that the necessary functionality can either be added with a plugin or custom code. I have one question: What is the search term I should use to find out other plugins that could do the job?

    Thanks again,

    Melissa

  • staff-totoro · Staff ·

    To clarify, you are trying to convert PDFs to a native WordPress site? Or do you mean to say that you want to create a site with standard pages and blog posts, but have the option to add PDFs that display in a visual way. I.e., they appear to be “embedded’ in the page so you can see it without first having to download them?

    PDF is a document format that usually needs to be displayed in a PDF viewer of some kind, so it does not lend itself well to being transformed into a full website sadly.

  • Unknown's avatar
    melisdavis · Member ·

    To clarify, you are trying to convert PDFs to a native WordPress site? Or do you mean to say that you want to create a site with standard pages and blog posts, but have the option to add PDFs that display in a visual way. I.e., they appear to be “embedded’ in the page so you can see it without first having to download them?

    I am trying to use WordPress’ pagination features on links to PDF documents. That is, when users click on the series of links arranged in reverse chronological order in the WordPress blog, the links open PDF documents (in a PDF viewer). Users do not have to go through an intermediate post to see the link to the PDF document.

    I am trying to figure out the search term I should use to find plugins that could make this happen.

    Thanks,

    Melissa

  • Unknown's avatar
    aisajib · Member ·

    Hi there!

    You can check out this plugin, which seems to do what you want. But it has not been updated in a while. https://wordpress.com/plugins/page-links-to/

    You can search for similar plugins using the redirect or redirection search term. https://wordpress.com/plugins/tags/redirect/

    Hope that helps!

  • Unknown's avatar
    melisdavis · Member ·

    Thank you @aisajib .

    Melissa

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