How to remove links to the pages on my blog

  • Unknown's avatar
    stochasticdifferentialequations · Member ·

    Hi. There is a blog that I’m having a problem with. Please do not ask me for the url for that semi-private blog. You don’t need it for this, and I won’t give it to you. Just respect that. I say this at the outset, because experience tells me that somebody will make that request, and that he’ll be as pushy as a sealion about the matter, so let’s put the kibosh on that discussion before it even has a chance to start.

    OK, let’s continue …

    The 2016 theme is installed in my blog. It’s a good look, I like it, but the blog has picked up a bad habit. Every time I create a new static page for it, a link to that page appears on the main page for the blog. You know, at this url?

    usernameforblog.wordpress.com

    How do I remove those links to the pages I’ve created from the main page for the blog?

    No, before some contrarian shows up and tries to claim otherwise, this is not a feature of the theme. There are plenty of blogs using the 2016 theme that have static pages that I’ve seen, that don’t have any links to any of their static pages on their main pages, so what I want is something that can be done with this theme. I just want to know how to do that, so could we just focus on that subject, and skip the part where somebody gives me unsolicited advice like “you could try a different theme”? Please? That’s not help. That’s derailing.

    I’ve looked in here, before. Some of you do get kind of passive-aggressive, and I’m just not in the mood for that. But then, who is? Could I please just get the answer to the specific technical question that I asked for, without being expected to waste my time on a debate with somebody who lives to argue with random strangers, about the merits of thinking outside of the box, or whatever other topic he wants to waste a chunk of my day on? If that wouldn’t be too much trouble?

    Thank you.

  • Unknown's avatar
    theatrenoir · Member ·

    Yeah, that’s annoying, but there’s a way past that. Create a new menu for your blog. Give whatever name you want to it, the name doesn’t matter. Create it, but don’t put anything into it, before you save it. Then select that menu to be the one in use.

    As for why you have to jump through these hoops, I couldn’t tell you. WordPress has some sort of bug that the company won’t acknowledge or work on. Sometimes, these unwanted links start sprouting up on their own, and sometimes they don’t. You just drew the short straw on this one.

    Sorry to hear about the bad time and hope this helped.

  • Unknown's avatar
    staartmees · Member ·

    You shouldn’t be so dismissive as this isn’t a bug or whatever but a simple setting in the menu. Under Menu options you can click or unclick “Automatically add new top-level pages to the menu” – https://wordpress.com/support/menus/add-links-to-a-menu/#tab-customizer

  • Unknown's avatar
    2020testjj · Member ·

    Hey Staff: there’s something wonky going on on that support page that @staartmees shared.

    When using the additional “In this guide” links at the right on that same support page, if you click on the tab/link for Customizer in one of those additional sections, it bounces you back up the page to “Add Menu Items”. However, the Customizer section where you’ve clicked does open, but you have to scroll back down the page to read it.

    You can try this at https://wordpress.com/support/menus/add-links-to-a-menu/#edit-menu-items then click on “Customizer”.

    I’m using Firefox latest on a Win10Pro PC and sorry, but I don’t have a screensharing app to record this behavior.

  • staff-seneca · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    Thanks for reaching out! I understand you’re using the Twenty Sixteen theme and want to prevent new static pages from automatically appearing as links on your main page. You’re right—this can be controlled, and no theme change is necessary. How to Remove Static Page Links from the Main Page

    The reason these links are appearing is likely due to a setting in your Navigation Menu. Here’s how to stop them from being added automatically:

    1. Go to Appearance > Menus in your WordPress.com dashboard.
    2. Look for the checkbox that says, “Automatically add new top-level pages to this menu.”
    3. Uncheck this option to prevent future pages from being added automatically.
    4. Save your menu changes.

    You can also review this guide for more details:
    ➡️ Add Links to a MenuAlternative Approach: Create a Custom Menu

    If the links are still appearing, another approach is to:

    1. Create a new custom menu under Appearance > Menus.
    2. Do not add any pages to it unless you want them to appear.
    3. Set this new menu as your Primary Menu under Menu Locations.
    4. Save the changes.

    This ensures that only the pages you choose will be displayed.

    Let me know if this helps or if you need further clarification!

  • Unknown's avatar
    2020testjj · Member ·

    Hey Seneca, hoping that the info about the wonky jump links on the support guide I mentioned was passed on to that team. :)

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