A new blog needs a small handful of pages, an about page and a privacy policy to start, plus a simple menu. That’s genuinely it. Your pages and menu aren’t just admin: they tell Google and a first-time visitor what your site is and whether to trust it.
This is one of those parts that can get derailed by overthinking. Try to get it all done in one fell swoop. There is nothing here that can’t be amended in the future, so just power through.
The short version
| Page | Why you need it | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| About | Builds trust, holds your story | Main menu |
| Privacy policy | Legal requirement | Footer |
| Contact | Optional, lets people reach you | Footer or menu |
| Categories | Later, as your content grows | Menu |
What pages does a new blog actually need?
Two to start: an about page and a privacy policy. A contact page is optional. Everything else can wait until you have content to justify it.
Your about page is where a reader decides whether they trust you, so it’s worth doing properly. It’s also a signal to Google and the AI answer engines about who’s behind the site. This is where your story goes.
Your privacy policy is a legal box to tick. I’m not a lawyer, so I won’t advise you on the wording. I searched for a free privacy policy generator, used one, and pasted it in.
A contact page is optional. An email address or a simple form is plenty.
How do you set up your author bio and author page?
Fill in your profile under Users → Profile: your name, your nickname, and a real bio. This populates your author page, which is a quiet but real trust signal (Google and AI tools want to see a human behind the words).
I am terrible at writing anything succinctly (am a waffler) so I cheated and wrote a long, messy biography and asked Claude to sum it up. It then gave me something to work with.
Whilst setting up the Pothos site I realised I’d accidentally set my username (which of course, you can’t change) to be my email. Not a big deal, but it meant the URL had my email address in it. It took a couple of minutes to redirect it (RankMath has a redirect function) so not a big deal. That is the key thing to remember here – stuff can be fixed!
How do you build your menu?
Go to Appearance → Menus, create a menu, and add your about page and any key pages. Keep it short. A cluttered menu confuses people; a clean one guides them.
One GeneratePress quirk: it doesn’t easily run two separate menus, so I put my privacy policy in the footer instead, using a custom HTML block in the footer widget. It looks basic right now, and that is completely fine.
Please don’t get stuck if the theme isn’t doing exactly what you thought it would. There is likely a reason you can’t do exactly what you want (page speed, for example) so just suck it up and move on.
What about categories in your menu?
Add categories to your menu later, once you’ve actually written enough to fill them. A brand-new blog with empty categories looks unfinished. The full category strategy (how many, how to group them) is a job for when we plan your content, so we’ll come back to it then.
Frequently asked questions
What pages does every blog need?
An about page and a privacy policy to start. A contact page is optional. Categories come later.
Do I need a contact page?
Not necessarily. An email address or a simple form on your about or footer is enough early on.
Should categories go in my menu?
Once you’ve got content in them, yes. Keep your navigation simple while you’re starting out.
Why does my author page URL show my email address?
Because your username was set to your email and it can’t be changed. Redirect the author page (RankMath has a redirect tool) to your about page instead.
What next?
You’ve got your essential pages and a clean menu. Next we look at your homepage, and why the best one for a brand-new blog is often the simplest.