An archives page helps readers quickly find content that may be worthwhile reading rather than searching for specific terms with the search box or using the pagination feature of your blog.  This page also helps readers determine, to some extent, what the value of your blog is – the subjects of your posts, post frequency, and how long you’ve been blogging.

photo credit: Padraic.

There are more benefits to creating an archives page than simply for pleasing readers (who may become subscribers).  First of all, having someone travel back in time using the previous/next or pagination (Page 1, 2, 3… Last) links may cause heavy load to your server and cost more if you are hosting your images on a service that restricts bandwidth usage (many Blogger account holders).  In the end, it’ll save you and your visitors time and aggravation.

What Are Archives?

An archives area is a useless part of every blog that displays the posts, categories, or links to date archives (January 2008, for example).  It can either be compact or extended.

Personally, when I look at blogs, the URL structure should allow you to instantly see the structure that posts are placed in, even though it may not be the preferred method for search engine optimization practices.  For example, I converted all posts to a site.com/year/month/date/post-name/ structure, so it would be easier to know when posts were published and for better organization in the future.  However, most people would rather see a site.com/post-name/ structure, which can be inefficient at times, especially when you are publishing on a large scale.

Secondly, blogs need an archives area, whether a simple yearly archives in the sidebar, or a page dedicated to providing archives information.  I went with an approach that suited me – a separate page for archives with the ability to browse by specific months, years, as well as a listing of all posts.

Other Definitions:

1. A place or collection containing records, documents, or other materials of historical interest.
2. A long-term storage area, often on magnetic tape, for backup copies of files or for files that are no longer in active use.
3. A repository for stored memories or information: the archive of the mind. 

Creating an Archives Page

Nearly every weblog software available allows you to create some kind of static page, unless you have to create a post, then place it a few months behind the first post, so it doesn’t appear within posts.  The page (or post) should be appropriately named, “Archives”, “Posts”, “History”, or whatever you want to call it – be creative.  

An alternative to creating a page is using a drop-down or static menu in the sidebar.  This method is moderately restrictive, unless you combine several plugins – recent pots, most popular pots, posts by date/month, and so on.

Next, you’ll need to decide what type of archives style you want.  Do you want to include links to each category/topic, posts, dates, etc., or keep it as simple as possible?  That choice is mainly up to you, but it is important that it includes enough information for decent navigation around your blog and from post to post.  You can even use your archives to highlight your most popular posts, instead of placing them in the sidebar.  

Unless you use a script or plugin, it may be necessary for you to manually create your archives section, which should be done after every five or so posts published.

Key Points to Remember:

• Build the archives page not for search engines or yourself, but visitors who want to read past content.
• Be sure to highlight your most popular posts or categories in some fashion.
• Don’t let the first posts you’ve published vanish into the “dark.”
• Make sure you have covered multiple ways for visitors to find information – by date, category, most popular, and so on. 

Avoid the Hassle

Some themes (or blog software) include a pre-styled archives page, so it isn’t necessary to create your own.  However, you may still want to edit this page if it doesn’t suit your needs.  While it isn’t extremely time consuming to create an archives page, it can be rewarding in the long-term as people who want to read your previous posts will find added value in this page. 

Creating the archives page correctly now rather than later will also have an added benefit since you won’t be dealing with nearly as many posts, tags, and categories.

Alternatives and Additions

While people don’t normally view your Sitemap, it is useful if you would rather have a version of all your blog information that search engines can also use.  The Google XML Sitemaps plugin (WordPress versions 2.1 and higher) will automatically create a Google, Ask.com, MSN, and Yahoo searchable and complaint XML-Sitemap of your blog.  You can see an example here.  Sitemaps should not solely be used as visitors don’t/can’t use them, instead they should be placed in the footer of your blog or on the archives page itself.  

WordPress Plugins That Will Do the Job

These plugins automatically build archives based on your posts, so all you need to do is integrate them into your blog, and your archives areas are automatically updated.

• Clean Archives Reloaded – Generates a list of all your posts, sorted by month; enhanced with JavaScript to allow collapsing and expanding of months.  Compatible with WordPress version 2.5 and higher.  [Preview]
• Flexo Archives Widget – Displays archives as a list of years that expands when clicked using JavaScript to show months with posts.  This plugin is similar to an option already available, but is designed to be more compact than the default widget.  Number of posts in each month is also an option.  Compatible with WordPress version 2.0 to 2.5 (or higher).  [Preview]
• Organize Series – Helps you organize articles and posts that have been placed in a series, making it easier for readers to discover all the series you’ve written and find posts a part of each series.  Adds a new taxonomy to the WordPress taxonomy – “categories”, “tags”, and “series” as the types.  Compatible with WordPress version 2.3 up to 2.5.1.  [Preview]
• WordPress navigation List Plugin NAVT – A powerful tool that helps with control of your site’s navigation.  It gives you the ability to create unique site navigation from your pages, categories, and users using a drag and drop interface – pages, categories, authors (editors, contributors, subscribers), internal/external links, and list dividers.  Dozens of additional functions are also included.  Compatible with WordPress version 2.3 up to 2.5.1.  [Preview]
• WP-dTree 3.3.2 – Generates navigation trees for posts, pages, and categories, and includes out-of-the-box Scriptaculous support, feed icons, post counts, and more.  [Preview]