Pages: frontpage.php, home.php, posts page etc

When do I use the following:

• home.php
• frontpage.php
• Under Settings > Reading Settings
  • Front Page
  • Posts Page

I wish to clarify this as I find myself using “Placeholder Pages”, empty pages just for the sake of a menu item and to display blog listings.

If I use a Static Front Page (Set under Settings > Reading Settings > Front Page) how do I access my posts page? Do I need to have a “Placeholder Page” titled blog and use page-blog.php?

You don’t ever directly use (as in, select as a Page template) either front-page.php or home.php. WordPress uses these template files automatically, according to the Template Hierarchy rules.

• The front-page.php template file is used to display Site Front Page, whether you have set the site front page to display a static Page or the Blog Posts Index.
• The home.php template file is used to display the Blog Posts Index, whether the blog posts index is set to display on the Site Front Page or an a separate static Page.
• The front-page.php template file will override home.php on the Site Front Page.
• The home.php template file will override page.php (or any page-{custom-template}.php selections) on *non-front page static Pages`.

If I use a Static Front Page (Set under Settings > Reading Settings > Front Page) how do I access my posts page? Do I need to have a “Placeholder Page” titled blog and use page-blog.php?

To display the Blog Posts Index on a non-front page static Page:

• Create a new static Page, with any arbitrary title (“Blog”, “News”, or anything else you want), and leave the Page Content blank/empty

• Under Dashboard -> Settings -> Reading, set “Posts Page” to the static Page you just created.

Really; that’s it. If you want to customize the display of your static-page-as-blog-posts-index, simply modify the home.php template file. Creating a page-blog.php template file will have no effect.