Article: Create and Publish Blog Posts with Rich Content and Images

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Description

This article demonstrates how to create and immediately publish blog posts using Wix Blog REST API, including handling external images, rich content formatting, and proper media management workflow.

Part 0: Get an Author/Member ID (Required for 3rd-Party Apps)

IMPORTANT: When calling the Blog API as a 3rd-party app (not as the site owner), draftPost.memberId is required. The API will reject requests with "Missing post owner information" if omitted.

1. Query site members to get a valid member ID using List Members:

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2. Use the id field from the response as draftPost.memberId when creating the blog post. This member will be the post author.

   Note: The member ID must belong to an existing site member or collaborator. If the members query returns no results, you may need to create a member first or use the site owner's member ID.

Part 1: Import External Images to Wix Media Manager

1. Identify external image URLs from user input for cover images and embedded content images.

2. Import each external image using Import File. This converts external URLs to Wix Media IDs required for blog posts.

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   The response will include a file.id field. Use this ID in blog post creation. Images with operationStatus: "PENDING" can be used immediately.

3. Store the returned file IDs for use in blog post creation.

Part 2: Create Blog Post with Rich Content

1. Create blog post using Create Draft Post for single posts, or Bulk Create Draft Posts for multiple posts.

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2. Structure rich content using Ricos JSON format. Reference Ricos documentation for complete node structure. Common node types:

   • PARAGRAPH for text content
   • HEADING for section headers
   • IMAGE for embedded images (requires Wix Media ID)
   • ORDERED_LIST and BULLETED_LIST for lists
   • BLOCKQUOTE for quoted text
   • LIST_ITEM for individual list items

   CRITICAL: All TEXT nodes MUST be wrapped in PARAGRAPH nodes within their parent containers.

   Correct Ricos structure example:

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   Correct BLOCKQUOTE structure:

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   Correct LIST_ITEM structure:

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3. For embedded images in rich content, use IMAGE nodes with Wix Media IDs:

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4. Set publish: true to immediately publish the post rather than saving as draft.

Part 3: Handle Categories and Tags (Optional)

1. Resolve category IDs using List Categories if user provides category names.

2. Resolve tag IDs using Query Tags if user provides tag labels.

3. Include resolved IDs in categoryIds and tagIds arrays in the draft post object.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Never mock blog posts or media IDs - always use the APIs to import images and create posts
• Always read the full documentation of methods before implementation
• External images MUST be imported via Import File API before use in blog posts - direct external URLs will not work
• For 3rd-party app integrations, memberId is mandatory - use the List Members API if needed to get member ID
• Use ONLY the file ID (without wix:image://v1/ prefix) for both cover images and embedded images
• Rich content IMAGE nodes require both width and height properties in the image object
• Images with "operationStatus": "PENDING" from import can be used immediately in blog posts
• Set publish: true in the request to publish immediately rather than save as draft
• For multiple posts, use Bulk Create Draft Posts API with draftPosts array
• Include fieldsets: ['URL'] to get post URLs in the response
• Handle image import failures gracefully - continue without images if import fails
• Provide meaningful displayName values during image import for better organization
• Use appropriate Ricos node types (PARAGRAPH, HEADING, LIST, etc.) for semantic content structure
• Consider batching image imports when creating multiple posts with many images

CRITICAL RICOS JSON STRUCTURE RULES:

• NEVER place TEXT nodes directly in BLOCKQUOTE, LIST_ITEM, or other container nodes
• ALL TEXT nodes MUST be wrapped in PARAGRAPH nodes within their parent containers
• BLOCKQUOTE nodes must contain PARAGRAPH nodes, which contain TEXT nodes
• LIST_ITEM nodes must contain PARAGRAPH nodes, which contain TEXT nodes
• Failure to follow proper nesting will result in parsing errors: "Expected a paragraph node but found TEXT"
• Always validate Ricos structure before sending to ensure TEXT nodes are properly nested

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Solution
"Missing post owner information"	memberId not provided	Add draftPost.memberId - see Part 0 for how to get one
"memberIds ... do not exist"	Invalid member ID	Query members first using List Members API to get valid IDs
"Expected a paragraph node but found TEXT"	Invalid Ricos structure	Wrap TEXT nodes in PARAGRAPH nodes (see structure rules above)
Image not displaying	Using external URL directly	Import image via Media Manager first, then use the returned file ID