A WordPress credit link on a website can distract visitors, make it more difficult to personalize a website, and take away the sense of ownership. Luckily, there are several methods to remove the Powered by WordPress credit without damaging the website.
In this article, we’ll go over four ways to remove a WordPress footer message: using the WordPress theme customizer, a plugin, or a Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) file. We do not recommend changing the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) file to remove the footer credit as it can damage your search engine optimization (SEO).
After explaining the steps to remove the Powered by WordPress message, we’ll also show how to customize it and place it in your credit.
Yes, because WordPress is under the General Public License (GPL). The GPL license means that you are free to modify this free and open-source content management system (CMS) to suit your needs.
In addition, the license covers all WordPress themes under the official directory, both free and premium ones.
Should You Remove Powered by WordPress?
Removing the WordPress copyright footer is optional. The most common reasons behind removing the Powered by WordPress from the footer include:
- Clean design. Visitors can find the credit distracting, especially when a website has its own additional copyright or credit.
- Security. Removing the copyright helps secure your website since potential hackers will be aware of your file system’s structure once they learn that you use WordPress.
- Personalization. Create a personal credit or copyright footer to personalize a website and improve branding.
On the other hand, keeping the default footer credit may grant a sense of community and show appreciation towards the theme developer.
4 Easy Ways to Remove Powered by WordPress
The best option to remove the credit from its footer section will depend on a website’s theme. In addition, different themes may feature varying messages. For example, a default theme will have the Proudly powered by WordPress message, while other themes might credit their developer.
Pro Tip
We recommend backing up your website before making any changes. Doing so prevents you from losing any crucial data in the case of an error.
Once you’ve backed up your site, let’s take a look at the four options to remove footer credit from your WordPress website.
1. Disable WordPress Theme Settings
Even though this is the most straightforward method, it is not suitable for all themes. For example, native WordPress themes, such as Twenty Twenty or Twenty Twenty One, do not have this option.
Thus, head to the next section if you are using a default theme.
Head to Appearance -> Customize and check whether your WordPress theme offers this option. There, check the Widgets or Footer settings to see whether you can remove the credit from a site footer.
For example, the Astra theme gives the option to remove its default credit using the WordPress theme settings. Under the WordPress theme customizer settings, click on Footer Builder -> Copyright.
From there, remove the whole Copyright section, customize it, or only remove the credit section. Click Publish to finalize the process.
Another option, compatible with a wider array of themes, is using a WordPress plugin. One of the most popular plugins suitable for different themes is Remove Footer Credit. This free plugin deletes or customizes your website’s footer credit without having to code.
After installing the plugin, follow these steps to remove any theme credit:
- Open your website homepage and inspect its elements. Browsers have different methods to access website elements. For example, Google Chrome users should right-click on any area and select Inspect. Alternatively, click CTRL + SHIFT + I.
- Copy the code snippet for your theme footer credit. To save time, click on the Select tool at the top menu bar and select the Proudly powered by WordPress message. The tool will automatically highlight its code snippet.
- Navigate to WordPress Dashboard -> Tools -> Remove Footer Credit to access the Settings section. Paste the code snippet under Step 1 to remove the credit from your website’s footer. Click Save to finalize the changes.
The Remove “Powered by WordPress” plugin is also available for default themes, featuring even more straightforward steps. After installing this plugin, simply head to the WordPress theme customizer and click on Theme Options. Then, click on the box to Remove Powered by WordPress.
Another option is to use a page builder plugin like Beaver Builder. By utilizing this drag-and-drop-builder, you will have more control over the overall layout, including footer credits.
If the two previous methods do not work, try removing the Proudly powered by WordPress message using your theme’s PHP. Depending on the theme, this method requires you to either remove the credit’s code in its footer.php or site-info.php file.
Pro Tip
Although it is possible to edit the theme’s code directly, we recommend creating a child theme first. Making modifications on a child theme helps avoid deleting the wrong code and breaking your website.
In addition, note that the code may vary depending on the theme. With this information in mind, search for the code that includes Powered by to find the credit.
There are two ways to make changes to footer.php or site-info.php. The easiest one is to access your Theme Editor under Dashboard -> Appearance.
To demonstrate, we will show the steps to remove the credit from WordPress’ Twenty Twenty One child theme. Before we start, let’s look at the website’s footer with the Proudly powered by WordPress credit.
Follow the steps below to remove it:
- Open the footer.php file on the right column and locate the powered by code. Remove the code highlighted in the below image.
- Click on the Update File button and open your website homepage. The WordPress text credit should no longer be on the footer.
If you have successfully made the changes, copy the footer code and paste it on the parent theme. If you run into any errors, try changing the code on the child theme again. The code should look like this after you remove the credit:
<div class="site-info">
<div class="site-name">
<?php if ( has_custom_logo() ) : ?>
<div class="site-logo"><?php the_custom_logo(); ?></div>
<?php else : ?>
<?php if ( get_bloginfo( 'name' ) && get_theme_mod( 'display_title_and_tagline', true ) ) : ?>
<?php if ( is_front_page() && ! is_paged() ) : ?>
<?php bloginfo( 'name' ); ?>
<?php else : ?>
<a href="https://www.hostinger.in/tutorials/<?php echo esc_url( home_url("/' ) ); ?>"><?php bloginfo( 'name' ); ?></a>
<?php endif; ?>
<?php endif; ?>
<?php endif; ?>
</div><!-- .site-name -->
</div><!-- .site-info -->
Changes that you have made on your Theme Editor will be lost when you update or switch themes. To avoid this, we recommend making changes with the File Manager instead. The code changes will be the same, but you will need to access the file from your theme folder.
The way to access your WordPress files depends on your web hosting. With Hostinger, head to hPanel -> File Manager and find your theme folder under public_html -> wp-content -> themes. Click on your theme folder and find footer.php.
Find the Powered by code and remove it. Then, click on SAVE & CLOSE to finalize the process.
Sometimes, your current theme will not include the Powered by code under the footer.php file. In this case, navigate to template-parts -> footer -> site-info.php in your theme files.
For example, the Inspiro theme has the Powered by code in site-info.php instead of footer.php.
Remove the highlighted code, and site-info.php will look like this:
?>
<div class="site-info">
<?php if ( function_exists( 'the_privacy_policy_link' ) ) {the_privacy_policy_link( '', '<span role="separator" aria-hidden="true"></span>' ); } ?>
<span class="copyright">
<span>
<?php esc_html_e( 'Inspiro WordPress Theme by', 'inspiro' ); ?> <a href="https://www.hostinger.in/tutorials/<?php echo"https://www.wpzoom.com/'; ?>" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">WPZOOM</a>
</span>
</span>
</div><!-- .site-info -->
4. Use the Block Editor
This method only works in WordPress 5.9 or higher, using a block-based theme. The latest WordPress version introduced the block site editor, a feature that lets you edit the footer with ease, including removing the “Powered by WordPress” message.
Open the site editor by navigating to Appearance -> Editor. You’ll see the Home page template once you’re in the editor interface. Scroll down to the footer area to find the message.
To remove it, simply click on the block for the credit text and the block toolbar will appear. Click the three dots to open the menu bar and select Remove Paragraph.
Click Save on the top navigation bar and exit the editor.
Using display:none as an additional CSS snippet to remove your footer credit text can harm your site’s SEO. While this method works, Google might understand this additional CSS code as an attempt to cheat search engine rankings. Therefore, the search engine can flag your site, which will negatively impact your place in the SERPs.
In addition, the code only hides the footer credit instead of removing it from a website. Thus, it does not hide the message from search engines. Instead, the code snippet tells search engines that you are hiding links to your site, which is considered suspicious.
If the methods above do not work, we recommend choosing a different theme or contacting support.
Changing WordPress footer credits into your own for a business website can strengthen your branding. Some of the previous methods to remove powered by WordPress can also help customize it into your own.
If your theme offers the option to change its footer text by using the theme customizer, then it will also give the option to customize it. The Remove Footer Credit plugin also offers the same functionality. To change default credits into your own, fill out the Enter your own footer credit section.
Changing default footer credits with your own using footer.php or site-info.php requires more technical knowledge. Again, we recommend using child themes first to test your changes. Then, look for the code under the site name to customize both PHP files.
To demonstrate, we have customized the code of the Twenty Nineteen theme to include our Hostinger Tutorials URL and changed “Proudly powered by WordPress” to “Hostinger”:
<a href="https://www.hostinger.in/tutorials/<?php echo esc_url( __("/tutorials/', 'twentynineteen' ) ); ?>" class="imprint">
<?php
/* translators: %s: Hostinger. */
printf( __( 'Proudly powered by %s.', 'twentynineteen' ), 'Hostinger' );
?>
</a>
On the website, it will show up as a personalized credit and footer link.
The footer code varies depending on the theme. For most default templates, the credit code is available in footer.php. For example, the code for the Twenty Twenty theme looks like this:
<p class="powered-by-wordpress">
<a href="https://www.hostinger.in/tutorials/<?php echo esc_url( __("https://wordpress.org/', 'twentytwenty' ) ); ?>">
<?php _e( 'Powered by WordPress', 'twentytwenty' ); ?>
</a>
</p><!-- .powered-by-wordpress -->
However, the Twenty Seventeen theme stores its Powered by WordPress code in site-info.php:
<a href="https://www.hostinger.in/tutorials/<?php echo esc_url( __("https://wordpress.org/', 'twentyseventeen' ) ); ?>" class="imprint">
<?php
/* translators: %s: WordPress */
printf( __( 'Proudly powered by %s', 'twentyseventeen' ), 'WordPress' );
?>
</a>
To customize the code for default templates, do not change the theme names. We recommend only changing the footer link, the credit text, and “WordPress”.
Conclusion
Themes have different footer credits with footer links to their developer. For example, Proudly powered by WordPress is a part of every default footer. However, you can remove or customize it legally as WordPress is a GPL-licensed CMS.
The benefits of removing the Powered by WordPress branding include having a clean, secure, and personalized design. We have shared these four easy methods to remove any footer credit:
- Using the theme customizer.
- Installing a WordPress plugin, such as Remove Footer Credit.
- Removing the code snippet for the footer text from footer.php or site-info.php.
- Using the block editor.
The method you’ll want to use depends on the theme. In addition, we do not recommend using additional CSS code to remove the WordPress link and credit as doing so will harm your site’s SEO.
For a business website, we advise customizing the credit instead of removing it to build authority. We have also given additional tips to find the code for default templates, from the Twenty Sixteen theme to the Twenty Twenty One theme.
Now, it is time to remove or customize your WordPress site credit. If you have any feedback or questions, make sure to leave a comment below.
