How to Edit or Remove the Branded Footer on Your WordPress Website

How to Edit the Footer in WordPress (Ultimate Guide)

Are you tired of the default "Proudly powered by WordPress" text displayed in your website‘s footer? Want to customize this area to better match your brand and include your own content? You‘ve come to the right place.

In this ultimate guide, you‘ll learn everything you need to know about editing the footer in WordPress. I‘ll cover multiple methods step-by-step so you can choose the one that works best for you, whether you‘re a coding whiz or not. Let‘s get started!

What is the WordPress Footer?

First things first – what exactly is the WordPress footer? The footer is the section at the very bottom of your WordPress website. By default, it contains some standard text crediting WordPress. But most website owners want to change this to things like:

  • Copyright notice
  • Contact information
  • Social media links
  • Navigation menu
  • Email signup form
  • Disclaimer or privacy policy

The footer appears on every page, so it‘s valuable real estate. Customizing it is a great opportunity to display important content to your visitors and end each page with a strong branded sign-off.

Why Edit the WordPress Footer?

The default WordPress footer doesn‘t look very professional or on-brand for most websites. Changing it allows you to:

  • Promote your brand and business
  • Make your site look more polished and legitimate
  • Drive actions like social follows or email signups
  • Improve usability with sitewide links
  • Optimize for search engines by linking to key pages

So if you haven‘t customized your footer yet, I highly recommend doing so! It‘s a small change that can make a big impact. Now let‘s look at how to actually do it.

How to Edit the WordPress Footer (5 Methods)

There are a few different ways to edit the footer in WordPress:

  1. By installing a plugin
  2. Using the WordPress Customizer
  3. Adding footer widgets
  4. Editing the footer.php file
  5. Using your theme‘s built-in options

Some methods require no coding knowledge, while others get more technical. I‘ll walk through each one so you can decide what‘s right for your skill level.

Method 1: Install a Footer Plugin

The simplest way to edit your footer is by installing a plugin. If you just want to replace or remove the default text, the aptly named Remove Footer Credit plugin can do the trick in a few clicks:

[Screenshot]

Just install and activate the plugin, then navigate to Tools > Remove Footer Credit. Enter the text you want to remove and the new text to replace it with.

This is a good option if you want to make a quick, basic change and don‘t need a highly customized footer. Plus, using a plugin means you don‘t have to mess with any code.

Method 2: Use the WordPress Customizer

Many WordPress themes have footer customization options built right into the WordPress Customizer. Here‘s how to access them:

  1. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Customize
  2. Look for a Footer or Bottom Bar option in the menu
  3. If there is one, you should see settings to edit the footer text and content
[Screenshot]

The exact settings will depend on your theme, but you may be able to:

  • Toggle the footer on or off
  • Edit the copyright text
  • Add widgets to footer columns
  • Specify the number of footer columns
  • Change colors or fonts

Again, this doesn‘t require any technical know-how. So if you‘re a WordPress beginner, definitely check if your theme offers Customizer options.

Method 3: Add Footer Widgets

WordPress widgets are small blocks of content you can add to designated areas of your site, like the sidebar and footer. If your theme supports footer widgets, you can use them to add custom text and other elements without editing code.

Here‘s how:

  1. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Widgets
  2. Look for a Footer or Sidebar section
  3. Drag a Text widget into the Footer area
  4. Add your custom footer text or HTML in the widget
  5. Click Save
[Screenshot]

Other widgets you could add to your footer include:

  • Navigation Menu to help visitors find key pages
  • Social Icons to encourage follows
  • Custom HTML to embed other content

If your theme doesn‘t have a footer widget area, you can try adding one by editing the functions.php file. But if you‘re not comfortable with code, you‘re better off using a different method or checking with your theme author.

Method 4: Edit footer.php File

For a truly custom footer, you can directly edit the footer.php template file which controls the footer content. This will require some knowledge of PHP and HTML.

Here‘s how:

  1. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Theme Editor
  2. Find the footer.php file in the list on the right and click it to edit
  3. Look for the existing footer text and replace it with your own
  4. Click Update File to save your changes
[Screenshot]

Be very careful when editing theme files like this. One wrong piece of code could break your site. I recommend using a child theme so any changes you make don‘t get overwritten when you update your theme.

Method 5: Use Your Theme‘s Settings

Depending on your WordPress theme, you may have built-in options for editing the footer. For example, the Astra theme has a Footer Builder:

[Screenshot]

These options are usually located in your WordPress dashboard under Appearance, sometimes labeled as Footer, Theme Options, or Customize.

The settings available will vary, but you may be able to:

  • Select a pre-made footer template or layout
  • Add content to header columns
  • Customize the design

Check your theme‘s documentation or reach out to the author if you‘re not sure where to look. Utilizing these built-in options is often the easiest way to customize your footer.

WordPress Footer Mistakes to Avoid

When editing your WordPress footer, watch out for these common mistakes:

  1. Hiding the footer content with CSS display:none. While this removes the footer text visually, the links are still there in the code and can get you penalized by Google.

  2. Not keeping a copyright notice. It‘s good practice to include a copyright with the current year for legal protection. Forgetting to update the year annually is another common slip-up.

  3. Removing the footer credits if your theme doesn‘t allow it. Some WordPress themes require you to keep the developer credits intact as part of the license terms. Check the fine print or reach out to the theme author if you‘re not sure.

  4. Making manual edits without using a child theme. Any changes you make to template files like footer.php can get overwritten when you update your theme. Use a child theme to keep your customizations intact.

WordPress Footer Best Practices & Tips

To create an effective footer for your WordPress site, follow these tips:

  • Keep it simple and clean. Don‘t overwhelm visitors with too much clutter in the footer. Stick to the essentials.

  • Make sure any links are crawlable by search engine bots. Avoid hiding links in an attempt to manipulate search rankings, as this can backfire and get you penalized.

  • Include key business information like your physical address, phone number, hours, or contact details.

  • Promote your social media profiles with links or icons to grow your following on other platforms.

  • Highlight important resources for visitors, like your sitemap, privacy policy, or FAQ page.

  • Add an email signup form to build your email list from interested visitors.

  • Incorporate your brand colors, logo, or tagline to maintain consistency site-wide.

  • Consider the footer a place to catch visitors before they leave and guide them to other important pages to continue engaging with your brand.

Awesome WordPress Footer Examples

Need some inspiration for your own WordPress footer? Check out these examples of brands doing it well:

[Screenshot]

This footer from Asana keeps things simple with clear columns for key resources. The sticky CTA at the bottom is a nice touch to drive product signups.

[Screenshot]

Trello takes a similar approach with a minimal two-column footer layout featuring their most important pages. The muted background color helps distinguish the footer without being too distracting.

[Screenshot]

Evernote packs a lot into their footer, but it doesn‘t feel cluttered. The colored background and icons add some nice visual interest while still staying on brand.

[Screenshot]

MailChimp‘s illustrated footer background is totally unique and eye-catching. Even with the bold visuals, the content itself is streamlined to avoid overwhelming visitors.

Conclusion

By now, you should have a solid understanding of how to edit the footer in WordPress using a variety of methods. Whether you opt for a simple plugin or dive into the code, customizing this often-overlooked area of your site is well worth it.

Your website footer is an opportunity to leave a final impression on visitors and give them other ways to engage with your brand. So don‘t neglect it! Follow the tips in this guide and check out the examples for inspiration to create a footer that elevates your website to the next level.

Do you have any other questions about editing your WordPress footer? Leave a comment and I‘d be happy to help. Now go forth and customize yours to make it truly your own!

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