How To Remove Powered By WordPress From A Website

When you Step-By-Step Guide: How To Build A Website From Scratch, you’ll often see a message at the bottom that says Powered by WordPress. This line is part of the default theme settings. It’s added by the developers to indicate that the site is built with WordPress, which is an open-source and free content management system (CMS) used by millions to create websites.

While there’s nothing wrong with keeping this message, some website owners prefer to remove or change it. Perhaps you want to give your website a more professional or fully branded look with your business name. Or maybe you want to tidy the footer to match your design.

This guide explains different ways to customize or remove Powered by WordPress footer. Whether you’re 10 Top Free WordPress Themes for your Website or a full-site editor, we show you simple steps that will work for you. Let’s discuss each method and help you choose the best one for your WordPress website.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You can legally remove Powered by WordPress messages, because WordPress is open-source and fully customizable.
• Removing the footer credit makes your website look more professional and focused on your brand.
• Some themes let you remove or change the footer text directly from the Theme Customizer.
• You can also use a plugin to remove the footer message without editing any code.
• Modifying the copyright.php, footer.php, or site-info.php file gives you full control, but it should be done carefully using a child theme.
• Block-based themes allow you to remove the footer message using the Full Site Editor by deleting the text block.
• Don’t use CSS to hide the message; it stays in the code and may damage SEO and accessibility.
• You can change the default message with your text or links that better match your site’s design.
• Always back up your site before making any changes to theme files.
• Select the method that best suits your theme and skill level to remove or replace the footer credit safely.

Is it Okay to Remove Powered by WordPress? Legal & Practical Insights

WordPress is free and open-source software released under the General Public License (GPL). This license allows full control to modify everything on your site, including the footer text. You’re free to How To Change Or Upload A Theme In WordPress, edit code, or remove credits without breaking any rules or violating any license terms.

Now that you know it’s allowed, let’s talk about whether you should remove it.

Pros of Removing Footer Credit

Removing the default footer can make your WordPress site look more professional and on-brand. When visitors see your custom message instead of a generic one (Powered by WordPress), it gives a stronger impression that you’ve built something original. A cleaner footer can also improve your site’s design by removing elements that do not match the rest of your layout.

From a security perspective, hiding that your site runs on WordPress may help reduce the chance of automated attacks. Some bots scan websites to find Safeguarding Your Website: Common WordPress Security Issues. If they don’t see that message, they may move on.

Cons of Removing Footer Credit

Taking out the WordPress credit means you’re not giving public credit to the platform or theme developers who helped power your site. Many free themes include the credit as part of their usage terms, especially when you’re not using the paid version. While not required, showing credit helps support those creators.

Additionally, WordPress gains significant strength due to its robust, open community. Keeping the footer message is a small way to say “thank you” to the developers who make WordPress better for everyone. So, before removing it, consider whether the message adds more value than it takes away.

In the end, the choice is yours, but it’s good to weigh both the legal freedom and the practical effects of your decision.

How to Remove Proudly Powered by WordPress

In this section, we’ll explain 4 easy ways to remove Powered by WordPress:

1. Using Theme Settings.
2. Using the Footer Removal Plugin.
3. By Editing a PHP File
4. Using WordPress Block Editor.

Remember, you can also customize the credit message using these methods. Let’s go through each of them in detail below.

Disable Through Theme Settings

One of the easiest ways to remove Powered by WordPress message is through your theme’s built-in settings. Many modern WordPress themes allow you to control the footer area without touching any code.

To begin, go to your WordPress dashboard and click Appearance → Customize. It will open the Theme Customizer, where you can make changes to your WordPress website’s design. Look for a section called:

• Footer
• WordPress Widgets: How To Add & Use Them For Maximum Impact, or
• Copyright

Some themes even have a Footer Builder tool that lets you edit or remove the footer message directly.

For example, if you’re using the Astratheme, you can head to WordPress Dashboard → Appearance → Customize → Footer → ELEMENTS → Copyright.

Then, either delete the message or add custom text.

However, if you’re using the OceanWP theme, navigate to Appearance → Customize → Footer Copyright.

Then, scroll to Copyright Text to remove Powered by WordPress or personalize it.

Consider, though, that not every theme allows you this option. Some free themes don’t include a setting to remove or change the footer credit.

In that case, you’ll need to try one of the other methods demonstrated below. Always check your theme’s documentation or support page to see what’s possible before switching to a more advanced solution.

Use a Footer Removal Plugin

If your theme doesn’t offer a way to remove Powered by WordPress message, you can use a plugin to do it. This method is straightforward and effective for beginners.

To get started, go to the WordPress dashboard and click Plugins → Add New. In the search box, type Remove Footer Credit. Once it appears, click Install Now followed by Activate to enable the plugin.

After that, open your How to Change Your WordPress Homepage: 3 Methods and use the browser’s developer tools to inspect the elements. The process may vary depending on which browser you’re using. For instance, in GoogleChrome, you can right-click anywhere on a website and select Inspect or press CTRL + SHIFT + I on your keyboard as a shortcut.

Switch to Elements. Click the Arrow button and hover over the footer credit message. The related HTML element will be highlighted in the source code. Then, right-click on that HTML element and navigate to Copy → Copy element.

Now, go to Tools → Remove Footer Credit. Switch to Settings. In Step 1: Enter text/HTML to remove (one per line), paste the exact HTML element you copied.

Then, in the field Enter your own footer credit (one per line), write your custom footer or leave it empty. Here’s an example of a custom footer:

Lastly, click Save at the bottom of the page. After that, visit your site to ensure the Powered by WordPress message is gone or has been replaced with your text.

This method is great because it doesn’t need any technical skills. You won’t have to edit theme files or learn code. But there are a few things to consider. Always ensure the plugin is compatible with your currently How to Install WordPress Themes: A Beginner’s Guide and WordPress version.

Also, check if the plugin receives regular updates and support, as using an Incompatible WordPress Plugins can compromise your Essentials of WordPress Security: An Overview or cause it to malfunction. Remember, if you deactivate the plugin, the footer credit message will change to its default message.

Remove Powered by WordPress via PHP File

If your theme doesn’t have an option in the Customizer and you’d rather not use a plugin, you can remove the Powered by WordPress message by editing the theme’s code directly. This method gives you full control. However, be careful when working with PHP files.

For this section, you’ll be working with important files such as copyright.php, footer.php, or site-info.php, depending on your theme. For example:

• If you’re a Twenty Sixteen theme user, open footer.php in Theme File Editor.
• If you’re comfortable with the Inspiro theme, navigate to template-parts → footer → site-info.php in Theme File Editor.

For this example, we use the OceanWP theme to show the step-by-step process:

Go to Appearance → Theme File Editor from your WordPress Admin Dashboard Tips for Accessing and Using WP Admin. On the right-hand side, go to partials → footer → copyright.php.

Locate the following code:

$copy = get_theme_mod( 'ocean_footer_copyright_text', 'Copyright - WordPress Theme by OceanWP' );
$copy = oceanwp_tm_translation( 'ocean_footer_copyright_text', $copy );

Remember, the code could be in plain HTML or inside PHP functions. The exact code depends on the theme you’re using. Once you find it, you can delete or comment those line(s) or replace them with a specific message.

After removing or revising the credit, click Update File. Then, check your homepage to ensure the changes are applied correctly.

IMPORTANT:

Before making any changes, take two important steps. First, How to Backup Your WordPress Site: A Comprehensive Guide. This way, if something goes wrong, you can restore it quickly. Second, How To Create A WordPress Child Theme because editing the main theme files directly means your changes will be lost when you How to Update WordPress Theme: 5 Effective Methods. A child theme lets you make changes safely without affecting future updates.

How to Remove Powered by WordPress Using Block Editor

If you’re using WordPress 5.9 or newer and your site uses a block-based theme, you can easily remove Powered by WordPress message using the Block Editor. This method is quick and doesn’t require code.

Here’s how to do it:

Begin by WordPress Login URL How to Find, Protect and Change It. Next, go to Appearance → Editor. This will open the Full Site Editor, part of WordPress’s newer block-based system.

When the Editor loads, you’ll likely see the Home page template. Don’t worry, you’re only here to make changes to the footer.

Scroll down the page until you reach the bottom section. This is your website’s footer. You should see the Proudly Powered by WordPress message there.

Click the message once to open it in the Editor. Once it’s opened, click this message again to select the block. A toolbar will appear right above it. Click ⋮ from the toolbar to open a small menu. From there, click Delete.

This deletes the block that contains the footer credit. After removing the block, go to the top-right corner of the screen and click Save. Then exit the Editor.

Now visit your WordPress website’s homepage. The Proudly Powered by WordPress message should no longer be in the footer. That’s it! You’ve removed the credit using just a few clicks with the Block Editor, no code necessary.

Avoid Using CSS to Remove WordPress Copyright Footer

You might think it’s easy to hide the Powered by WordPress message How to Add WordPress Custom CSS: 5 Easy Methods. For example, you can add this code:

.site-info {
  display: none;
}

While this makes the message disappear from your website, it doesn’t remove it from the page’s code. That means the message is still there, just hidden from view.

This approach isn’t recommended because search engines and screen readers can still read the hidden text. Search engines may consider this an attempt to purposefully hide content; this could damage your SEO. Screen readers, used by many people with visual disabilities, may also pick up the hidden footer, making your WordPress site less accessible.

So, instead of hiding it, it’s better to properly remove or replace the message using one of the methods mentioned earlier. That way, you’re keeping your website clean, accessible, and SEO-friendly.

FAQS

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