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How to Remove the Powered by WordPress Footer Links

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Do you want to remove the powered by WordPress footer links on your site? Recently one of our readers asked if it was possible to remove footer credits in WordPress themes. In this article, we will show you how to remove the powered by WordPress footer links in your themes.

Remove Powered by WordPress Links

The default WordPress themes use the footer area to display the “Proudly powered by WordPress” link. Many theme developers take this further and add their own credits, so it looks something like “Powered by WordPress. Theme by Company Z”.

But if you’re running a business website, then it doesn’t make any sense to display these credits. Some even think that it makes your website look unprofessional.

Is it legal to remove WordPress footer credit links?

We get this question a lot. Yes, it is absolutely legal to remove footer credits link on your WordPress site.

WordPress is free, and it is released under the GPL license.

In short, that license gives you the freedom to use, modify, and even redistribute WordPress. Any WordPress theme or plugin that you download from the official WordPress.org directory, and even most commercial WordPress themes are also released under the same license.

So you have full rights to do what you please with your website including removing the footer credit links.

Let’s take a look at how to customize your WordPress footer and remove these credit links.

Video Tutorial

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If you don’t like the video or need more instructions, then continue reading.

Removing WordPress Powered by Links

There are many ways to remove the WordPress footer credit links, but we only recommend the following 3 ways of doing this.

The Theme Settings Page

Most good theme authors know that their users want to have the option to remove footer credit links. That’s why they make it available in their theme settings area.

Different themes have this setting available under different sections. But the first place to start looking is inside the WordPress theme customizer (Appearance » Customize).

For example, the Astra theme give users the option to customize the footer text as well as disable the credit links.

Astra theme footer credits customizer

Other places that you can look are individual theme’s options pages or inside the Widgets section.

Footer.php Code Method

If your theme does not have the option to remove or modify footer credits from WordPress admin, then another option is to edit the footer.php code.

Whenever making changes to your website’s code, we recommend making a backup first so you can restore your site in case anything goes wrong.

Also, keep in mind that when you make changes to your theme files, those changes will be lost if you update or switch your theme. Here’s how to update your theme without losing customizations.

You can find the footer.php file in your theme folder. For example, /wp-content/themes/yourtheme/footer.php (just look for your current theme name instead of “yourtheme”).

Simply open this file in a text editor and search for the footer credit text like “Powered by”, and it will show you the section that you need to remove.

In the default Twenty Twenty-One theme for WordPress, the code looks like this:

<div class="powered-by">
				<?php
				printf(
					/* translators: %s: WordPress. */
					esc_html__( 'Proudly powered by %s.', 'twentytwentyone' ),
					'<a href="' . esc_attr__( 'https://wordpress.org/', 'twentytwentyone' ) . '">WordPress</a>'
				);
				?>
			</div><!-- .powered-by -->

You can either remove this text entirely or customize it to suit your needs.

Page Builder Method

If you want to make more changes to your WordPress theme’s design and layout, it’s better to use a page builder plugin like Beaver Builder or Divi.

Drag and drop page builders make it easy to customize your theme without knowing any code.

For more details, see our guide on the best drag and drop page builders for WordPress.

Avoid the CSS Method at All Cost

Now some WordPress tutorial sites may show you a CSS method that uses display: none to hide the footer credit links.

However doing so will put your site’s SEO at risk. Google does not like hiding links with display:none because that’s a technique that spammers use to hide the links from users while still showing it to Google (in hopes of higher rankings).

Your site might get flagged, and it will cause you to lose your search engine rankings.

So whatever you do, do not use the CSS method like this:

#site-info {display:none}

While it looks simple, it’s not good for SEO.

We strongly recommend using the two methods that we showed above. If you cannot do either of those, then we recommend hiring a professional to help you remove your footer credit links or even consider changing your WordPress theme.

We hope this article helped you remove the powered by WordPress footer links. You may also want to check out our guide on how to improve your WordPress security.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Reader Interactions

100 CommentsLeave a Reply

    • If you don’t have a footer.php, reach out to your theme’s support to see if they have a custom location for the footer.

      Reply

      Admin

  2. I had the same problem but ur site’s version is not the same as mine, so I couldn’t remove the Powered by WordPress footer this happend to me in other site’s too

    Reply

    • Not all themes have the same options which is why we have multiple options in this guide. If the methods in this guide were unable to help you then we would recommend reaching out to your specific theme’s support and they should be able to assist.

      Reply

      Admin

  8. I’m using my theme template & footer.php is missing & footer remove credits are not working :) What to do?

    Reply

    • You would want to reach out to the support for your specific theme and they should be able to assist you.

      Reply

      Admin

  9. how do I move:

    ~~
    My Website

    This is Visualize, a responsive site template designed by SitePad and is available with SitePad Website Builder.

    ~~
    to the bottom so it’s not so prominent … I would like people to think it’s my website not SitePad.

    Reply

    • You would want to check under Settings>General to ensure your title and tagline are not that and if not then you would check under Appearance>Customize

      Reply

      Admin

  10. Thanks for this tutorial. Mine was a bit different, but your video helped me find it. In the footer.php file, I commented out this line and it removed the “powered by WordPress” footer:

    get_template_part( ‘template-parts/footer/site’, ‘info’ );

    Reply

  11. Hi,
    When I tried to remove I got the following message.
    Unable to communicate back with site to check for fatal errors, so the PHP change was reverted. You will need to upload your PHP file change by some other means, such as by using SFTP.
    I’m currently using localhost on XAMPP on my laptop.
    Please I kindly need your help.

    Reply

    • That means WordPress could not verify that the code change would not cause a problem so you would manually need to edit the file for that change to take effect.

      Reply

      Admin

  12. hello!
    Its been a great experience for me as a beginner of Word Press to learn and find solutions of my problems through the platform of WPBeginner. These days i have been facing the same problem as stated above i have watched all the videos related to this issue on this platform but it didn’t work for me, I am using word press theme Shop Elite in this theme there is an option to edit half of the footer but credit link remains,I have tried all methods you have suggested also tried some plugins like (Real time find and Replace, My Custom Function), Please look into this issue.
    I will wait for your kind response,
    Thank You!

    Reply

    • If you reach out to the support for your specific theme they should be able to let you know what theme specific setting could be preventing you from removing that credit :)

      Reply

      Admin

  14. I tried to remove the powered by message and I got the following in return: omething went wrong. Your change may not have been saved. Please try again. There is also a chance that you may need to manually fix and upload the file over FTP. Maybe I didn’t know exactly what to remove. Please I need help.

    Reply

    • The editor in WordPress itself had a recent update to check for errors before allowing a file to be changed. That message means it couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t cause an error so it canceled the edit which means you would need to use your host’s file manager or FTP to edit the file.
      It’s not saying you tried to remove the wrong code.

      Reply

      Admin

  15. I am really happy to glad at this blog posts which carries tons of useful facts,
    thanks for providing these kinds of data.

    Reply

  16. Thank you, for this useful info.

    In the Charity Care theme (child theme of Benevolent) footer is found at the bottom of the Functions.php page
    (path wp=content => themes => charity-care => functions.php)

    When I had contacted the theme support, they suggested to use #site-info {display:none}

    :)

    Reply

  17. Wonderful goods from you, man. I’ve be aware your stuff prior to and you are simply extremely fantastic. I actually like what you have bought here, certainly like what you’re saying and the way in which wherein you say it. You’re making it entertaining and you continue to care for to keep it sensible. I can’t wait to learn far more from you. This is really a tremendous site.

    Reply

  18. My sidebar is showing under my post body. How to take it back to the side.
    Currently running on news pro Genesis child theme

    Reply

    • You may want to ensure your browser window is wide enough for it to go on the side of your content. If it continues to be below your content you would want to reach out to the theme’s support for them to assist.

      Reply

      Admin

    • You would first want to reach out to the theme’s specific support for if there is a built-in or recommended method for changing the copyright text.

      Reply

      Admin

  21. thanks for Be that as it may, I like this connection fueled by WordPress. So I would prefer not to expel controlled by WordPress joins from my footer. Your article will be useful how need expel that connections from footer. A debt of gratitude is in order for sharing.

    Reply

  22. hey dear how are you today
    i have a WP site and i want to show results online by searching roll number.
    i don’t want to upload result in my data base.
    i have more then 10,00,000 results in excel sheet.
    i want a code that get result from google sheet searching in column and show result by matching row.
    thanks

    Reply

  24. Actually damaged my website trying to follow the instructions in the php footer removal. Think I have to reinstall my theme now. I’m neither a programmer nor an idiot. But something in these instructions missed the mark.

    Reply

    • Numer 1 rule of webdesign/programming: Always back up any file/files your working on, then if you make a mistake and can’t figure out where you went wrong you can simply overwrite and start again.

      Reply

  25. thanks for your nice information, but i think “Footer.php Code Method” is hard for non programmer like me.

    Reply

  27. When i try to remove footer or change footer then my theme disturb i.e crash or does not work properly. what to do?

    Reply

    • Usually it’s because you removed something vital like ‘ ‘, you only supposed to remove text inside the inverted commas. If you using a text editor with syntax highlighting it’ll be easier to figure out, another option will be to remove one word at a time and check if it’s successful

      Reply

  31. Hello,
    I have question. I have theme Ultimate and I try try try delete footer links Powered by: WordPress and Theme by: Themehorse.

    I created child theme, I tried delete footer by using different codes but my action lost. I haven’t idea.
    I know that this footer is invisible because the footer link is hide in “container” i think… I am green in programming :).

    Please help,
    Mati

    Reply

  32. Hi, Wpbeginner , I have found a new method to delete “Powered by Name”
    Just go to Appearance >>Editor and try to find footer.php (it’ll be on the right side under theme option)
    Simply edit it’s powered by phase , update it and it’ll be removed

    Reply

  33. Hi there , My theme is showing this at it’s footer
    ” WordPress Theme by MH Themes”
    I’ve tried to find it’s code in footer.php even in functions and from every page as much i can see .But i’m unable to remove it.
    I hope you have better solution for this..
    Thanks

    Reply

    • I’m having the same problem. Looked at many other files but can’t find where to remove it.

      Reply

      • for all others who did not managed to edit their “powered” text , simply put the whole theme folder into an editing software like notepad++ and do a search for the term ” .site-info ” without the “” symbols. once you found the php section ,change the tag’s to whatever you want .
        if you didnt find “.site-info” or it didnt change , probably your theme has already done it and changed its name , to find the new term for the search :
        1. enter your website as a user using a chrome browser
        2. right click on the credit text
        3. choose inspect
        4. the opened editor will show you the “tag” name replaced for .site-info

        now, go back and commit a search on the theme folder

        hope that helps

        Reply

  34. Very helpful, but the php page varies per theme. I found this text in Function.php in the Theme Astrid.

    Reply

  36. I have removed the code from the twenty sixteen theme for WordPress and the code still appears at the bottom of my page. Please advise me what to do. I use store theme

    Reply

  37. Hi, I use accesspress store and I’ve remove this default Twenty Sixteen theme for WordPress, the code looks like this entirely and the WordPress branding still shows at my footer, please what do I do?
    01

    02

    10
    <a href="” rel=”home”>
    11
    <a href="”>
    12

    Reply

    • Hey Paul,

      When copying the code you have copied the line numbers as well.

      You will see a tiny Copy button at the top right corner of the code snippet. Click on it and you will see the raw code without line numbers.

      Reply

      Admin

  38. I just success in modifying footer.php via cPanel. But how about any theme upgrade in the next ?. Should the original link will appear again ?

    Reply

    • Fajar, if you have not created a Child Theme, then you are correct. As soon as the theme is updated, your customization of the footer.php file will be obliterated by the new version of the file.

      I would recommend always creating a child theme for any project you are working on so that you don’t have to go back and redo changes previously made.

      Reply

  41. I use Fluida theme and found the “Powered by” text in the core.php file.

    If you’re a beginner, it can be dangerous poking around in these files, as you can easily break stuff. So here’s how I found the line of text, and a safe way to get rid of it.

    Download Notepad++. It’s freeware, and it’s awesome.
    I downloaded a fresh, zipped version of my theme and unzipped everything into a folder.

    Open Notepad++

    Under the Search menu, there’s an option to Search in Files. choose this.
    Then enter the text “powered by” (or whatever variation you’re after), choose the directory you just unzipped the theme into, then search.

    As I said, I found it in core.php. Notepad++ tells me it was on line 208.

    Go to the Editor section of WP, find the file (core.php in my case). Copy it all, and paste it into a blank Notepad++ doc. Go to line 208.

    Don’t delete anything. Instead, comment out the lines you want to hide. Do this by adding // to the start of the line/s that contain the html code for the part of the footer you don’t want.

    Here’s what mine looks like after I’ve added the // to the appropriate lines.

    You can see these lines contain the “powered by” as well as the opening and closing of the links to WordPress. The line I left in is my copyright info, which I still want to show up.

    It’s also important that you don’t try to comment out the whole section. This can break wordpress.
    Hope this helps someone.

    Reply

    • THANK YOU, Andrew! This was exactly what I needed. I didn’t end up needing Notepad thanks to your description of which php file to find it in and how to comment it out! I’m running a child theme and have been poking around for awhile trying to figure it out! Thanks again!

      Reply

    • Thank you very much man finally I got the solution. I was searching this from 3 days and you fixed it in 10 minutes. Thank you Again. God bless you.
      Pawan.

      Reply

    • Thanks for this. I tried it but it doesn’t seem to work with the Rara Perfect Portfolio theme that I’m using. I get no hits at all.

      I’ve also searched the them files in my C Panel with the same results. I can see the code if I use Chrome Inspect on the web page, but it seems to be hidden somehow in the files.

      Any ideas please?

      Reply

  42. This doesn’t help me either. I don’t have the text within the footer.php file. I want to use Amadeus but can’t remove the text.

    Any ideas?

    (ps great tutorial)

    Reply

  43. I don’t understand half of what is being said on these answers, I am no techie I want completely off this site Help

    Reply

  44. I don’t think so this feature is found in all themes directly from customization area?

    BTW great post.

    Reply

  45. HELLO wpbeginner,

    i am using clear commerce theme of wordpress how can i remove theme credit in which content “Clean Commerce by WEN Themes”,
    please help !!!!

    Reply

  46. Why remove teh Powered By WordPress link.?
    It’s free software, and if you use it the least you can do is promote it.

    Reply

  50. Wp Content themes
    theme 2017
    template parts
    footer
    site info

    is where the credits are in 2017

    Can I take out this line and replace with links to my pri/terms/contact pages?

    <a href="”>

    I know I can, because it works, but is this correct?

    Thanks

    Reply

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