Do you want to remove the ‘powered by WordPress’ footer links on your site?
By default, most WordPress themes have a disclaimer in the footer, but this can make your site look unprofessional. It also leaves less space for your own links, copyright notice, and other content.
In this article, we will show you how to remove the powered by WordPress footer links.
Why Remove the WordPress Footer Credits?
The default WordPress themes use the footer area to show a ‘Proudly powered by WordPress’ disclaimer, which links to the official WordPress.org website.
Many theme developers take this further and add their own credits to the footer.
In the following image, you can see the disclaimer added by the Astra WordPress Theme.
While great for the software developers, this ‘Powered by….’ footer can make your site seem less professional, especially if you’re running a business website.
It also lets hackers know that you’re using WordPress, which could help them break into your site.
For example, if you’re not using a custom login URL, then hackers can simply add /wp-admin to your site’s address and get to your login page.
This disclaimer also links to an external site, so it encourages people to leave your website. This can have a negative impact on your pageviews and bounce rate.
Is it legal to remove WordPress footer credit links?
It is perfectly legal to remove the footer credits link on your site because WordPress is free, and it is released under the GPL license.
Basically, this license gives you the freedom to use, modify, and even distribute WordPress to other people.
Any WordPress plugin or theme that you download from the official WordPress directory is released under the same GPL license. In fact, even most commercial plugins and themes are released under GPL.
This means you’re free to customize WordPress in any way you want, including removing the footer credits from your business website, online store, or blog.
With that in mind, let’s see how you can remove the powered by WordPress footer links.
Video Tutorial
If you don’t want the video or need more instructions, then simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use.
- Method 1. Removing the ‘Powered by’ Link Using the Theme Settings
- Method 2. Removing the ‘Powered by’ Credit Using Full Site Editing
- Method 3. How To Remove the ‘Powered by’ Disclaimer Using a Page Builder
- Method 4. Removing the WordPress Disclaimer Using Code
- Warning! Avoid the CSS Method at All Costs!
Method 1. Removing the ‘Powered by’ Link Using the Theme Settings
Most good theme authors know that users want to be able to edit the footer and remove the credit links, so many include it in their theme settings.
To see whether your theme has this option, go to Appearance » Customize in your WordPress admin dashboard.
You can now look for any settings that let you customize your site’s footer, and then click on that option.
For example, the Astra theme has a section called ‘Footer Builder.’
If you’re using this theme, then simply click on the ‘Footer’ section and select ‘Copyright.’
Doing so will open a small editor where you can change the footer text, or even delete it completely.
No matter how you remove the footer disclaimer, don’t forget to click on ‘Publish’ to make the change live on your site.
Method 2. Removing the ‘Powered by’ Credit Using Full Site Editing
If you’re using a block theme, then you can remove the footer disclaimer using Full Site Editing (FSE) and the block editor.
This is a quick and easy way to remove the ‘Powered by’ credit across your entire site, although it won’t work with all themes.
To launch the editor, go to Appearance » Editor.
Then, scroll to your website’s footer and click to select the ‘Powered by’ disclaimer.
You can now replace it with your own content, or you can even delete the disclaimer completely.
When you’re happy with how the footer looks, simply click on ‘Save.’ Now if you visit your site, you’ll see the change live.
Method 3. How To Remove the ‘Powered by’ Disclaimer Using a Page Builder
Many WordPress websites use the footer to communicate important information, such as their email address or phone number. In fact, visitors might scroll to the bottom of your site looking specifically for this content.
With that in mind, you may want to go one step further and replace the ‘Powered by’ text with a custom footer. This footer could contain links to your social media profiles, links to your affiliate partners, a list of your products, or other important information and links.
You can see the WPBeginner footer in the following image:
The best way to create a custom footer is by using SeedProd. It is the best page builder plugin and comes with over 180 professionally-designed templates, sections, and blocks that can help you customize every part of your WordPress blog or website.
It also has settings that allow you to create a global footer, sidebar, header, and more.
First, you need to install and activate SeedProd. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Note: There’s also a free version of SeedProd that allows you to create all kinds of pages using the drag-and-drop editor. However, we’ll be using the premium version of SeedProd since it comes with the advanced Theme Builder.
After activating the plugin, SeedProd will ask for your license key.
You can find this information under your account on the SeedProd website. After entering the key, click on the ‘Verify Key’ button.
Once you’ve done that, go to SeedProd » Theme Builder. Here, click on the ‘Add New Theme Template’ button.
In the popup, type in a name for the new theme template.
Once you’ve done that, open the ‘Type’ dropdown and choose ‘Footer.’
SeedProd will show the new footer template across your entire site by default. However, you can limit it to specific pages or posts using the ‘Conditions’ settings.
For example, you may want to exclude the new footer from your landing pages, so it doesn’t distract from your main call to action.
When you’re happy with the information you’ve entered, click on ‘Save.’
This will load the SeedProd page builder interface.
At first, your template will show a blank screen on the right and your settings on the left. To start, click on the ‘Add Columns’ icon.
You can now choose the layout that you want to use for your footer. This allows you to organize your content into different columns.
You can use any layout you want, but for this guide, we’re using a three-column layout.
Next, you can edit the footer’s background so that it matches your WordPress theme, company branding, or logo.
To change the background color, simply click on the section next to ‘Background Color’ and then use the controls to choose a new color.
Another option is to upload a background image.
To do this, either click on ‘Use Your Own Image’ and then choose an image from the WordPress media library, or click on ‘Use a stock image.’
When you’re happy with the background, it’s time to add some content to the footer.
Simply drag any block from the left-hand menu and drop it onto your footer.
After adding a block, click to select that block in the main editor.
The left-hand menu will now show all of the settings for customizing the block.
Simply keep repeating these steps to add more blocks to your footer.
You can also change where each block appears by dragging them around your layout.
When you’re happy with your design, click on the ‘Save’ button.
Then, you can select ‘Publish’ to complete your design.
For your new footer to show up on your website, you’ll need to finish building your WordPress theme with SeedProd.
After building your theme, go to SeedProd » Theme Builder. Then, click on the ‘Enable SeedProd Theme’ switch.
Now, if you visit your website you’ll see the new footer live.
For a step-by-step guide, please see our guide on how to create a custom WordPress theme.
Method 4. Removing the WordPress Disclaimer Using Code
If you can’t see any way to remove or modify the footer credits in the WordPress customizer, then another option is to edit the footer.php code.
This isn’t the most beginner-friendly method, but it will let you remove the credit from any WordPress theme.
Before making changes to your website’s code, we recommend creating a backup so you can restore your site in case anything goes wrong.
Keep in mind that if you edit your WordPress theme files directly, then those changes will disappear when you update the theme. With that being said, we recommend creating a child theme as this allows you to update your WordPress theme without losing customization.
First, you need to connect to your WordPress site using an FTP client such as FileZilla, or you can use a file manager provided by your WordPress hosting company.
If this is your first time using FTP, then you can see our complete guide on how to connect to your site using FTP.
Once you’ve connected to your site, go to /wp-content/themes/ and then open the folder for your current theme or child theme.
Inside this folder, find the footer.php file and open it in a text editor such as Notepad.
In the text editor, look for a section of code that includes the ‘powered by’ text. For example, in the 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 delete this code entirely or customize it to suit your needs. For example, you may want to replace the ‘Proudly powered…’ disclaimer with your own copyright notice.
After making your changes, save the file and upload it to your server. If you check your site, then the footer credit will have disappeared.
Warning! Avoid the CSS Method at All Costs!
Some WordPress tutorial sites may show you a CSS method that uses display: none to hide the footer credit links.
While it looks simple, it’s very bad for your WordPress SEO.
Many spammers use this exact technique to hide links from visitors while still showing them to Google, in the hopes of getting higher rankings.
If you do hide the footer credit with CSS, then Google may flag you as a spammer and your site will lose search engine rankings. In the worst-case scenario, Google may even delete you from their index so you never appear in search results.
Instead, we strongly recommend using one of the four methods we showed above. If you can’t use any of these methods, then another option is hiring a WordPress developer to remove the footer credit for you, or you might change your WordPress theme.
We hope this article helped you remove the powered by WordPress footer links. You may also want to check out our expert pick of the best contact form plugins and proven ways to make money online blogging with WordPress.
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.
Casmat tiskey says
I dont have the footer.php file in my themes… can’t do any other method
WPBeginner Support says
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.
Admin
Neale says
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
WPBeginner Support says
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.
Admin
Kate Sullivan says
This was so helpful and exactly what was needed! Thank you for making it so simple! Kate
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome
Admin
Arun Das says
Such a detailed article, This is very useful for me. Thanks for the great information.
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome, glad our guide could be helpful
Admin
Ibrahim says
Thank you for the post.it’s very helpful.
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome, glad you found our post helpful
Admin
JACK says
this is help me so much in my learning Thank you for sharing
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome, glad our guide was helpful
Admin
Boniface says
Thanks for your article on this topic. I find it very helpful. I really appreciate your effort.
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome, glad you liked our article
Admin
Candy says
I’m using my theme template & footer.php is missing & footer remove credits are not working
What to do?
WPBeginner Support says
You would want to reach out to the support for your specific theme and they should be able to assist you.
Admin
Sandra Sakura says
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.
WPBeginner Support says
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
Admin
Dave says
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’ );
WPBeginner Support says
Thanks for sharing what worked for you
Admin
Kevin says
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.
WPBeginner Support says
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.
Admin
Atif Khawaja says
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!
WPBeginner Support says
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
Admin
Adrian says
Thanks! Very useful
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome
Admin
George Oluwole says
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.
WPBeginner Support says
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.
Admin
Adimas Putra says
I am really happy to glad at this blog posts which carries tons of useful facts,
thanks for providing these kinds of data.
WPBeginner Support says
Glad you find our content helpful
Admin
Roshni says
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}
WPBeginner Support says
Thanks for sharing that for other readers
Admin
Lauri Crosley says
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WPBeginner Support says
Glad you’re enjoying our content and finding it helpful
Admin
Sekh Sahajahan says
My sidebar is showing under my post body. How to take it back to the side.
Currently running on news pro Genesis child theme
WPBeginner Support says
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.
Admin
Chukwu Sunday says
Please how do I make the copy right change in highlight WordPress theme sir.
WPBeginner Support says
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.
Admin
shahab uddin says
I am very please to read this. It is very helpful.
romanregions says
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.
Hamza says
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
Maliha khan says
it is very helpful for all of us. thanks!
Simon says
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.
Anon says
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.
Preok says
Yep, backing up is a MUST if you’re going to edit. #BestPractice
Harry says
thanks for your nice information, but i think “Footer.php Code Method” is hard for non programmer like me.
Jeff says
Is there a way to remove the Remove the Powered by WordPress with a Code Snippet?
Rizwan Ali says
When i try to remove footer or change footer then my theme disturb i.e crash or does not work properly. what to do?
Maxwell says
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
tony says
what’s the benefit from removing it?
Qureshi Khan says
I can not remove it from my blog
Mark Phelps says
Too bad we can’t editor our comments. Now what, now what, now what!
kyle says
If you just eliminate every footer tag, and div and what not. is that sufficient?
Mati says
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
Ehtisham says
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
Ehtisham says
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
Heinrich says
I’m having the same problem. Looked at many other files but can’t find where to remove it.
Tanagi says
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
Linda says
Very helpful, but the php page varies per theme. I found this text in Function.php in the Theme Astrid.
Georges says
Thank you,
You Rock!
Paul says
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
Paul says
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
WPBeginner Support says
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.
Admin
Fajar says
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 ?
Nick Hyatt says
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.
manas says
How to remove footer credits in one press single page theme ??
jack says
its very useful …..
Andrew says
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.
Leah says
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!
Pawan says
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.
WPBeginner Support says
Hey Pawan,
Glad you found it useful
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for more WordPress tips and tutorials.
Admin
Ann says
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?
Annabel says
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)
Jean Corson says
I don’t understand half of what is being said on these answers, I am no techie I want completely off this site Help
Carl Duran says
I don’t think so this feature is found in all themes directly from customization area?
BTW great post.
YOGESH says
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 !!!!
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Yogesh,
Please contact your theme developer to learn how to do that safely without breaking your site.
Admin
Joe says
Why remove teh Powered By WordPress link.?
It’s free software, and if you use it the least you can do is promote it.
Jual beli rumah says
Its so helpful
david says
it work fine, but i hope it will not affect the template, thanks for the info
Saad says
No way to remove footer from customizer theme.
Footer.php
<footer id="footer" class="”>
Saad says
Was not able to add full footer code due to limit on comments.
Mike Mahaffey says
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
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Mike,
If it works and looks good, then it is OK to remove default credits from footer of your WordPress theme.
Admin