How to remove the "Works because of WordPress" easily

Customizing a website is essential to reflect a unique identity, especially when using a popular platform like WordPress. Many users and marketing agencies look for ways to make their websites more personal and less generic. A small, but significant, part of this customization involves the footer, where the message “Powered by WordPress” commonly appears. This article focuses on explaining why and how you can remove this phrase, offering a detailed and accessible guide for both beginners and advanced WordPress users.

Why remove the “Powered by WordPress” from the footer?

When it comes to customizing a website, every detail counts. The “Powered by WordPress” message in the footer, although a small element, can have a big impact on how your site is perceived. Users and marketing agencies often choose to remove this message for several reasons:

1. Brand Identity: For businesses and professionals, it’s crucial that every element of the website reflects their identity and brand values. Keeping the default message can give an impression of a lack of attention to detail or a less developed brand identity.
2. Professional Appearance: A website with complete customization, including the footer, conveys a more professional image. Removing the standardized message can help present a more polished and unique site.
3. Total Control: Having complete control over the content of the website, including the footer, allows users to convey more specific messages or include useful information for their visitors, such as links to other sections of the site, contact information, or legal disclaimers.
4. Visual Simplicity: In some cases, users prefer a cleaner, more minimalist design, where any additional text, including the “Powered by WordPress,” can seem distracting or out of place.

Methods to remove “Powered by WordPress”

Removing the “Powered by WordPress” message from your site’s footer is simpler than it seems. There are several methods to achieve this, suitable for different levels of experience in WordPress. Below, we present the most effective options:

1. Disable WordPress Theme Settings

Many WordPress themes offer an easy option in their settings to remove the footer message. To do this, simply go to the theme customization section in your WordPress admin panel and look for the option to deactivate or edit the footer. This is the simplest way and does not require programming knowledge.

2. Use a Plugin to Remove the Footer

There are several reliable plugins that allow you to modify the footer without touching the code. Some of the most popular include “Remove Footer Credit” or “Remove powered by wp“. You just need to install the plugin and follow the instructions to remove the message.

3. Remove using a PHP File

For users with programming knowledge, modifying the theme’s PHP file can be an effective solution. This involves accessing the code of the footer.php file of the theme and removing or commenting out the line that adds the message. It’s important to be careful and make a backup of the file before making any changes.

4. Use the Block Editor

If your theme uses the new WordPress block editor (Gutenberg), you can edit the footer directly from there. Simply navigate to the footer section in the block editor and remove or modify the block that contains the “Powered by WordPress” message.

More on manually modifying the footer – Remove using a PHP File

This option is ideal for those who have some familiarity with programming and feel comfortable working directly with their website’s code. The idea is to modify the footer.php file of the theme you’re using. Here we guide you step by step:

1. Make a Backup: Before making any changes, it’s essential to make a backup of the footer.php file. This will allow you to restore the original state in case something goes wrong.
2. Access the footer.php File: You can access this file through the WordPress admin panel by going to Appearance > Theme Editor and selecting footer.php in the theme file list. Alternatively, if you have access to the web server via FTP, you can edit the file directly on your machine.
3. Identify the Line to Modify: Within footer.php, look for the line of code that adds the “Powered by WordPress” message. Usually, it’s near the end of the file and can vary depending on the theme. Common tags like <p> or CSS classes related to the footer are often found.
4. Edit or Remove the Line: Once you’ve located the line, you have two options: remove it entirely or simply comment it out (add // at the beginning of the line in PHP) so it doesn’t execute. Commenting out the line is useful if you think you might want to revert the changes in the future.
5. Save the Changes: After making your modifications, save the file and upload the new version to the server if you’re working through FTP.
6. Verify Your Website: Finally, check your website to ensure that the change has been made correctly and that there are no errors.

Why avoid using CSS to hide this message?

Although it may be tempting to use CSS to simply hide the “Powered by WordPress” message from the footer, there are several important reasons why this is not recommended:

1. Not a Permanent Solution: Hiding the message with CSS is only a superficial measure. The text is still in the page code, just invisible to users. This means that the message is not really removed, just hidden.
2. SEO Problems: Since search engines like Google can analyze all the content of your site, including that hidden with CSS, using this method can be interpreted as a dishonest SEO technique, potentially affecting your site’s ranking.
3. Unnecessary Additional Load: Although minimal, hiding elements with CSS adds an unnecessary extra burden to your style sheets and the page rendering process, which can slightly affect the site’s loading speed.
4. Display Inconsistencies: By relying on CSS to hide this element, you might face inconsistencies in how different browsers or devices handle your style sheet, resulting in uneven site display.
5. Theme Updates: If you are using a theme that is regularly updated, any changes made directly to the style sheets might be lost with an update. This would force you to make the change every time you update the theme.

For these reasons, it is better to opt for methods that remove or alter the message more directly and effectively, as mentioned above.

The Relevance of Automatic Backups in WordPress footer customization

Modifying elements of your WordPress site, such as removing the “Powered by WordPress” message from the footer, always carries some risk. In this context, the function of automatic backups from Modulards is essential, especially when managing multiple sites for different clients.
Protection During Customization: Automatic backups ensure that, in case of any error during the customization of the footer, you can quickly restore a previous and safe version of the site. This functionality is key to maintaining operability and the trust of your clients.

Efficient Management of Multiple Sites: Managing changes in multiple sites can be complex. With Modulards’ automatic backups, you maintain a safety net for each modification, simplifying the administration of multiple WordPress sites.

Best of all, you can get Modulards for FREE. We invite you to try it and see for yourself how it can improve the management of your WordPress sites. Sign up for free

Conclusion

We have explored various strategies to remove the “Powered by WordPress” message from the footer of your site. From simple methods like disabling an option in the theme settings, to more advanced techniques such as editing PHP files or using specific plugins. In addition, we have discussed why it is advisable to avoid the use of CSS for this task and how effective customization goes beyond simple aesthetic changes.
In the context of managing multiple WordPress sites, tools like Modulards become fundamental. With features like automatic backups and Spanish-language support, this free service not only facilitates customization and maintenance of your sites but also provides security and efficiency in the process.

Remember, customizing your WordPress site is an important step towards creating a unique online identity. Whether to better reflect your brand or simply to have more complete control over the appearance of your site, removing the “Powered by WordPress” message is a good starting point.

Let’s remember that personalizing your WordPress website is an important step towards creating a unique online identity. Whether it’s to better reflect your brand or simply to have more control over the appearance of your site, removing the “Proudly powered by WordPress” message is a good starting point.

We encourage you to try Modulars to enhance your WordPress maintenance experience and take the management of your sites to a new level. Register for free here and discover how it can transform your workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I further customize the WordPress footer apart from removing the “Proudly powered by WordPress” message?

Yes, you can customize the footer to include your own information, such as contact details, links to social networks, or even custom widgets. This can be done directly from the WordPress editor or by editing theme files.

Do I need programming skills to use Modulars?

No, Modular WordPress Management is designed to be user-friendly for both beginners and advanced users. Most of its features, such as performing backups and updating plugins, can be handled with a few clicks without the need for programming knowledge.

How can I ensure that the changes I make in WordPress do not affect the functionality of my site?

It is advisable to make changes in a testing or staging environment before applying them to your live site. Additionally, make sure you have recent backups to restore your site in case of any problems.