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How to Remove Powered by WordPress Footer Links in 2026

WordPress Footer

Perhaps, you have spent the entire day developing an incredible WordPress website, from theme selection to content structure, and now everything has to echo your vision. However, at the point when you live your website, you spot something that is simply not your style: the “Proudly Powered by WordPress” link on the footer does not represent a unique WordPress brand. To remove that footer link and make your site your own, you have to be familiar with the main methods of solving this problem.

In this article, I will guide you through a very simple procedure to take the Powered by WordPress footer links out of your site. You will find a working solution for you here, no matter what your level of WordPress developer is: whether it is advanced or just the beginning.

 

What is a “Powered by WordPress” Footer Link?

WordPress Footer

If you have glanced towards the bottom of a WordPress based website, you may have actually seen the “Powered by WordPress” link. This tiny little piece in the footer is a simple way of telling the users that the website is built on the WordPress software platform.

Why Get Rid of It?

Theoretically speaking, it is always acceptable to acknowledge the source. However, there can be countless reasons why one may consider removing the “Powered by WordPress” link. You may want your site to look more beautiful, highly professional, or if you are a web developer, you may prefer not to reveal the platform you are using. Whatever your motivation is, removing this footer link can definitely help you create a cleaner and more personalized WordPress website.

What is the role of footer links in WordPress?

Footer links are traditionally kept for very basic / minimal information such as copyright, privacy policy, and contact information. Several themes add the “Powered by WordPress” link automatically, which is like a gentle advertisement for the WordPress website platform.

Default Footer Set

By default, most WordPress themes come with a set that checks the “Powered by WordPress” link in the footer. If you are using a particular theme, it may be possible for you to get rid of or erase that link from the theme’s settings or customizer.

Precautions Before Making Changes

WordPress Footer

Backing Up your Site

Before making any updates to your website code, you should first take a backup of your site once in a while. This step can save you from a lot of problems because we know that if something goes wrong on the site with a backup, you can easily find it. And you can easily restore your website to its original state if something goes wrong.

Understanding the Risks

Editing theme files might cause unexpected problems especially if you have little or no experience in code. So be very careful, and make sure you understand completely the changes that you are going to make before proceeding.

Methods to Remove the Footer Link

WordPress Footer

Using WordPress Customizer

The WordPress Customizer is a very handy tool that allows you to easily change the design of your theme. Depending on what theme you get, it may be possible that you can just remove the footer link from the customizer to have a neat way of changing your website’s look.

Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s a step by step guide to help you out:

  1. 1st Go to your WordPress website dashboard.
  2. 2nd Click on Appearance, then choose Customize.
  3. 3rd Search for a part called Footer or something similar.
  4. Last Look for an alternative to remove or edit the footer link.

Editing the Theme’s Footer.php File

If your theme does not allow you to remove the footer link in the customizer, do not worry—you can manually edit the theme’s “footer.php” file to make the changes.

Locating Footer.php
  1. Log into your WordPress website dashboard.
  2. Go to Appearance > Theme Editor.
  3. Locate footer.php file and click it.

Changing the Code

Locate the segment of code containing the “Powered by WordPress” link and either remove or comment it out. Make sure you don’t accidentally delete other important pieces of code.

Applying a Child Theme

Building a child theme allows you to make changes to your WordPress website without impacting the original theme files.

Why Apply a Child Theme?

Applying a child theme ensures that your changes won’t be overwritten when the parent theme is updated.

Making and Activating a Child Theme

  1. Make a new folder in your themes directory.
  2. Create a style.css file and add only the essential header info.
  3. Prepare a functions.php file to load your child’s theme styles and then call the parent theme styles.
  4. Login into your WordPress dashboard and activate your child’s theme.

Using CSS Code

If you don’t want to edit the theme files, you may use custom CSS to hide the footer link.

Custom CSS to Hide Footer Link(start)

  1. Go to Appearance > Customize.
  2. Navigate to Additional CSS.

Add the following CSS code:
CSS
Copy code
.site-info { display: none; }

  1. Save your changes.

Plugin Installing

Some plugins can help you delete the footer link without you even having to touch any code.

Recommended Plugins

How to Use Them

  1. Install and activate the plugin.
  2. Follow the plugin’s instructions to delete or edit the footer link.

Full Steps for All Methods

Method 1: Applying WordPress Customizer

Accessing the Customizer

  1. Sign into your WordPress admin panel first.
  2. Then navigate to Appearance > Customize.

Removing the Footer Link

  1. Navigate to the Footer section.
  2. Look for an option to remove or edit the footer credit.
  3. Save your changes.

Method 2: Editing the Footer.php File

Finding the Correct Code

  1. Go to Appearance > Theme Editor.
  2. Select the footer.php file.
  3. Identify the line of code that has “Powered by WordPress.”

Safe Editing Practices

  1. Before starting to edit, make a copy of the original footer.php file.
  2. Remove the code for the footer link or comment it out.
  3. Save your changes and check your site.

Method 3: Using a Child Theme

To create a child theme, follow these steps with the revised instructions:

Step 1: Make a New Directory for Your Child Theme

  • Navigate to your WordPress themes directory (most probably at wp, content/themes/).
  • Create a new folder and give it the name of your child theme like my, child, theme

Step 2: Create a style.css File

  • Add a style.css file to your brand, new folder.
  • Put the below header file in your style.css file. Make sure you substitute parent, theme, folder, name for the actual folder name of your parent theme.
CSS
/*
Theme Name: My Child Theme
Template: parent-theme-folder-name
*/

Step 3: Create and Add functions.php File

  • Just like that, make a functions.php file in the same folder.
  • Put the code below to load the parent theme’s CSS:
php
<?php
function my_child_theme_enqueue_styles() {
// Enqueue the parent theme's styles
wp_enqueue_style('parent-style', get_template_directory_uri() . '/style.css');
}
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'my_child_theme_enqueue_styles');
?>

This way, your child theme will get the styles from the parent theme but you still keep the freedom to override and add your custom styles.

Change the Child Theme footer

  1. Copy the footer.php file from the parent theme into the child theme.
  2. Make changes to the footer.php file in the child theme in order to get rid of the footer link.

Method 4: Using Custom CSS

Adding Custom CSS

  1. Go to the Appearance menu, then click on the Customize submenu.
  2. Scroll down to Additional CSS.
Add the following code :
css
Copy code
.site-info { display: none; }

Verifying the Changes

  1. Remember to save your changes.
  2. Look at your website to confirm the footer link has been hidden.

Method 5: Using a Plugin

Installing the Plugin

  1. Go to Plugins > Add New.
  2. Look for “Remove Footer Credit” or a plugin with a similar name.
  3. Install and activate the plugin.

Configuring the Plugin

  1. I thought that point was a bit of a stretch, thus I didn’t include it in the essay.
  2. Save your settings and check your website.

Testing the Changes

Checking Different Devices

Make sure the footer link is deleted on all the devices including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.

Keeping Compliance With SEO

Be sure after changing footer contents do not create any potential SEO issues. Check for links that may not work correctly and make sure you keep all the required META data. By maintaining consistent good SEO practices will make it easier for your site stay visible on search engine and to users.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Problems with Theme Updates

If you find that the footer link keeps coming back after each theme update, you probably have to redo your changes again. This is a typical problem because the update files can replace the changes made to the theme. To save yourself from this work in the future, think about making a child theme. This way you can keep your changes even if the parent theme updates.

The footer Link is Still Visible

Once you have edited your footer, it might be a good idea to quickly verify that the footer link has been totally removed or concealed. Little bits of code sometimes get overlooked, thus you should be meticulous in your check. This last review will guarantee that your site is precisely as you wish and that no unwanted links are left.

Plugin Conflicts

It is important to make sure that any plugins you use to customize your footer work with your theme and other plugins before you get started because if they don’t work together, then your website may not function properly or may go down at all. To prevent this, always test new plugins in a staging environment first before applying them live on the site. Also by keeping everything up-to-date can greatly reduce conflict and allow for the website experience to be as seamless and trouble-free as possible.

Best Practices for Customizing Footers

WordPress Footer

Keeping The Design Consistent

Maintaining consistent design when changing your footer is very important as a unified appearance helps with ease of use for visitors and makes your website look more professional. Make sure to think about color schemes, font styles, and designs for the footer so that all elements work together in an attractive manner.

Legal Considerations

Make sure to review your theme license agreement before you proceed with any modifications on your website. In some cases, the terms of use of certain themes may bind you to leave the footer credit untouched. By abiding the rules of the theme license, you not only stay away from the troubles of law but also show your respect towards the theme creators’ work.

Conclusion

In this guide, we have covered multiple options for getting rid of the “Powered by WordPress” footer link from your site, including but not limited to: the WordPress Customizer, editing the footer.php file, making a child theme, adding custom CSS or using a plugin. Each of these methods provides various levels of flexibility in terms of how difficult they are to use and how customisable they are for your requirements.

Concluding Observations

Removing the footer link is a great way to give your site a cleaner and more professional appearance. Choosing between a quick way with a plugin or getting hold on code to your own, a person is going to find the way for himself. If you put a little more effort into personalizing your page, you will not only enhance the look but also increase functional capabilities, thus giving your visitors a truly one, of, a, kind experience.

 

Thanks for reading our article.
Developer at WPCarePoint
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