If you have decided to remove “Proudly powered by WordPress” and the footer copyright links of any theme; then this tutorial is for you.
Why should we remove footer links?
If you ask me it will hurt your website SEO as well as your brand. Google doesn’t like websites linking to other websites that are irrelevant and meaningless. Some experts will claim that footer and sidebar are mostly ignored by Google but others say that the same link on multiple pages can have a negative impact. Anyways to stay on the safe side footer credits should go.
Is it legal to remove WordPress footer copyright links?
Yes.
That is because WordPress is free and licensed under GPL. GPL license gives the user full freedom to:
- use the theme for any purpose
- change the theme to suit one’s needs
- share the theme with anyone
- share the changes you make with everyone.
Now that it is clear that we have full control over any WordPress theme, let us jump into the process of footer copyright removal.
There are many methods to remove footer credits some of them are easy others are hard. Here are a few:
Method 1. Using a WordPress plugin (Remove Footer Credit)
Step 1: Right click on the link you want to remove and choose Inspect.
Step 2: Do Ctrl+C to copy the HTML code and paste into the plugin settings. The plugin gives you the option to “Enter your own footer credit” if needed. You can leave it blank or write anything. Save it. All done.
Method 2. Editing Footer.php of theme
Go to Appearance -> Theme Editor (Find footer.php)
This method of editing the footer.php can prove complicated in some themes and is not for beginners. Also, theme updates will reset the footer.php files back to its original state. This option will be good if you are using a child theme otherwise it is not recommended to edit footer.php directly.
Method 3. The CSS Method
This method hide links from public view but the links will not be removed from the website. Google may even consider your website to be involved in paid links. This method is not recommended by me.
Anyways if you want to know how it’s done then here it goes. First, you need to inspect your footer links and find the associated footer class or ID. In the next step add your CSS code by going to these settings and save. Appearance -> Customize -> Advanced CSS.
An example:
.site-info a{
display: none;
}
Conclusion
Did you find this detailed guide on footer copyright removal useful?
Which method was easy for you? Share your comments so others might know as well.