Let’s talk about how to remove dates from your WordPress URLs something I learned the hard way! It’s a small change that can make a big difference in how your content looks to both visitors and search engines.
Why Dates in URLs Matter (And Why You Should Get Rid of Them)
You might think “Who cares if a date is in my URL? It’s just a little detail right?” Well not so fast.
Those seemingly harmless dates can make your content seem outdated even if it’s still relevant.
Think about it – would you click on a blog post titled “How to Grow a Garden” if the URL was something like “http://example.com/2023/03/15/how-to-grow-a-garden“? You might think “Well that post is from last year it’s probably not very helpful anymore.”
But what if that article contains timeless gardening tips that are still just as relevant today? That date in the URL is giving off the wrong impression and it’s costing you potential readers.
The Benefits of Ditching Dates in Your WordPress URLs
Here’s why removing dates is a win-win:
- Keeps your content fresh: Even if you’re writing about topics that are always relevant dates can make your content look stale. A clean URL like “http://example.com/how-to-grow-a-garden” makes your content seem more current.
- Improves readability: Dates can make your URLs clunky and hard to read. Shorter cleaner URLs are easier for people to remember and share.
- Boosts SEO: Search engines often use dates to determine how relevant content is. If you remove dates your content has a better chance of ranking higher in search results.
The Hidden Dangers of Dates in URLs
Now you might be thinking “If dates are so bad why does WordPress even include them in the URL structure by default?” Well it’s not all bad.
WordPress uses dates in URLs to help organize content and make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for.
For example if you’re looking for a post about gardening from March 2023 you can easily find it by navigating to the “March 2023” archive.
However this benefit comes with a trade-off: those dates can make your content seem outdated.
This is especially true if you write about evergreen content – topics that are always relevant and don’t age.
How to Remove Dates from WordPress URLs: A Step-by-Step Guide
Now that we’ve established why getting rid of those dates is a good idea let’s talk about how to do it.
1. Back Up Your Website: The Most Important Step
First and foremost always back up your website before making any major changes! This is crucial because changing your permalink structure can cause some unexpected problems if you’re not careful. A backup gives you a safety net in case you need to roll back any changes.
You can back up your WordPress site using a variety of methods like using a plugin like UpdraftPlus or using your hosting provider’s backup tools.
If you’re a WP Engine client our backup tool is super easy to use! Just log in to your WP Engine dashboard find the website you want to back up and click on “Backup environment”. Easy peasy!
2. Change Your Permalink Structure
Now that your site is safely backed up it’s time to tackle the permalink structure. Go to Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard. You’ll see a bunch of different options for how your URLs can be structured.
The best option is usually “Post name.” This format uses the post title as the URL which is great for both readability and SEO. For example a post titled “How to Grow a Garden” would have a URL like “http://example.com/how-to-grow-a-garden“.
If you’re a bit more advanced and want more control over your URLs you can choose the “Custom Structure” option and create your own custom structure using placeholders. For example you could create a structure like “/%postname%/%post_id%/” which would result in URLs like “http://example.com/how-to-grow-a-garden/123“.
Whatever structure you choose make sure to click “Save Changes.” WordPress will then update your URLs and remove dates from your existing posts.
3. Setting Up Redirects: Preventing 404 Errors
Changing your permalink structure can result in 404 errors (“Page Not Found”) for users and search engines.
This can be a real headache! You don’t want to lose traffic or have your search engine rankings plummet.
Redirects are the solution. They act like forwarding addresses for your website. When someone clicks on a link with a date in the URL the redirect will automatically send them to the new date-free URL.
Here’s where plugins come in handy. I recommend using either Redirection or Safe Redirect Manager. Both are easy to use and effective.
4. Eliminate Dates from Meta Descriptions with CSS
Dates in your meta descriptions can also make your content seem outdated.
Fortunately you can remove them using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
Head to Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS in your WordPress dashboard. This will open a text field where you can enter CSS code to customize your website.
Paste the following code into the text field:
.entry-date{
display: none !important;
}This code will automatically search your meta descriptions for date fields and hide them. Click “Publish” to save your changes.
Final Thoughts: A Clean URL Is a Happy URL
Removing dates from your WordPress URLs is a small but important step in creating a better user experience and boosting your SEO.
It’s a simple process and the results are worth it.
You’ll have cleaner more readable URLs that make your content look more current and appealing to both visitors and search engines.
As always don’t forget to test your changes thoroughly after making them.
And remember if you run into any trouble you can always restore your website to a previous backup.
Good luck!