How to Change the Branded Footer Text in WordPress?

When you install WordPress for the first time, you might see a branded message in your site’s front-end footer, at the bottom of the page.

You will see the message as “Proudly powered by WordPress” which helps in promoting the WordPress platform but you may want to remove it. Also, when thinking from a security point of view, it makes clear about the platform your site is based on and this can be risky.

Follow the below steps to remove or edit the message displayed in the WordPress footer:

Removing the Footer Message

Log in to the WordPress administration dashboard.

Go to Appearance > Customize in the left sidebar.

This will open the WordPress Customizer. This integrated editor allows you to safely change several theme settings.

Instead of directly editing the footer code to delete the message, its display can be controlled using a CSS rule.

Choose Additional CSS at the base of the menu.

Add the below code to the page:

.site-info { display: none; }

After adding the code, check your site footer in the preview pane on the right. You will notice that the message has now disappeared.

Click on the Publish button to save the change, the X to exit the Customizer.

Customizing the Footer Message

If you want your own message to appear in the footer, it is recommended to create a child theme with a new footer.php file that includes the below code:

<?php

/**

 * The template for displaying the footer

 *

 * Contains the closing of the #content div and all content after.

 *

 * @link https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/basics/template-files/#template-partials

 *

 * @package WordPress

 * @subpackage Twenty_Seventeen

 * @since 1.0

 * @version 1.0


 */?>

                 </div><!-- #content -->


<footer id="colophon" class="site-footer" role="contentinfo">

<div class="wrap">[Your message goes here] | Copyright &copy; <?php echo date("Y") ?>

<a href="<?php echo get_option('home'); ?>"><?php bloginfo('name'); ?></a>.

All rights reserved.

</div><!-- .wrap -->


                 </footer><!-- #colophon -->


        </div><!-- .site-content-contain -->


</div><!-- #page -->

<?php wp_footer(); ?>

</body>

</html>

Another alternative is to edit your theme’s existing footer.php file using Appearance > Editor and then select Theme Footer in the right Theme Files menu.

In this way, you can change the branded footer text in WordPress.