There are many benefits when it comes to displaying the last modified date in a WordPress blog post. Starting from telling the search engine crawler that the content is updated and has been modified with the latest statistics. This makes the search engine crawler understand the content is more relevant to the user’s search query. And we present to you the steps for how to display the last modified date in a WordPress blog post.
There are many ways where you can show the last blog post modified dates on WordPress CMS. It can be done through the help of a plugin or by using the code snippet features. Depending on the features of your theme, you can integrate it through the backend.
You can see many bloggers and website owners that they update their blog posts on a regular basis. This can be done either once in six months or on an annual basis. You can also perform it on a quarterly basis. There is no harm in updating your content, but there are many advantages that you are going to get through this method.
The search engine and website visitors will love your content when it is fresh and updated. They appreciate the efforts that you are taking on revamping your content with the latest practices and statistics. This makes the content more resourceful for the audience associated with your website.
Page Contents
Why do you need to show the last modified timestamp on the WordPress blog post?
There are many reasons to show the last modified timestamp on a WordPress blog, but here are some of the major factors for your consideration.
1. Helps in making the post more engaging
When the website visitors come to know that the content has been modified recently, it immediately boosts the positive perception of your blog post. As they will be assuming that the blog post is updated with all the latest statistics and trends, it helps them to consider the message from the blog post.
2. Improvises your CTR
Website owners know the importance of CTR. The click-through rate is one of the primary factors that internet marketers strive hard to optimize. When you update the blog post, it automatically shows on the search engine and as well you can manually display it on the page title. This is one of the best ways to increase the CTR rate and drive tons of organic traffic.
3. Boost Your search engine ranking position
If the search engine crawler comes to know that your blog post has been updated and optimized, then you can see a major improvement in the keyword search position. As you all know that search engine crawlers love fresh and updated content, and this is the best way to improve your search engine ranking position.
How to display the last modified dates in WordPress blog post?
The steps that need to be performed for showing the last modified date on a WordPress blog post are very simple. You don’t need to have any technical expertise in performing this function. There are four easy ways that you can go around.
1. By inserting a code on your theme file
You need to log in to your WordPress backend and search for the appearance section that you find on the left side menu. When you click the appearance menu, there is a list of sub-options that you find. You need to then click the theme editor option.
The theme editor option opens up the functions.php file. This file is the backend code page of your WordPress website. Please ensure that you follow and enter the codes properly so that it will not cause any breakdown of your website.
You need to copy the code that has been mentioned below. Place the code properly so that it doesn’t overlap with other functionality.
After copying the code, you can work on the design of the web page. Visit the custom CSS section from the appearance menu and style the way you want to display it.
Related: How to embed Instagram feed on WordPress website?
2. Using the help of theme templates
After logging through your WordPress backend, you need to find the theme templates that have been provided to you.
This is usually found in the appearance menu and locate the theme options. Some of the WordPress theme providers give you customizable theme options as a feature. From there you can customize the theme template tag and you can show the date by embedding the code within it.
Few of the theme providers have the option to turn on the last updated date or turn it off. If you find such a function, you can switch it on.
3. By inserting a shortcode
By inserting a shortcode is one of the safest ways to display the last modified timestamp on your WordPress blog post. This can be done with the help of a plugin. Few of the themes have integrated shortcode functions, you need to read the theme manual before proceeding with this step.
After successfully installing and activating the last modified timestamp plugin, it’s time to integrate the code within the blog post.
Depending on the type of plugin, there will be a shortcode generated by them.
Sample shortcode: [last-modified]
You need to manually go to every blog post and insert the code.
The above method is slightly time-consuming but as I told it’s one of the most reliable methods. You can also display additional comments if you wish the audience needs to be known.
4. Using the help of a WordPress plugin
If you don’t want any hassle of using or integrating code within your blog post, this is the best way to show the last modified date on a WordPress blog. All you need to do here is find a good WordPress plugin that can serve the purpose.
You need to visit the WordPress plugin store and search for page date modifiers. You will find a list of WordPress plugins that you can install based on your requirement.
Check: WP Modified Info Plugin
The next step that you need to perform is to activate the plugin and configure it.
The configuration of the plugin depends on the way you want to display the date on a blog post.
Note: The downside of this method is it’s not so effective as you code it manually. The other way in WordPress plugin is that you can take the help of code snippets plugin. You can insert the above script that has been shown in the first method through the code snippets plugin. It is an easy and safe way to display your date on a blog post.
Related: How to check plugins of a website?
Which is the best way to display the last updated timestamp?
I find using the help of the code snippet plugin and inserting the script is one of the best ways to show the last modified date on a WordPress blog post. Because you need not visit every page individually or take the support of plugins that will take more time in reflecting on a search engine, inserting the code through the code snippets plugin is the best approach.
It all depends on how comfortable you are with using the method. But ensure that whichever strategy that you implement, it needs to be done properly and also cross-check after inserting the code to avoid damages to your website.