How to Add Breadcrumbs to Your WordPress Site

Introduction

As a savvy website owner, you know that providing an easy-to-navigate platform is key to building a successful online presence. One way to accomplish that is by using breadcrumbs. Here’s how:

What Are Breadcrumbs?

Breadcrumbs are a secondary navigation tool that shows users the path they’ve taken to reach a specific page. They display at the top or bottom of a page, separating links with slashes to show page hierarchy. A breadcrumb trail for a specific blog post may look like this:

Home > Blog > Post Title

Breadcrumbs improve user experience by offering a simple way to navigate a website, while also providing additional information to search engine robots for search engine optimization (SEO).

How to Add Breadcrumbs to WordPress

Follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Install and Activate a Plugin

The simplest way to add breadcrumbs to a WordPress site is by installing a plugin. We suggest using the Yoast SEO plugin, which offers breadcrumb functionality and key SEO features.

To install Yoast SEO, do the following:

1. Navigate to the “Plugins” section of your WordPress dashboard
2. Click on “Add New”
3. Search for “Yoast SEO”
4. Install and activate the plugin

Step 2: Enable Breadcrumbs

Once you install and activate the Yoast SEO plugin, enable breadcrumbs by doing the following:

1. Go to the “SEO” section of your WordPress dashboard
2. Click on “Search Appearance”
3. Click on the “Breadcrumbs” tab
4. Toggle on the “Enable Breadcrumbs” switch
5. Customize your breadcrumb settings (optional)
6. Save your changes

Step 3: Display Breadcrumbs on Your Website

Use one of these methods:

Method 1: Use Theme Settings

If your WordPress theme supports breadcrumbs, they can be enabled by going to your theme’s settings:

1. Navigate to the “Appearance” section of your WordPress dashboard
2. Click on “Customize”
3. Click on the “Breadcrumb” settings (or similar)
4. Enable breadcrumbs
5. Save your changes

Method 2: Use a Shortcode

If your theme doesn’t support breadcrumbs, use a shortcode:

1. Navigate to the page or post where you want to display breadcrumbs
2. Add the following shortcode to the visual editor where you want to display your breadcrumbs:
4. Save your changes

Method 3: Use PHP Code

To add breadcrumbs using PHP code:

1. Open your theme’s functions.php file using a text editor or FTP client
2. Add the following code to the end of the file:

“`php
‘,’

‘ );
} ?>
“`

3. Save your changes

Conclusion

By adding breadcrumbs to your WordPress site, you can improve navigation, user experience, and search engine performance. Follow these steps to add breadcrumbs today!