How to Remove Dates from WordPress URLs

Have you ever noticed that URLs for each post on your WordPress blog or website include the date of creation? While this may be useful in some cases, it can make the URL look less clean and professional. But fear not, removing dates from WordPress URLs is a simple process that can be achieved with a few easy steps.

Why Remove Dates from WordPress URLs?

Although including dates in URLs can have its benefits, there are several reasons why you may want to remove them:

• Improved readability: URLs with dates can be difficult to read and understand, especially for those who are not accustomed to seeing them.
• Increased professionalism: Removing dates from URLs makes them look cleaner and more professional, helping to improve the overall aesthetic of your website.
• Better SEO: Shorter URLs without dates are more likely to be shared and clicked on by users, ultimately driving more traffic to your site.
• Easy content updates: URLs without dates are easier to work with when updating content, as you don’t have to update the date along with the content.

Now that we’ve explained why you might want to remove dates from URLs, let’s take a look at the steps to achieve this.

Step 1: Backup Your Site

Before proceeding, it’s crucial to create a backup of your WordPress site with a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy to ensure that you have a copy of your site in case anything goes wrong.

Step 2: Install and Activate a Plugin

The easiest way to remove dates from WordPress URLs is to use a plugin, like the ‘Simple URLs’ plugin. To install it, go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to ‘Plugins’ > ‘Add New.’ Search for ‘Simple URLs’, click the ‘Install Now’ button, and then click ‘Activate.’

Step 3: Configure Simple URLs

Once the plugin is installed and activated, navigate to ‘Settings’ > ‘Simple URLs’ to configure it. In the ‘URL Settings’ tab, you can modify your URL settings.

Step 4: Remove the Date Structure

In the ‘URL Settings’ tab, uncheck the ‘Enable Date Structure’ option. This ensures that dates are no longer included in your URLs.

Step 5: Update Your Permalinks

After disabling the date structure, update your permalinks by going to ‘Settings’ > ‘Permalinks’ and clicking the ‘Save Changes’ button. This applies the changes to your permalinks.

Step 6: Test Your URLs

Test your URLs by navigating to one of your posts and checking the URL to see if the date has been removed.

By following these easy steps, you’ll have cleaner, more professional-looking URLs in no time!