How to Change the Footer in Your WordPress Admin Panel

One of the first things we noticed when we started working with WordPress was the familiar footer message in the admin area: “Thank you for creating with WordPress.”

While it’s a nice message, this generic WordPress branding doesn’t always fit the image you want to present. Replacing the default footer text with custom branding helps create a more polished and professional experience.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to easily change the footer in your WordPress admin panel step by step.

Why Change the Admin Panel Footer?

Changing the WordPress admin footer lets you customize the dashboard experience for yourself, your team, or your clients.

It can also make the admin area look more professional and easier to use. Here are some common reasons to customize the WordPress admin footer:

• Add Custom Branding: Replace the default WordPress footer text with your company name, website link, or client branding.
• Provide Quick Access to Resources: You can add links to support pages, documentation, contact forms, or important websites.
• Create a Cleaner Admin Area: Removing unnecessary footer text or version details can make the dashboard feel less cluttered.
• Improve the Client Experience: Custom footer text can make client websites feel more polished and personalized.
• Share Helpful Information: Some developers use the admin footer to display maintenance notices, support details, or login instructions.

With that in mind, we’ll show you how to change the WordPress admin footer in 2 different ways. Simply click the link below for the method you prefer:

Ready? Let’s jump right in!

Method 1. Changing the Footer in the WordPress Admin with WPCode (Recommended)

To change the footer in the admin dashboard, we’re going to use WPCode. This method is best for beginners and anyone who wants to customize their site without touching code.

Normally, we only recommend pasting code snippets directly into your theme’s functions.php file for advanced users, and only within a child theme.

Even a slight mistake can break your site. Plus, if you update your theme, any changes made directly to the parent theme’s functions.php file will be erased. 

That’s why we will use the free WPCode plugin, which makes it safe for anyone to add code snippets to WordPress files by isolating the code. This allows for easy activation/deactivation and prevents direct file edits that could break your site.

WPCode is trusted by over 3 million websites and boasts a 4.9/5 star rating from 2,000+ reviews on WordPress.org.

First, let’s install and activate WPCode. For detailed instructions, feel free to see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once that’s done, you’ll need to go to Code Snippets » + Add Snippet in the admin dashboard’s left-hand menu.

Then, simply search for ‘footer’ and hover your mouse over the entry titled ‘Change Admin Panel Footer Text.’

From here, all you need to do is click the ‘Use snippet’ button.

This will take you to the ‘Edit Snippet’ screen. WPCode automatically configures settings for snippets that you add from the library.

Next, you need to change the text inside the quotes on the line that begins with $footer_text.

Be careful to keep the single quotes ' ' and the semicolon ; at the end, or the code will not work. You can use HTML here if you want to add links.

For example: Powered by <a href="https://yourwebsite.com">Your Business Name</a>.

Once you’re done customizing the footer text to your liking, go ahead and toggle the switch to ‘Active’ and then click the ‘Update’ button.

The new admin panel footer will now be live on your site. It will vary based on your specific changes, but if you enable the default snippet from WPCode, you will see this:

If you like how this code snippet works, you can take a look at the WPCode snippet library found at Code Snippets » Library.

This will show you everything that comes with the plugin for free.

WPCode’s built-in library has dozens of pre-configured snippets. For example, WPCode can disable the WordPress REST API, WP admin bar, or media attachment pages.

Method 2. Changing the Footer in WordPress Admin Manually (Complex)

Another way to change the WordPress admin’s footer is by adding code to your theme’s functions.php file.

We recommend this method for advanced users only. If you make a tiny mistake in the code or accidentally delete a character, it can cause the “White Screen of Death” and make your website inaccessible.

For more information, you can see our detailed guide on how to paste code snippets from the web into WordPress.

First, you’ll need to connect to your site via FTP or through your WordPress hosting provider’s file manager. Then, you can head to your site’s /wp-content/themes/your_theme/ directory.

Note: To ensure your changes are not lost during theme updates, it is highly recommended to use a child theme for this method. If you are not using a child theme, your changes will be overwritten when the theme is updated.

From here, you just need to edit the functions.php file within your child theme’s directory.

If you are not using a child theme, you will edit the functions.php file in your main theme’s directory, but be aware that updates will erase your changes.

You can open it in a plain-text editor like Notepad, or you can use the built-in editor if your host provides one.

Simply copy and paste this code into the functions.php file.

add_filter(
	'admin_footer_text',
	function ( $footer_text ) {
		// Edit the line below to customize the footer text.
		$footer_text = 'Powered by <a href="https://www.wordpress.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WordPress</a> | WordPress Tutorials: <a href="https://014.leahstevensyj.workers.dev" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WPBeginner</a>';
		
		return $footer_text;
	}
);

Be sure to change the HTML in the line that starts with $footer_text in the sample code to whatever you want as your new admin footer. This also provides an opportunity to remove or customize the default WordPress version text.

Here’s what the line looks like on the editor:

Finally, you can go ahead and save your file.

You should see the new footer in your admin dashboard right away.

Frequently Asked Questions About Changing the Footer in WordPress Admin Panel

Here are some questions that our readers have frequently asked about changing the footer in their WordPress admin panel:

How do I change the footer in WordPress admin?

You can change the WordPress admin footer using a plugin like WPCode or by adding custom code to your theme’s functions.php file (ideally in a child theme).

How do I edit the footer CTA in WordPress?

Footer CTAs can be edited by accessing your theme’s footer template, using a page builder, or adding a widget in the Footer Widget area, depending on your theme.

How do I edit the header and footer in WordPress?

You can edit headers and footers using the WordPress Customizer, a theme builder like Elementor or SeedProd, or by editing the theme template files directly.

Why can’t I edit the footer?

Some themes restrict footer editing in the Customizer, or the footer may be hardcoded in template files. Using a child theme, a plugin, or a page builder usually resolves this limitation.

Bonus Tip: More WordPress Admin Panel Customization Tricks

Want to jump in and personalize your WordPress experience even further? We’ve put together some easy guides to help you get started with different customizations:

• How to Change or Remove ‘Howdy Admin’ in WordPress (Easy Way)
• How to Add Dark Mode to Your WordPress Admin Dashboard
• How to Automatically Empty Your WordPress Trash
• How to Add Additional File Types to Be Uploaded in WordPress
• How to Hide Unnecessary Menu Items From WordPress Admin

We hope this article helped you change the footer in your WordPress admin area. Next, you may also want to see our guide on how to make a WordPress website with AI to overcome creative blocks or how to add a favicon to your WordPress site.

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