Customizing WordPress Theme Read More Links
Posted on 20th June 2023
at least once in the article
If you want to customize the “read more” links on your WordPress site, there are a few different ways to do it.
You can edit the code of your theme directly, use a plugin, or edit the functions.php file.
Editing the code of your theme directly is the most difficult way to customize read more links, but it is also the most flexible. If you’re comfortable editing code, you can add CSS classes or IDs to the link, change the link text, or even remove the link entirely.
To edit the code of your theme, you will need to access the files via FTP or the file manager in your hosting control panel. Once you have found the correct file, you can edit it in a text editor like Notepad++ or Sublime Text.
When you are editing your theme files, it is important to create a child theme first. This is a copy of your theme that you can edit without affecting the original theme. That way, if you make a mistake, you can simply delete the child theme and start over.
If you don’t want to edit your theme code directly, you can use a plugin instead. There are a few plugins that will allow you to customize read more links, such as More Links Manager and WP Read More.
More Links Manager is a plugin that gives you a lot of control over your read more links. You can change the link text, add a CSS class or ID, or even remove the link entirely.
WP Read More is a simpler plugin that only allows you to change the link text. However, it does have the advantage of being compatible with all WordPress themes.
If you don’t want to use a plugin, you can also edit your functions.php file. This is a file that is used to add custom code to your WordPress site.
To edit your functions.php file, you will need to access it via FTP or the file manager in your hosting control panel. Once you have found the file, you can edit it in a text editor like Notepad++ or Sublime Text.
Adding the following code to your functions.php file will change the link text to “Continue Reading”:
function wpt_change_read_more_link() {
return ‘Continue Reading’;
}
add_filter( ‘the_content_more_link’, ‘wpt_change_read_more_link’ );
If you want to change the link text to something else, you can simply change the word “Continue” in the code above.
You can also use this code to add a CSS class or ID to the link:
function wpt_change_read_more_link() {
return ‘Continue Reading‘;
}
add_filter( ‘the_content_more_link’, ‘wpt_change_read_more_link’ );
In the code above, we’ve added the class “btn btn-primary” to the link. You can change this to any CSS class or ID you want.
You can also use this code to remove the link entirely:
function wpt_remove_read_more_link() {
remove_filter( ‘the_content_more_link’, ‘wpt_change_read_more_link’ );
}
add_action( ‘init’, ‘wpt_remove_read_more_link’ );
This code will remove the read more link from your WordPress site.
Customizing read more links in WordPress is easy, whether you want to edit your theme code directly, use a plugin, or edit your functions.php file. By following the steps above, you can change the link text, add a CSS class or ID, or even remove the link entirely.
In addition to the read more links, you can also customize the “Continue Reading” text that appears on your posts. To do this, go to your WordPress admin area and click on the “Settings” link. Then, click on the “Reading” link.
On the Reading Settings page, scroll down to the “For each article in a feed, show” section. In the “Full Text” drop-down menu, select the “Summary” option.
Now, when you go to your blog’s home page, you will see the “Continue Reading” text instead of the “Read More” link.
If you want to take things a step further, you can also customize the CSS for your “Continue Reading” link. For example, you could change the color, font, or size of the link.
To do this, go to your WordPress admin area and click on the “Appearance” link. Then, click on the “Editor” link.
On the Edit Themes page, select the “style.css” file from the list of files on the right.
Scroll down to the bottom of the file and add the following CSS code:
.more-link {
color: #ff0000;
font-weight: bold;
}
Save your changes and refresh your blog’s home page. You should now see the “Continue Reading” link in red and bold.
As you can see, there are a few different ways that you can customize the read more link on your WordPress blog. By default, WordPress uses the “Read More” link, but you can easily change this to something else, such as “Continue Reading”. You can also customize the CSS for your “Continue Reading” link to change the color, font, or size of the link.
If you’re using a WordPress theme that you didn’t create yourself, you may want to customize the Read More links. By default, most WordPress themes will use the same link for all Read More links. This can be confusing for your readers, and it may not be the best way to keep them engaged with your content.
In this article, we’ll show you how to customize Read More links in WordPress.
First, you’ll need to create a child theme. A child theme is a theme that inherits its functions and styles from another theme, called the parent theme. By creating a child theme, you can make changes to your site without affecting the parent theme.
If you’re not sure how to create a child theme, check out our article on how to create a WordPress child theme.
Once you’ve created a child theme, you can start customizing your Read More links.
If you want to change the text of your Read More links, you can do so by editing the file called content.php in your child theme.
Look for the line of code that says something like this:
The_content( __( ‘Continue reading ‘, ‘your-theme’ ) );
Replace ‘Continue reading’ with your own text. For example, you could change it to ‘Read more’ or ‘Read the full article’.
If you want to change the link itself, you’ll need to edit the file called functions.php in your child theme.
Look for the line of code that says something like this:
add_filter( ‘the_content_more_link’, ‘your_theme_read_more_link’ );
Replace ‘your_theme_read_more_link’ with the URL you want to link to. For example, you could link to another post on your site or an external page.
You can also change the CSS styles of your Read More links by editing the file called style.css in your child theme.
For example, you could change the color of your Read More links by adding the following code to your style.css file:
.more-link { color: #ff0000; }
This would make all Read More links red.
That’s all there is to customizing Read More links in WordPress! By following these instructions, you can change the text, link, and styles of your Read More links to better suit your needs.
