Hey there, WordPress user! Tell me if this rings a bell:
You‘ve worked hard to set up your new WordPress website. You chose the perfect theme, customized your settings just so, and filled your site with awesome content. But every time you look at your shiny new site, you cringe at the one glaring flaw staring back at you from the top of the page:
Just another WordPress site
Ugh. Could anything scream "I didn‘t put effort into this site" more than that bland, generic tagline?
I‘ve been there, and I know exactly how you feel. With over 60 million WordPress sites floating around on the web, we all want ours to stand out from the crowd. Luckily, swapping out the default "Just another WordPress site" text for a snappy, branded tagline of your own is a quick and easy way to instantly boost your site‘s professionalism and memorability.
In this guide, I‘ll walk you through the 4 simplest methods to change your WordPress tagline in a flash – no tech knowledge needed. I‘ll also share my best tips for crafting a killer tagline that captures your unique offerings and entices visitors to stick around.
Sound good? Then let‘s ditch that "just another" text and give your site the exceptional introduction it deserves!
Why You Need to Change Your WordPress Tagline ASAP
First, let‘s talk about why swapping out that default tagline should be at the top of your WordPress to-do list. Your tagline is one of the first things visitors notice about your site, so it plays a big role in shaping their initial impression of your brand.
Your Tagline Shows Up in Search Results
Did you know that your WordPress tagline gets displayed right under your site title on search engine results pages? Yep, that means people may see your tagline before they even click through to your site. Talk about a first impression!
A clear, compelling tagline can inspire more searchers to choose your site over the competition. But if your SERP snippet screams "Just another WordPress site," you can bet potential visitors will keep on scrolling.
Your Tagline Communicates Your Value Prop
A good tagline does more than just sit there and look pretty. In just a few words, it sums up what makes your site unique and valuable. It‘s like your brand‘s elevator pitch.
Consider these famous tagline examples:
- Nike: "Just Do It"
- Apple: "Think Different"
- L‘Oreal: "Because You‘re Worth It"
- Dollar Shave Club: "Shave Time. Shave Money."
See how they concisely communicate each brand‘s mission, values, and unique selling point? That‘s the power of a strong tagline. A generic "Just another WordPress site," on the other hand, tells visitors nothing special about you.
A Custom Tagline Boosts Memorability
With so many websites vying for people‘s attention these days, you need to make your site sticky. You want visitors to remember your brand long after they‘ve left your site.
A creative, unique tagline goes a long way in lodging your site in visitors‘ minds. In a sea of "just another" sites, a distinctive tagline will make you stand out and stay top of mind.
Okay, I know you‘re itching to swap out that vanilla text for something that‘ll do your brand justice. The good news is, updating your WordPress tagline is a cinch. Let me show you how, step by step.
How to Change Your WordPress Tagline: 4 Easy Methods
There are a few different ways to go about customizing your WordPress site‘s tagline. I‘ll walk you through four options, starting with the simplest and quickest route. Feel free to choose the method that feels most comfortable for you.
Method 1: Update Your Tagline Directly in the WordPress Dashboard
If you‘re after the path of least resistance, you can change your tagline right in your WordPress dashboard with just a few clicks. Here‘s how:
- From your WP dashboard, navigate to Settings > General.
- Look for the field labeled "Tagline" (right under the "Site Title" field).
- Click into the tagline field and highlight the "Just another WordPress site" text.
- Type your new tagline. No need to include any HTML tags.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Save Changes" button.
And just like that, your new tagline should now be displaying on your site! Go ahead and open your site in a new tab to see it in action.
Pro Tip: If you don‘t have a new tagline in mind just yet, you can leave the tagline field blank and click "Save Changes" to remove the default "Just another WordPress site" text from displaying on your site. You can always come back and add a tagline later when inspiration strikes.
Method 2: Change Your Tagline Using the WordPress Customizer
Another simple way to update your tagline is via the WordPress Customizer. This method gives you the advantage of seeing a real-time preview of how your new tagline will look on your site before you commit to the change.
Here‘s how to do it:
- From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Customize.
- In the Customizer sidebar menu, click on the "Site Identity" tab.
- In the Site Identity settings, look for the "Tagline" field.
- Replace the default "Just another WordPress site" text with your new tagline.
- Watch the live preview to see how your tagline looks.
- If you‘re happy with your new tagline, click the "Publish" button to make it live.
Note: The exact steps may vary slightly depending on your WordPress theme. Some themes have tagline settings nested under different Customizer panels, like "Header" or "Theme Options." Poke around the Customizer to hunt down that tagline field.
Method 3: Edit Tagline in a Site Builder or SEO Plugin
If you‘re using a page builder plugin like Elementor or Divi, or an SEO plugin like Yoast or All in One SEO, you may be able to edit your tagline directly inside the plugin.
For example, in Elementor, you can customize your tagline in the "Site Settings":
- From the WordPress dashboard, click on Elementor > Settings.
- Go to the "Site Identity" tab.
- Under "Tagline," replace the default text with your snappy new tagline.
- Click the "Save Changes" button.
In the Yoast SEO plugin, you can change your tagline within the plugin‘s "Titles & Metas" settings:
- From your WP dashboard, navigate to the Yoast SEO settings.
- Click on the "Titles & Metas" tab.
- Scroll down to the "Tagline" field and enter your new tagline.
- Click "Save Changes."
Method 4: Manually Update header.php File in a Child Theme
If you‘re comfortable diving into your WordPress theme files and you want full control over where and how your tagline displays, you can edit the tagline directly in your theme‘s header.php file.
⚠️ Caution: We only recommend this method for more tech-savvy users. Editing theme files comes with the risk of breaking your site if you make a mistake. Proceed with care and be sure to make a backup of your site before attempting.
Here‘s how to manually change your tagline in your header.php file:
- First, make sure you‘re using a child theme. Never edit files in your parent theme, as your changes will get overwritten when the theme is updated. A child theme protects your customizations.
- Access your site files via SFTP or your hosting control panel‘s file manager.
- Navigate to your child theme folder:
wp-content/themes/your-child-theme/ - Locate the
header.phpfile and download a copy to your computer as a backup. - Open the
header.phpfile using a text editor. - Look for the following line of code that outputs the tagline:
<?php bloginfo(‘description‘); ?> - Replace that line of code with your new tagline inside an HTML tag like
<p>. For example:<p>Your awesome new tagline here</p> - Save your changes and re-upload the
header.phpfile to your server, overwriting the original file.
Your new tagline should now display in place of "Just another WordPress site." Keep in mind that the exact code snippet and placement for the tagline may vary depending on your specific theme.
Crafting the Perfect Tagline for Your WordPress Site
Now that you know how to change your tagline, let‘s talk about how to come up with a winner. Your tagline is valuable real estate, so it pays to put some thought into getting it just right.
An effective tagline should check the following boxes:
✅ Short and punchy. Keep your tagline brief – aim for 3 to 8 words max. You want it to be easily digestible at a glance.
✅ Unique and specific. Avoid generic phrases that could describe any site. Get specific about what sets your brand apart.
✅ Benefit-focused. Plainly state how you make your visitors‘ lives better. What‘s in it for them?
✅ Personality-packed. Don‘t be afraid to have fun with your tagline! Let your brand voice shine through, whether that‘s serious, playful, sassy or witty.
✅ keyword-optimized. while you don‘t want to stuff your tagline with keywords, including one relevant keyword can help your SEO. Just keep it natural.
Need some inspiration? Here are a few examples of taglines that nail it:
| Website | Tagline |
|---|---|
| Dollar Shave Club | "Shave Time. Shave Money." |
| Bellroy | "Slim Your Wallet" |
| MeUndies | "The World‘s Most Comfortable Undies" |
| Cards Against Humanity | "A party game for horrible people" |
| Robinhood | "Investing for Everyone" |
| Oatly | "It‘s like milk, but made for humans" |
| MailChimp | "Send better email" |
Pro Tips for a Converting Tagline
Want to take your tagline from good to great? Keep these advanced tips in mind:
1. Focus on the benefits, not the features
Don‘t just rattle off what your product or service does – emphasize how it makes your customers‘ lives better. For example:
❌ "Project management software"
✅ "Get projects done on time and under budget"
2. Use power words and sensory language
Tickle visitors‘ imaginations with vivid language. Try incorporating power words that pack an emotional punch, like "easy," "free," "new," "discover," and "guaranteed."
3. Test your taglines
The beauty of your site tagline is that it‘s not set in stone. Feel free to test out a few variations and see which one resonates best with your audience. You can use an A/B testing tool like Google Optimize to pit two taglines against each other and let the data choose the winner.
4. Bake in alliteration and rhymes
Using similar sounds and rhyme schemes in your tagline makes it extra sticky and fun to say. Think: "The quicker picker upper" (Bounty) or "The best or nothing" (Mercedes-Benz). Brainstorm taglines that roll off the tongue.
Troubleshooting WordPress Tagline Changes
In most cases, updating your WordPress tagline is smooth sailing. But occasionally, you might run into some turbulence. Never fear – I‘ve got your troubleshooting checklist right here.
What to do if your new tagline isn‘t showing up
If you‘ve saved your new tagline but you‘re still seeing the old "Just another WordPress site" text on your site, try these fixes in order:
- Refresh the page. Hey, sometimes a good old-fashioned refresh does the trick.
- Clear your cache. If refreshing doesn‘t work, your browser may be serving up an old cached version of your site. Clear your browser cache and reload the page.
- Double-check your changes. Go back to whichever method you used to change your tagline and make sure your new text got saved.
- Inspect your theme‘s header template. If your tagline change still isn‘t showing up, your theme may have the tagline hard-coded into the header template. You‘ll need to edit the theme file directly (see Method 4 above).
Help! My tagline change isn‘t showing up in Google
If you‘ve changed your site‘s tagline but Google is still displaying the old "just another" text in search results, don‘t panic. Google takes some time to recrawl and reindex websites.
To speed up the process, you can submit your homepage URL to the Google Search Console and request indexing. Your new tagline and meta description should get updated in search results within a couple days.
My tagline isn‘t updating on Facebook or Twitter previews
Social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn generate link previews (called "Open Graph tags") based on your site data. If you‘ve updated your tagline but your social share previews still show the old text, you may need to clear each platform‘s cache.
For example, to refresh your link preview data on Facebook:
- Copy your page URL
- Go to the Facebook Sharing Debugger
- Paste your URL into the field and click "Debug"
- Once the results load, click "Scrape again"
Running your link through the Sharing Debugger forces Facebook to recrawl your URL and pull the latest meta tag info.
Go Forth and Tagline
Phew, you still with me? We covered a lot of ground! I hope this guide has given you the know-how and inspiration to finally kick that generic "Just another WordPress site" tagline to the curb.
I know it can feel like a small detail in the grand scheme of getting your WordPress site up and running. But trust me – taking a few minutes to implement a custom, compelling tagline is well worth your while.
It‘s often the little touches that take a site from amateurish to polished. And your tagline is one of the most visible, important little touches there is. With a clear, conscise tagline that showcases your unique brand personality and offering, you‘ll make a strong first impression that turns casual visitors into devoted fans.
So go on and dream up an amazing tagline using the tips and best practices we went over. Then follow the step-by-step instructions to implement it on your site, and prepare to watch your engagement skyrocket.
You‘ve got this! Now get out there and let the world know what makes your site anything but "just another."
