Adding a meta description in WordPress can enhance your site’s search engine visibility. Here’s a simple guide:
Option 1: Using an SEO Plugin (Recommended for beginners and advanced users)
Install an SEO Plugin
Yoast SEO and All in One SEO are popular choices. Go to your WordPress dashboard, click on “Plugins” > “Add New”, search for the plugin, and click “Install Now” followed by “Activate”.
Navigate to the SEO Settings
After activation, most SEO plugins add a new menu to your dashboard. For Yoast SEO, you’ll find it directly on the post editor screen below your content, labeled “Yoast SEO”. For All in One SEO, look for “AIOSEO Settings” in the same area.
Add Your Meta Description
In the SEO plugin section beneath your post or page content, look for a snippet preview or meta description field. Enter your desired meta description here. Aim for a concise summary of your page content in 155-160 characters.
Save or Update Your Post/Page
After adding your meta description, save your changes or update the post/page.
Option 2: Manually Adding Meta Descriptions (For more experienced users)
Edit Your Theme’s Header.php File
This method involves adding code, so it’s recommended to back up your site and use a child theme to prevent losing changes after a theme update.
Insert Meta Description Code
Before the closing </head> tag in the header.php file, you can manually insert a meta description tag like: <meta name=”description” content=”Your meta description here” />. Note: This sets a global meta description, which is not recommended for SEO.
Using an SEO plugin is the preferred method for most as it allows for dynamic and page-specific meta descriptions, improving your site’s SEO more effectively.
