{"id":17732,"date":"2011-03-06T15:42:51","date_gmt":"2011-03-06T10:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=17732"},"modified":"2026-10-11T17:55:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T12:25:47","slug":"how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Change or Shorten Excerpt Length in WordPress (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WordPress shows a 55-word excerpt of each post on your blog, category and archive pages by default. Too long, and archive pages repeat large chunks of your posts; too short, and readers do not know what a post is about. Here is how to change, shorten or lengthen the <strong>excerpt length<\/strong> in WordPress in 2026, for both classic and block themes.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-64087\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/excerpt-length-wordpress-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"Change excerpt length in WordPress\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/excerpt-length-wordpress-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/excerpt-length-wordpress-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/excerpt-length-wordpress-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/excerpt-length-wordpress-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/excerpt-length-wordpress.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> In a block theme, select the <strong>Post Excerpt<\/strong> block in your archive template and change &#8220;Max number of words&#8221;. In a classic theme, add an <code>excerpt_length<\/code> filter to your child theme&#8217;s functions.php, for example returning 25 words. You can also write a custom excerpt for any post in the Excerpt box, and many themes, such as Kadence and Astra, have an excerpt length setting in the Customizer.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af50e5427758\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af50e5427758\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#Why_change_the_excerpt_length\" >Why change the excerpt length?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#Method_1_Block_themes_Site_Editor\" >Method 1: Block themes (Site Editor)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#Method_2_Theme_Customizer\" >Method 2: Theme Customizer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#Method_3_Code_for_classic_themes\" >Method 3: Code for classic themes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#Method_4_Write_custom_excerpts\" >Method 4: Write custom excerpts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#Tips_for_better_archive_pages\" >Tips for better archive pages<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#What_is_the_default_WordPress_excerpt_length\" >What is the default WordPress excerpt length?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#Why_does_my_excerpt_length_change_not_work\" >Why does my excerpt length change not work?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/03\/how-to-change-shorten-excerpt-length-in-wordpress\/#Do_excerpts_affect_SEO\" >Do excerpts affect SEO?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_change_the_excerpt_length\"><\/span>Why change the excerpt length?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Shorter excerpts make archive pages cleaner and faster to scan.<\/li>\n<li>Archive pages repeating long chunks of posts can create near-duplicate content; see our notes on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/bad-duplicate-content\/\">bad duplicate content<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Card-style layouts with thumbnails look better with short, even excerpts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_1_Block_themes_Site_Editor\"><\/span>Method 1: Block themes (Site Editor)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to <strong>Appearance &gt; Editor &gt; Templates<\/strong> and open Index, Archive or Category.<\/li>\n<li>Select the <strong>Post Excerpt<\/strong> block inside the Query Loop.<\/li>\n<li>Set <strong>Max number of words<\/strong> (added in WordPress 6.3) and change the &#8220;Read more&#8221; text if you like.<\/li>\n<li>Save the template.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_2_Theme_Customizer\"><\/span>Method 2: Theme Customizer<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Many popular themes include an option such as <strong>Customize &gt; Blog \/ Archive &gt; Excerpt length<\/strong>. Check your theme&#8217;s settings before adding code.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_3_Code_for_classic_themes\"><\/span>Method 3: Code for classic themes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Add this to your child theme&#8217;s functions.php or a code snippets plugin:<\/p>\n<pre><code>add_filter( 'excerpt_length', function () {\n    return 25; \/\/ number of words\n}, 999 );<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Change the &#8220;[&#8230;]&#8221; at the end of excerpts with:<\/p>\n<pre><code>add_filter( 'excerpt_more', function () {\n    return '&amp;hellip;';\n} );<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Back up functions.php first. A typing mistake can break your site, so test on a staging copy or use a snippets plugin that catches errors.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_4_Write_custom_excerpts\"><\/span>Method 4: Write custom excerpts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the post editor, open the <strong>Excerpt<\/strong> panel in the sidebar and write a one or two sentence summary. Custom excerpts are not cut by the length setting and often make better summaries than automatic ones.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tips_for_better_archive_pages\"><\/span>Tips for better archive pages<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Pair short excerpts with featured images; see how to use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/06\/post-thumbnails-wordpress-theme\/\">post thumbnails in WordPress themes<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Consider noindexing paginated archive pages that add little value. Here is how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/04\/noindex-archive-subpages-yoast-seo-plugin\/\">noindex archive subpages<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Keep excerpts consistent across the site for a tidy design.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_default_WordPress_excerpt_length\"><\/span>What is the default WordPress excerpt length?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>55 words for automatic excerpts in classic themes.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_does_my_excerpt_length_change_not_work\"><\/span>Why does my excerpt length change not work?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Your theme may set its own length or use custom excerpts. Use a higher priority (999) on the filter, or change the theme setting.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_excerpts_affect_SEO\"><\/span>Do excerpts affect SEO?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Only indirectly. Good excerpts help readers choose a post, and shorter ones reduce repeated text on archive pages.<\/p>\n<p>How long are the excerpts on your blog? Tell us in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WordPress shows a 55-word excerpt of each post on your blog, category and archive pages by default. Too long, and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":64087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,17],"class_list":["post-17732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-tutorials","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64088,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17732\/revisions\/64088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}