Remove the Meta from your Sidebar!

48 Responses to “Remove the Meta from your Sidebar!”

1. OneYearGoal.com - $100,000 online on July 17, 2007 12:52 pm

   Great tip. I didn’t think anyone kept that since widgets now come with wordpress. People need to upgrade.

2. Daniel on July 17, 2007 12:59 pm

   You would be surprised to see how many blogs still have that, and some big ones as well.

3. Matthew K. Tabor on July 17, 2007 1:17 pm

   Excellent point, DBT – not only is there little value, it can be confusing for readers.

   If readers ever have to ask, “What’s that?” about something on your blog, it shouldn’t be there.

4. Jeremy Steele on July 17, 2007 1:21 pm

   In addition, please don’t use the default blue kubrick theme!!!

   It is amazing how many blogs use the default… everything.

5. Egonitron.com on July 17, 2007 1:34 pm

   I did this exact same post back in May: http://egonitron.com/2007/05/20/get-rid-of-your-wordpress-blogs-meta-links/

6. Daniel on July 17, 2007 1:35 pm

   Yeah I had also covered this previously (February) as well.

   http://www.dailyblogtips.com/remove-unnecessary-information/

   Lately, though, I started seeing many blogs using the Meta still so I felt it needed a reinforcement .

7. Frank on July 17, 2007 1:39 pm

   Totally agree with you. The only “possible” useful links in the Meta sections are the XML/CSS validation links. If you want those stick them in the footer (small).

8. GnomeyNewt on July 17, 2007 2:41 pm

   Totally. Remove that meta section people! I never understood why that part is automatically added to the theme, specially the login link to the admin section. Lots of scripts have admin login areas that are not linked anywhere.

9. Stefano on July 17, 2007 3:31 pm

   login is useless )if users can’t register to the blog).

   however, about link to feed for those using feedburner, fb plugin (or some equivalent hack) should redirect them to feedburner. if not, link to feed in meta is an error, but you should still correct autodiscovery in header template.

10. Gary Bridgemaster on July 17, 2007 7:01 pm

    Timely tip! I just started my blog a few days ago and was wondering about removing this section.

    I’ll be following your blog and looking through past tips.

11. Ramkarthik on July 17, 2007 9:11 pm

    Daniel, thanks for the short and good tip. I have also seen few of my friends having like it. I’ll have to tell them to change it.

12. engtech @ internet duct tape on July 18, 2007 12:18 am

    and while you’re at it.. get rid of any thing that people aren’t clicking on.

    less distractions the better.

13. lomig on July 18, 2007 5:16 am

    hi,
    it’s done. Thanks for the advice / tip !
    i completely forgot that it was at the bottom of my sidebar…
    regards

14. Amanda on July 18, 2007 5:57 am

    I always remove it. I call it the ugly section

15. Egonitron.com on July 18, 2007 8:13 am

    Good point Daniel. I don’t really understand why this is even default on WordPress. The validation links can be done in the dashboard, and the Admin link should be shown only when the admin is logged in.

16. Bret on July 18, 2007 9:10 am

    I removed this a long time ago and blogged about how it was taking up valuable real-estate in the sidebar. It’s nice to have if you want to view your site and then login, but completely unnecessary.

17. Community Building Blog on July 19, 2007 4:28 am

    I couldn’t agree more – the whole META sidebar is irrelevant and serves only a distraction to your content.

    - Martin Reed

18. Mike on July 19, 2007 10:02 am

    I do agree with everything you say, but you should make a mention and point to an post that I’m sure I’ve seen here before about redirecting all of the WP feeds back to the FeedBurner one using a plugin or otherwise. Then at least that the people who did sign up for the feed through that meta link will be counted in the subscriber stats.

19. MajoTajo on July 19, 2007 11:27 am

    I need my META it is easier for me to login and also for people to register and login. Why would I remove meta? So I would have to each time type in /wp-admin ?

20. Mike on July 19, 2007 11:34 am

    MajoTajo, just set up your admin page as a bookmark and you won’t have to type it.

    Also, why would you want to deal with people being able to register to your blog if you are not going to have them be authors of posts?

21. MajoTajo on July 19, 2007 11:46 am

    I keep their emails, update them on what is happening with the site, and I don’t really like to use bookmarks because I don’t just write post’s from my pc, but also from library, school, work

    Yes I do use subscribe to comments plugin , but again those emails sometimes are fake where by registering with my blog have to be valid emails .

    Anyways if your blog is about you or some sort of money making thing yes I agree on removing it, but if your blog is just a blog that you write to help other bloggers I don’t see point of removing it.

22. William Profet :: OneJobTwoSalaries.com on July 20, 2007 2:44 am

    This the first thing I do anyway when I install WP. Thank you for the reminder!

23. NewsScribe on July 21, 2007 1:44 pm

    I liked having the Meta on my sidebar, because it was a nice shortcut to my admin page. Although this may not be such a good thing. I removed it, and the blog does look better.

24. GnomeyNewt on July 21, 2007 4:18 pm

    @NewsScribe: You can put a link in your bookmarks/toolbars link section or on your homepage, if you have your own custom one.

25. JTPRATT's Blogging Mistakes on August 7, 2007 10:43 am

    Great Tip! I usually do remove that section, but it’s still on a few of my blogs. I’m going to get it removed right away now! Also – seems like this last exploit in WordPress was some kind of XHTML deal anyway….

26. Maureen on August 10, 2007 9:06 pm

    Can anyone tell a total newbie how to remove this section?? Thanks for a really helpful blog!

27. geri on December 4, 2007 6:39 pm

    Wattah! It was insane! My blog is 1 year and a half, and I still have my Meta on the sidebar! I’m embarassed. lol

    What about the Archives and the Calendar? Is it okay to remove it too from the sidebar? TIA

28. tom on December 6, 2007 2:50 am

    but HOW!?
    i’ve been trying to get rid of it for 2 days – this is the nearest i have found to someone even talking about it

29. skykid on March 12, 2008 5:30 pm

    Sometimes it gets really hard to decide what is to stay and what do go from the sidebar. The Meta can be convenient , but I agree that it does not provide any value to the readers.

30. Sydney Web Design on September 26, 2008 2:08 am

    hi good tip, i’m building quite a few wordpress sites and like to see them looking great without all this clutter. I’m putting wordpress tips on my blog http://www.scottydonald.com

31. B on November 25, 2008 10:49 pm

    And now for the absolute beginner: how to actually remove the “Meta” thing?

    You guys just said it is a good idea, but how do you do it?

32. faziats on January 4, 2009 3:15 am

    To remove it, log into your Admin page.

    Appearance > Widgets >

    If you’ve added it, it should appear on the right hand side.

    Click on Edit > Remove > Save Changes.

33. Leanne Boyd on January 22, 2009 11:19 pm

    Hmmm. I am on WP 2.7, using the Blue Grace theme. The only time the admin login link shows, is if I am logged in. When I log out, the admin link changes to “Register.” And the other link I’ve left there is Login/Log Out. I guess my question for all these folks who are taking out their Meta links section…. for your particular theme, is there another area for Registering? For logging in and out? On Blue Grace, this IS IT. I’ve taken a couple of other arbitrary links out of this Meta section, but I figure registering and logging in are kinda important. LOL.

34. Leanne Boyd on January 22, 2009 11:21 pm

    P.S. And I strongly recommend that, before making any changes of this kind to the core pages… back them up, eh? Much easier than frantically searching the Codex when you make a big boo boo.

35. ultimateweb on January 29, 2009 1:34 pm

    Removal is not simply explained. Apearance > Widgets > Remove is one thing but if a list of widgets is displayed in WP 2.7 and NONE are installed.. it’ll have to be removed from the theme itself.

36. headrheum on January 30, 2009 2:10 pm

    I’ve just found an answer, check this one out:

    http://www.wpthemesplugin.com/creating-a-custom-wordpress-page-removing-sidebar-and-footer/

37. Alex Newell on July 26, 2009 11:38 am

    I like the meta section on my blogs so it’s staying there! it is handy for logging in – and is does not have to be at all prominent

    There are WAY more important things to do on any blog…

    

    “Meta Is Better!”

38. John Pollard on September 17, 2009 8:34 am

    Stupid post IMHO without supplying the answer til 32-35 comments down. I’ve got a tip, Be Smarter than That!.

    My site was showing meta for some reason although it was not showing as listed in the widgets side bar section. Possibly for the reason 35 alluded to. To remove it I first added it to the right side, saved, and then took it out, and it disappeared if this helps anyone.

39. Narayan on September 25, 2009 5:43 pm

    Ok How does one remove it? Nothing seems to be working. I have tried all advices so far.
    Yes, if you create them on right side and then remove it, well it dissappears, but the bottom section is always showing the META and everything else that is attached to it. Going nuts with this issue. Please if someone can help, I would appreciate it very much.

40. Antoony on May 15, 2010 11:16 am

    Yes, I agree. The META really should not need to be shown to visitors. It is useful for webmasters, but not for visitors. Except if the visitor is allowed to register, then the link to the login page is required.

41. Ant Gray on June 5, 2010 6:16 pm

    I’d say, login and wp-admin links are useful, but last should be seen only by admin, of course. And they may be moved to main navigation bar, or footer. Because dedicated block in sidebar is too much.

42. Andy on July 17, 2010 6:53 am

    I got lazy and searched google rather than my dashboard for how to remove this. Seems obvious now. Thanks