TL;DR
- Pages and blog posts hold most of your text. Edit them under Pages and Posts in your WordPress dashboard.
- Some content has its own section, like testimonials, portfolio items, or a staff or member directory.
- Your home page is usually a normal page. It’s marked “Front Page” in your Pages list.
- Some text lives elsewhere, like your header, footer, or another company’s system.
- Sending changes to us? Send the new wording as typed text, not a picture of it.
Where Is the Text on My Website?
- Pages. Your main pages, like About, Services, and Contact.
- Your home page. As Beth told one client, “It is under Pages. It will be marked ‘Front Page’ off to the side.”
- Posts. Your blog posts and news items live under Posts, not Pages.
- Testimonials. Many sites keep reviews in their own Testimonials section, added by your theme or a plugin. Edit them there, and they update everywhere they appear.
- Portfolio. Project or gallery items often have their own Portfolio section.
- Staff or member directories. Team bios and member listings often live in their own directory section.
- Your header and footer. These often live in your theme’s settings, not on a page.
- Other companies’ systems. Text on a booking or payment page may be stored in that company’s account. When one client found a typo on a payment page, Beth told them, “It looks like you log into the payment company’s site and update it there.”
Section names vary. Your theme or plugin decides what they’re called, so look for them by name in the menu on the left side of your dashboard.
How Do I Edit Text in WordPress?
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard. Your login needs permission to edit that kind of content.
- Click the section that holds the text, like Pages, Posts, Testimonials, or Portfolio.
- Hover over the item and click Edit.
- Click the text you want to change and type.
- Save your changes, then check the live page.
Shortcut: while you’re logged in, open the page or post on your website. The toolbar at the top of the screen often has an Edit link that takes you straight to it.
Not sure whether to edit yourself? See Should I Edit My Website Myself or Have My Webmaster Do It? If your site uses a page builder (a drag-and-drop design tool), the screen looks different. See Do You Offer WordPress Training for Me and My Staff?
What If My Edit Won’t Save or Doesn’t Show Up?
- Clear your cache. That’s the saved copy of pages your browser keeps. It can show you the old version.
- Check that you edited the right section. Text on a page may be pulled in from Testimonials, Portfolio, or a directory. Changing it on the page won’t stick if it lives somewhere else.
- Tell us which browser you use. When one client’s edit wouldn’t save, Beth tested it herself: “I am not replicating the issue. Which browser are you using?”
- Tell us if the editor won’t load. On one site, an outdated theme add-on was the cause.
Sending Text Changes to Us
Tell us the page and where on the page the text is. Then send the new wording as typed text. As Beth asked one client, “Please send it in a text file, so I don’t have to type it all out and possibly make typos.”
What Webmaster For Hire Recommends
- Send text as text. Copying from an email or document avoids new typos.
- Leave testimonials as written, as a rule. In Beth’s words, “You don’t typically edit people’s words.”
- Clear your cache before you report a problem. The fix may already be live.
:: Common Questions ::
How Do I Update the Copyright Year in My Footer?
The copyright line lives in your footer, which is either a file or a template. Which one depends on how your site was built:
- A file. Some themes keep the footer in a theme file, found in the file manager in your hosting account (where your site’s files are stored). Editing a file means editing code, so leave that one to us.
- A template. Other sites build the footer as a template (a reusable layout section). Where you edit it depends on whether your site uses a page builder or your theme’s own settings.
Not sure which you have? On our Webmaster Retainer, we’ll update it for you.
How Do I Change the Order of Sections or List Items?
It depends on your editor. In most page builders, you can drag and drop sections to change their order. A bulleted or numbered list works differently: cut and paste the items into the order you want.
Want Help With Text Changes?
See our Webmaster Retainer, or request a consultation.
