Title tags play a crucial role in the SEO success of your WordPress posts and pages. While they’re not the only factor that influences rankings, they help search engines understand your content and encourage users to click. Let’s explore what title tags are and how to optimize them for better visibility and traffic.

What Are Title Tags?

A title tag is a line of HTML that labels what a website page is about. Search engines use them to understand the topic of a page or post. They are an important ranking signal that Google, Bing, and other search engines use to understand and rank website pages.

Search engines also use them to populate the blue links you see in search results: 

That’s not the only place you might see a title tag. Some browsers also display title tags in tabs. Here’s an example from Firefox, where the cursor hovers over the tab to reveal the full title tag:

If you’d like to find the title tag on a page you’re viewing, you can also right-click on the page, click View Page Source, and then use CTRL-F to search for “title”:

Why Do Title Tags Have So Much Power?

Search engines are all about gathering and organizing information from across the web. In order to do this, they need an easy way to quickly determine what a web page is about. 

Search engines use title tags in a similar way to how libraries use card catalogs, which help organize large collections of books and documents with key information.

What are the Benefits of Optimizing Title Tags?

By default, WordPress will use the H1 heading (which is typically the headline) for the title tag on pages and posts. However, there are several reasons why you might choose to optimize your title tag so they aren’t exactly the same as your headline (for example, if your headline is too long). Here are a few key benefits:

• Improve search engine rankings: Sometimes, your headline might not be optimally written for search engines. Making some strategic tweaks can help improve rankings.  
• Improve click-throughs: If your headline is too long to show in search engine results, then it’s possible fewer users will click on your result.
• Increase your traffic: Higher rankings and improved click-through rates equal more traffic for the content you worked hard to create.

You can optimize title tags on WordPress using a plugin—more on that in a bit.

What’s the Best Way to Write a Title Tag?

Even though title tags should be relatively short, there is an art to writing them well. Fortunately, it isn’t difficult to master best practices.  

Aim for Around 60 Characters

Google cuts off title tags that are more than 600 pixels wide. This is usually equal to around 60 characters. Since you probably can’t visualize what 600 pixels looks like on your own (unless you are an actual superhuman robot), you might need a tool to help while you’re writing.

Fortunately, several free title tag testing tools let you preview how yours will appear in search results. Here are a few options:

• Spotibo Google Search Results Preview Tool
• Mangools Google SERP Simulator
• To The Web Title Tag Tester

Include Keywords

If you’re aiming to drive traffic from search engines, then your title tags should include relevant keywords. These are terms a searcher might use to find your content. A well-written headline should cover this requirement.

Some sources say you should include the keyword you want to rank for at the beginning of your title tag. Realistically, somewhere between the beginning and the middle is best. If you have to make a trade off, prioritize readability rather than trying to force your keyword into the beginning.

Keep Them Consistent with Your Headline

A good title tag should reflect the headline (or H1 heading) on the page. If it’s not possible to fit the entire headline under the character limit, then shorten it as best you can. Avoid writing a title tag that sounds drastically different from your headline.

Make Sure They’re Unique

If two pages have the same title tag, search engines will not be able to tell them apart. That could cause the search engine to not rank either page for the intended keyword. If they’re too similar, they may also struggle to understand what the actual difference is between the two pages.

Note: If all the content on two or more pages or posts is identical, then you have an even bigger problem called “duplicate content.” You can fix this issue by ensuring your pages and posts offer unique value to readers.

If you need to have duplicate pages for any reason, use rel=canonical tags to tell search engines which of the pages is the “original” or the one you want to rank. Yoast and other SEO plugins can help you set rel=canonical links.

Ensure They Sound Natural When You Read Them Out Loud

Remember that title tags don’t just have to communicate to search engine bots. They also need to be easily readable for users. Try reading your title tags out loud (or at least back to yourself in your head) to make sure they read well and aren’t over-optimized for search engines. 

How Can You Edit Title Tags on a WordPress Website?

By default, WordPress uses the H1 title of a post for the title tag. While this is a quick and convenient solution, it isn’t always the most effective.

There are several ways you can customize title tags on your WordPress website. Let’s look at several different SEO plugins that enable this feature.

Note: WordPress.com users can enable the following features and plugins on the Business plan and above. All WordPress.com sites come with Jetpack pre-installed.

Editing Title Tags With Jetpack

WordPress.com users (as well as WordPress users with other hosts using the Jetpack plugin) can edit title tags using the SEO Title field. From the editor, click the Jetpack logo in the upper right corner, then scroll down to SEO Title:

Editing Title Tags With Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is one of the most popular WordPress plugins of all time, and there’s a good reason for that. It’s easy to use and enables tons of SEO functionality, including writing title tags.

If you have the plugin installed, when viewing a post or page in the editor, you’ll see Yoast SEO at the bottom of the screen:

Here, you’ll see several different fields. Let’s break down what’s happening with each one:

• SEO Title: This is where you can enter a custom title tag. By default, it auto-populates with templated placeholders that will automatically include your page headline, the name of the page, a separator ( – ), and the title of your site.
• Slug: This controls how the slug will appear in the post or page URL.
• Meta Description: Short (160 characters or less) summaries that appear under title tags in search results.

There’s nothing wrong with using Yoast’s default templates for title tags. But it doesn’t typically yield optimal results for a few reasons:

• They end up being too long. When you add your page name and site title, you might not have many characters left over for your page headline or relevant keywords.
• They include extraneous information. People already know they’re on your website or blog. It’s usually not necessary to include your site or brand name in every title tag.
• They might not read well to users. Due to both factors listed above, they may get cut off in search results or read awkwardly.

Fortunately, you can simply delete the default placeholders, and enter your own title tag. You can also edit title tag templates to control how title tags auto-populate on your site. Yoast has excellent documentation on how to do this.

Editing Title Tags With Rank Math SEO

Rank Math is another plugin similar to Yoast SEO. It’s another reputable option that offers some different features. Much like Yoast, there is a lot that Rank Math can do. For our purposes, we’ll focus on title tag editing.

First, you’ll want to download and activate the Rank Math SEO plugin. Then, when viewing a post or page in the editor, you’ll see the Rank Math icon at the top of your screen. Click it to open Rank Math:

Next, click Edit Snippet:

You can now edit your title tag, permalink, meta description, and other relevant SEO metadata:

Editing Title Tags All In One SEO (AIOSEO)

Last but not least, let’s look at All In One SEO. This is a time-tested WordPress SEO plugin that’s full-featured and easy to use. Similar to Yoast, it allows you to edit title tags directly in the editor while editing a post or page:

Improve Your Rankings and Get More Traffic

Title tags are small but mighty page elements that help ensure your content is seen and clicked in search results, so be sure to give them the time and attention they deserve by using a proper SEO plugin and optimizing the character length.

Looking for lightning-fast WordPress hosting that’s optimized for search engines out of the box? WordPress.com is an excellent choice thanks to its built-in Jetpack-powered SEO capabilities and full plugin support on the Business plan and above. Whether you’re a hobbyist, blogger, or business owner, see what makes WordPress.com the best place to host your WordPress site.

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I work at WordPress.com and have since 2014. It’s the longest I’ve ever stayed at a company, and in so many ways, it often feels like home. But when I landed in Manila last Sunday evening to join some of my colleagues at the first WordCamp Asia held in the Philippines, it literally was a homecoming. 

Born and raised in Manila, I can’t even begin to describe the thrill of seeing the global WordPress community descend onto the busy, raucous streets of my hometown. Out of nearly 1,800 attendees, about a third were local, coming from all parts of the Philippines, across the 7,107 islands that make up the archipelago. 

Filipinos love WordPress; on WordPress.com alone, they represent hundreds of thousands of new signups every month, consistently ranking the Philippines as one of the top five countries in the world for new WordPress users.

The Philippine International Convention Center, a 1970s-era Brutalist behemoth of a structure, served as the official venue for WordCamp Asia 2025. We shared its massive halls, vaulted ceilings, and bright red carpets with local university graduation attendees, but the sprawling complex allowed for plenty of room to spread out. 

Matias Ventura, lead architect of Gutenberg, kicked off the official conference schedule with a thoughtful and inspiring keynote sketching out an exciting future for WordPress that centers the user and delivers a friction-free, intuitive experience. 

A jam-packed schedule of workshops and talks followed, where attendees could hear Elementor’s Miriam Schwab discuss the basics of GPL, learn from digital marketer Chiaki Kouno about what having a truly successful “multilingual” WordPress site really entails, and pick up tips from Keiko Muto on how to get started with building an accessible site—plus so much more. 

On Friday night, the WordPress.com team hosted a meet-and-greet happy hour where we had the privilege of meeting with local and regional WordPress.com users. Special thanks to Nicole King, Carlo Carrasco, George Buid, Ajit Bohra and his colleagues from LUBUS, Vivek Jain and his crew from rtCamp, Tom and Vicky Morton, and Dika and Diane Fei for spending the evening with us. 

WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg closed out the three-day festivities with a Q&A in Meeting Room 1, an oddly generic name for such an immense, elegant hall. It’s also known as the Rizal Hall, which seems more fitting. 

Jose Rizal, after whom the room and a million buildings, schools, streets, even entire cities in the country are named, is our de facto national hero. He was a 19th-century writer, doctor, and polymath whose writings helped inspire and ignite the Philippine Revolution in 1896 against the Spanish colonial authorities. What better place to close a conference dedicated to the freedom and democracy of open source than in a soaring hall named after the man who dedicated his life to pursuing freedom of speech and assembly for all? 

By the way, if you missed the conference, we’ve got your back! Most workshops and talks, including both keynotes mentioned above, are now available to view on the official WordPress YouTube channel. 

Think you might want to join us for WordCamp Asia 2026? We’d love to see you! WordCamp is open to all, so whether you’re a developer, a marketer, a designer, a support engineer, a blogger, or just curious about what this WordPress thing is that you’ve been hearing so much about, WordCamp was created for you. Check out the WordCamp Central site for more information about local and regional WordCamps. 

And if you’re in Asia and want to experience the excitement of WordCamp Asia next year, start planning now: we’ll see you in 2026 in Mumbai, India!

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Owning a domain is a big step in establishing your online presence. Whether you’re creating a personal blog, running a small business, or launching an e-commerce store, your domain is your “digital real estate,” on top of which you can build your digital home (your website!). However, just like physical property, owning a domain involves certain considerations—including protecting your personal information.

What Happens When You Register a Domain?

Similar to when you buy property like real estate or a car, you must register your purchase. Domains are registered with the nonprofit organization that coordinates the domain system, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). As part of your registration, you must provide ICANN with personal information including:

• Your full name
• Physical address (home or business)
• Phone number
• Email address
• Business or organization name (if applicable)

By default, this information is added by ICANN to WHOIS, a publicly accessible database with contact information for domain owners across the web. Anyone can use a WHOIS lookup tool to find information about a website’s owner.

In the early days of the internet, WHOIS was a useful tool for developers to collaborate with other domain owners, drive internet accountability and transparency, buy and sell domain names, and direct legal communications, such as digital copyright infringement cases. However, as the internet has grown from a niche community space into a global economy with billions of users, the WHOIS database has become a growing security risk for domain owners.

Luckily, many internet domain registrars, including WordPress.com, offer some level of domain privacy—also known as “WHOIS privacy”—to keep your personal information safe. 

What is Domain Privacy?

Most people purchase their domains through domain registrars, companies that register and manage your domain on your behalf. In addition to helping you find and purchase your web address, your registrar manages the DNS connections between your domain and services like your host and email provider.

When you add domain privacy through your registrar, your registrar replaces your personal registration information in the WHOIS database with proxy contact information that directs communication to the registrar’s privacy service. When someone searches for registration information about your domain, they’ll see: 

• A proxy organization name.
• A generic address and phone number that redirects to the registrar.
• An email forwarding service that filters out spam while ensuring legitimate messages about your domain (like legal outreach) make it to your inbox.

When you register a domain through WordPress.com, domain privacy is free and your WHOIS record will contain information for one of our three privacy services, depending on your domain’s registrar of record. If someone searches for your domain using a WHOIS lookup tool, they will see that privacy service’s contact information listed on your domain record.

For example, when I looked up one of my domains registered with WordPress.com using a public WHOIS database lookup tool, the registrant contact listed was Knock Knock WHOIS Not There, LLC (see what we did there?). 

Without domain privacy, my name, address, phone number, and email address would be shown instead.

Why is Domain Privacy Worth Having?

As the internet has grown, so have privacy risks and spam. WHOIS was designed to be transparent, publicly accessible, and easily queryable by engineers, making it particularly easy to scrape domain holders’ names, emails, mailing addresses, and phone numbers. 

Free domain lookup tools, which allow anyone to type in a website’s address and receive their full ICANN contact record, also make it easy for any individual to quickly find details on a particular domain holder. 

These factors make WHOIS a potential target for data miners and bots, which could put domain owners at risk of: 

• Spammers: Automated bots or people using digital tools can scrape WHOIS data, leading to issues like email spam, texts, and robocalls.
• Scammers:  Scammers will often use information like your home address and phone number in phishing schemes. Using the information they already have, they will pretend to be one of your legitimate service providers—like your post office or bank—and attempt to get you to share your login credentials.
• Identity theft: Cybercriminals can try to use data from WHOIS to impersonate website owners in fraud schemes, like applying for credit cards or loans.
• Targeted doxxing and harassment: If you run a blog or organization that deals with controversial topics or sensitive issues, critics could use WHOIS lookup tools to find your email and physical addresses, which can lead to forms of harassment.
• Unwanted marketing: While it is technically illegal, companies may scrape WHOIS data or buy scraped domain data to send unsolicited business offers, often in the form of cold calls and ongoing marketing emails.

ICANN faces mounting pressure over the WHOIS database, which many feel opens domain owners to unnecessary privacy risks. New data protection laws, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), have already made strides in protecting EU domain holder’s information. If you live in the EU or are registered as an EU company, you probably have some default protections automatically enabled by your domain provider.

What is Data Scraping, and How Does Domain Privacy Counter it?

Data scraping is a process where someone uses an automated tool or writes code to quickly extract and download a large amount of data from a website. The more standardized a website’s data structure is and the fewer protections the site uses to limit bots (like CAPTCHA or rate limiting), the easier it is to scrape.

Since WHOIS is publicly available and designed to be easily searched, it is particularly vulnerable to this practice. Some WHOIS lookup tools even allow bulk searches, meaning that a scammer can extract thousands of domain owners’ contact details in minutes.

How Does Domain Privacy Differ Across Registrars? 

Not all domain privacy offerings are created equal: some registrars only offer domain privacy for an annual fee, while others have pieced-together offerings, allowing you to mix and match services like identity protection or email forwarding for an added cost.

At WordPress.com, we believe internet privacy should be a right, regardless of location, not an add-on, which is why domain privacy is automatically included when you purchase a domain through WordPress.com. 

This service includes both a proxy address in the WHOIS database and digital and physical mail forwarding for relevant requests via WHOIS (please note that this is for domain-related requests only, please do not list this contact information on your website!). 

How to Ensure Your Domain has Privacy Protection

Depending on where your domain is registered, your domain privacy settings may look a little different. There are a few places you may be able to verify that your domain has domain privacy enabled, including any domain registration emails you receive and your domain record on your registrar’s website.

If you still have questions, you can email your domain registrar for confirmation on whether or not your domain has domain privacy enabled.

Verifying Privacy Protection on WordPress.com

Depending on your location, domain privacy for domains registered on WordPress.com may be activated by default.

If you aren’t sure whether you have domain privacy enabled, you can check by following these directions or visiting our support article:

1. Visit your WordPress.com dashboard.
2. Click Upgrades → Domains (or Hosting → Domains in WP-Admin).
3. Select your domain. 
4. Navigate to Contact Information.
5. Check that the option “Privacy protection on” is shown. If the toggle is switched off, click it to turn on privacy protection for your domain.

If, for some reason, you’re uninterested in domain privacy protection or you’d like to transfer your domain to another registrar, you can also disable your domain privacy on the same page under Contact Information.

Keep Your Personal Information Private with Domain Privacy

With growing cyber threats and data privacy concerns, domain privacy is no longer just an optional feature—it’s a necessity. With WordPress.com, you can rest easy knowing you have free domain privacy without hidden fees.

In addition to protecting your personal information, WordPress.com domains offer a suite of great benefits, including blazing-fast DNS, free SSL certificates (aka even more domain security!), and super competitive pricing.

While many registrars have been raising their domain prices year-over-year, WordPress is committed to offering affordable plans for the long haul. Our prices are some of the most affordable on the market, averaging just $13/year for popular .com, .net, and .org addresses.

Anyone can host a domain through WordPress.com—even if you host your website on another platform. To sweeten the deal, WordPress.com users with a paid hosting plan get a domain name free for a year when they purchase or transfer an existing domain. Transferring is super easy—check out our domain transfer guide. 

Ready to secure your domain (and your information)?

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One of Studio’s most-loved features just got a big upgrade: Demo Sites, now named Preview Sites, are enhanced to better support your local development needs and simplify sharing progress with clients and teammates.

More Space, More Sites, More Possibilities

We made substantial improvements to Preview Sites, giving developers more room to create and experiment:

Eight Times More Storage Per Site

We’re dramatically increasing the storage capacity from 250 MB to 2 GB per Preview Site. This added space means you can now work with larger themes, more media assets, and richer content during your development process.

Double Your Preview Sites

We’ve removed the limit of one Preview Site per Studio site, and we’re doubling the number of preview sites you can run simultaneously from five to 10 sites. This expansion allows you to:

• Maintain different versions for A/B testing.
• Manage multiple client projects concurrently.
• Run separate test environments for different features.
• Review and compare your most recent changes.

Shorter, Personalized URLs

We’ve created a new, more concise URL structure that’s unique to each user, making links easier to share. Now, every URL begins with your username and excludes random words, reinforcing your identity and reducing confusion. 

Same Reliable Timeline

Preview Sites will continue to be available for seven days after your last update, providing you with the perfect window for development, testing, and client reviews.

Why Preview Sites?

The name change from Demo Sites to Preview Sites better reflects how developers use this feature in their workflows. Whether you’re showcasing works-in-progress to clients, collaborating with team members, or testing new features that need to be accessed online, Preview Sites are a quick and reliable way to share your work.

Each Preview Site is hosted on WordPress.com, giving you a publicly accessible URL that you can share with clients and colleagues. In a few minutes, you can generate a link to your local site that stays active for seven days—perfect for gathering feedback and iterating on your designs.

Start Using Preview Sites Today

These enhancements are now available to all Studio by WordPress.com users. The transition from Demo Sites to Preview Sites will be seamless, with all of your existing Demo Sites automatically converting to the new system with the increased storage capacity.

We’re excited to see what you’ll create with these expanded capabilities. Download Studio today and start exploring this enhanced Preview Sites feature!

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You may have noticed things look a little different around here. Here’s how we redesigned our blog (and how you can redesign yours too).

Why Did We Redesign Our Blog?

A blog is your home on the Internet. Like all homes, they eventually need to be tidied up. That was certainly the case for this very blog you’re reading right now. While we were busy working on our product and other priorities, we realized it was time to give our blog a refresh.

We’re blogging and design nerds, so a blog redesign is something we would do for fun. Rest assured there were much more important reasons to redesign our blog though. Blogging is what we do, so our blog should be exceptional, right? With this thought in mind, our marketing, design, and engineering teams collaborated to create the best blog experience possible. 

Now, you might think you can learn everything there is to know about this redesign just by looking at it. However, there are some subtle details and improvements that may be easy to miss. Let’s look at some redesign details we’re particularly proud of and share some simple tips you can use to improve your own blog (with advice straight from our own design team).

What’s Improved on the WordPress.com Blog

We know what you’re thinking: “Okay, but what does all this mean for me?” If we were you, we’d be asking the same question. Here are some enhancements made to our blog that make your experience better.

A More Engaging Appearance

The WordPress.com Blog was visually outdated and no longer matched the branding of the rest of our site. We modernized our design and post layouts to bring them up to our 2025 design standards.

Here’s a snapshot of our old single-column homepage design:

It was clean and simple but bland. The article description font for text below headlines was difficult to read, and the small image thumbnails didn’t do justice to our sharp header designs that had already been using some of our refreshed design standards. There was room for improvement here. 

In case you haven’t seen it, here’s what our new and improved blog homepage looks like:

The clear header section places our most recent posts front and center, while the multi-column layout makes it easier to find more content you might be interested in. You’ll also notice a consistent approach to visual styling, ensuring design elements and images look their best.

A More Useful Navigation Structure

Our previous blog homepage design featured a single column with a simple search bar. The new design implements a streamlined menu for better organization and easier navigation:

This may look like a simple design, but that simplicity is intentional. Each category has been strategically considered to effectively group content together into the fewest buckets possible.

At the bottom of the blog home page, we also include a section for popular content. This ensures that posts receiving high engagement get extra visibility:

An Easier Reading Experience

Redesigning the WordPress.com Blog wasn’t just about appearances though. We made several improvements that make content (like this post) more comfortable to read:

1. Making our font selection consistent with the rest of our website
2. Ensuring those fonts are web-friendly
3. Choosing colors that are not only consistent but support easy readability

More Clear Calls to Action 

We work hard to create content that makes you say, “This blog post was so good, I need more of it in my inbox.” Now, every post has a clear subscription banner across the bottom. We’ve also made it easier for readers to find where they can start a new website or blog of their own (for readers who are just getting started).

Six Tips to Improve Your Next Redesign Project 

If you’re thinking about redesigning your own blog or website (or for a client), we have some additional advice to share. 

1. Set Clear Expectations with Clients

Our blog redesign project required a high level of collaboration between teams and stakeholders. If you are redesigning a blog for a client, ensure that both sides understand the goals of the project. Here are some items you should be sure to document:

• Your clients’ goals and priorities
• All high-level tasks to implement the redesign
• Expected initial launch date
• Timeline for improvements and iterations after launch 

Then, throughout the project, regularly review and update this document to ensure alignment and track progress effectively. This will help keep the project on track and avoid disappointment.

2. Create a Checklist of Design Tasks

Before you start working, create a more detailed checklist of all the steps you need to follow. Break out this list into two sections:

1. Steps that need to be completed before launch
2. Steps that can be completed after launch

This will help you prioritize the work that needs to be done at a granular level.

3. Optimize for the Right Things

Even the best-looking design is wasted if a site doesn’t function well. Prioritize performance: optimize assets, use lazy loading, minimize JavaScript and CSS, and implement caching where possible. This will help make sure your client’s site works as well as it looks.

To get some WordPress and site-specific performance recommendations, be sure to use our free Speed Test tool.

4. Test, Test, Test

During development, start and maintain a record of pre-launch and post-launch testing items. This will ensure smooth deployment (and help you catch bugs before your client or their users do).

5. Determine How Much Existing Code and Content Can be Reused

Redesign projects can be a lot of work. Fortunately, you might not have to redesign everything on your site or blog. Clearly define what parts need to be fully redesigned and what can be kept or inherited from other products for common patterns. For example, with our own blog redesign, we were able to keep the existing pattern for comments.

6. Implement a Clear Feedback Process

We believe feedback is a gift. When someone calls attention to something you can improve on, they are trying to help you be better. Establish an easy process for your client to review designs and provide constructive feedback throughout the process (and not just at the end). This way, your client will feel valued, and the end product will be more likely to meet their expectations.

Ready to Redesign Your Own Blog?

If you’re inspired to redesign your own blog, follow our detailed guide (it’s geared toward full website redesigns, but much of the advice is still applicable). Or, if you’d like to start a blog (or help a friend start one of their own), we have another guide that can help you do that too. Here’s to making the Internet a more beautiful and useful place, one blog at a time.

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