How to Hide Page Titles on WordPress: Three Easy Methods

Published on January 30, 2023 by Simon Wright

Have you ever wanted to hide the page or post titles on your WordPress site but struggled to do it? If so, you’ll be relieved to read that you’re not alone. Unfortunately, there is no option in most WordPress themes to do this easily. However, all is not lost, as it is easy to do, as we shall explain in this article.

Why Would You Want to Hide Titles in WordPress?

There are various reasons why someone might want to hide a page or post title in WordPress. Common examples include:

  • Creating a more cohesive and visually appealing design for the page.
  • Having a more consistent look and feel across the various pages and posts of the site.
  • Removing unnecessary clutter from the page. This makes it easier for visitors to focus on specific content or calls to action.
  • Preventing the title from displaying in the browser tab or bookmarks.
  • Avoid having the same title appear multiple times on the same page, for example, in the navigation menu and page header. This can be bad for SEO, as we shall explain later.
  • Making the page easier to read or navigate on mobile devices.
  • Preventing the title from appearing in search engine results or being used as the page’s meta title.
  • Preventing the title from being used as the page’s permalink (URL.)
  • Removing the title from a page that is being used as a redirect.

Hiding the page title can be a helpful trick to have up your sleeve, and it’s easier to do than you might think.

Three Easy Methods to Hide Titles in WordPress

There are several ways to hide the page title in WordPress. In this article, we will focus on three of the easiest, namely:

  • Using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

This method allows you to customize the appearance of your site by adding custom styles to your site’s stylesheet. It is useful if you have basic coding skills (i.e., know how to add code snippets into WordPress) and want more control over your site’s appearance. However, please don’t be freaked out at the mention of “code,” as it’s not rocket science.

  • Using a WordPress Plugin.

This is a more straightforward method that requires no coding knowledge. Plugins are pre-written chunks of software that can be easily installed on your WordPress site to modify how it behaves, e.g., by adding new features or functionality. The downside of using plugins is having too many can slow your website, plus they can cause conflicts with other plugins or your theme. That said, they are an easy (and generally preferred) method for folk with no coding knowledge.

  • Using a Page Builder.

If you use a page builder such as Elementor, chances are, it already includes a facility to hide the titles easily.

Whether you choose to use CSS, a plugin, or a page builder, you’ll be able to hide the title easily and quickly on any page or post on your WordPress site.

So, let’s now go over these methods in more detail.

A: Using CSS to Hide Page or Post Titles in WordPress

One way to hide the title of a page on your WordPress site is by using Cascading Style Sheets. Commonly referred to as CSS, these are a method of styling and formatting web pages. It is a potent tool for customizing your site’s appearance and can also hide page titles with just a line of code. Here’s how to do it:

  1. From the WordPress dashboard, click on “Appearance” and then “Customize”:
  2. Click on the “Additional CSS” option:
  3. Add the following code to the text box:.page-title {display: none;}You’ll notice that the page title automatically disappears (if one is actually present on the page you are editing):
  4. Click on the “Publish” button to save the changes.

Congratulations! You have now hidden the title on all pages of your site!

Hiding the page title on a specific page or post is a little more involved, as you use the same code but wrap it in a particular page or post class. This excellent YouTube video tutorial demonstrates the process in detail. However, if you don’t feel comfortable doing that, we suggest trying one of the following two options instead.

B: Using a Plugin to Hide Page or Post Titles in WordPress

If the thought of adding CSS to your WordPress freaks you out, particularly if you are looking to hide titles on individual pages and posts instead of globally, then a plugin would probably be a better option for you.

Unfortunately, currently there are not many plugins available that can help you easily hide the page title without having to mess around with code. However, two of the best are SHK Hide Title and AMS Hide Page and Post Title. There are others, but many are outdated and may not work correctly with the latest release of WordPress.

Here’s a general overview of how to use these plugins to hide a page or post title:

    1. From the WordPress dashboard, click “Plugins” and then “Add New.”
    2. Search for a plugin that can hide the page title, for example, SHK Hide Title.
    3. Install and activate your chosen plugin in the usual manner.
    4. Go to the page or post that is to have the title hidden.
    5. Look for the “Hide Title” option and check the box to hide the title:
    6. Update the page or post to save the changes.

That’s all there is to it! The page title will no longer appear on the specific page or post that you selected. If you need to hide the title on multiple pages or posts, you can simply repeat this process for each one.

Remember that some plugins may have additional options or settings that you can customize, so be sure to read through the documentation or instructions for the specific plugin you are using.

C: Using a Page Builder

Most page builders already include the facility to toggle between displaying or hiding page and post titles, so you don’t need extra plugins or to mess with CSS. For example, in Elementor, all you need to do is:

      1. Open the required page or post in Elementor.
      2. In the “Page Settings” panel on the left, click the gear icon in the bottom left-hand corner:
      3. From the page settings panel that pops up, toggle “Hide Title” accordingly and then hit “Update”:

SEO Considerations When Hiding Titles in WordPress

While hiding the page title may give your site a cleaner look and help you avoid duplication in the search results, it can also potentially hurt your search engine optimization (SEO) if not done carefully.

To understand why this is, it’s helpful to know a little about the various tags that search engines use to understand the content of a webpage. Some of the most important tags for SEO include:

  • Title Tag

This text appears in the search results as the page’s title. It is crucial for SEO because it tells search engines the page’s topic and can significantly increase the chances of users clicking on the page link in the search results.

  • Meta Description Tag

The meta description tag is the text that appears under the title in the search results. It gives search engines (and users) a summary of what the page is about and can help to increase the chances of the page being clicked on in the search results.

  • Header tags (H1, H2, etc.)

The purpose of header tags is to structure the content of a webpage and give it a hierarchy. They help search engines, such as Google, Bing, etc., understand a webpage’s content and, accordingly, can boost the chances of the page ranking highly in search results.

When hiding the page title on your WordPress site, you may also inadvertently hide the title tag and the H1 header tag. This can negatively impact your SEO. Therefore, it’s essential to be mindful of this when hiding the page title and consider using alternative optimization methods, such as careful use of the meta description or other header tags to indicate the page’s content to search engines.

Conversely, there are situations where hiding the page title may not significantly impact your SEO. For example, hiding the title on a page being used as a redirect or not meant to be found by search engines (such as a login page) will have minimal impact on SEO.

Ultimately, the decision to hide a page title on your WordPress site should consider your specific goals and needs. For example, if SEO is a primary concern for your site, you may want to consider other options or consult an SEO expert before hiding anything. On the other hand, if SEO is not a significant concern, or if you are confident that the impact on it will be minimal, then hiding the page title may be a viable option for you.

The Other Side of The Coin

Conversely, if you want to add a subtitle to your pages and posts, we suggest you look at the Secondary Title plugin. This cool addition to WordPress allows you to add a subtitle to posts, pages, and even custom post types automatically or using shortcode or PHP.

Conclusion

There are several ways of hiding the page title in WordPress, and this article has covered the three easiest ones for novices: using cascading style sheets (CSS), a WordPress plugin, and a page builder such as Elementor. Each method is simple to implement and requires just a few steps. Whichever you use, you’ll be able to hide the title quickly and easily on any page or post of your WordPress site.

We hope you found this post helpful and that you successfully hid the page or post title on your WordPress site. Until next time, happy WordPressing! And don’t forget to check out WP Bolt’s range of high-performance WordPress hosting packages. Each provides you with a virtual private server, ensuring your site remains fast, reliable, and secure at all times.

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