how to remove WordPress meta tags from header

Understanding WordPress Meta Tags

In WordPress, meta tags are snippets of text that describe a page’s content; they don’t appear on the page itself, but only in the page’s code. Common WordPress meta tags include those for the description of the page, keywords, and generator type. These tags can play a significant role in search engine optimization (SEO), but not all meta tags are necessary, and some may even expose security details or affect your site’s performance.

Why Remove WordPress Meta Tags?

Removing unnecessary meta tags can streamline your site’s code, making it cleaner and potentially improving load times. More importantly, it enhances security by obscuring the details about the WordPress version you’re using, which can help in shielding your site from targeted attacks.

Identifying Meta Tags in Your WordPress Header

The first step is to identify which meta tags are currently in the header of your WordPress site. You can view these by right-clicking on your website in a browser and selecting “View page source” or “Inspect Element” and looking for section. Common tags you might see include:

Removing Meta Tags Using a Plugin

One of the easiest ways to manage and remove meta tags is by using a plugin designed for this purpose. Here are steps to follow using a popular plugin like Head, Footer and Post Injections:

1. Install and activate the plugin from your WordPress dashboard.

2. Navigate to Settings > Head and Footer.

3. In the “Head and Footer” section, you can add or remove specific lines of code responsible for generating meta tags.

4. To remove all WordPress generator tags for example, you can insert a line of PHP code in the “Head” box:

   remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_generator');

5. Save your changes and clear your website’s cache.

Manual Removal Via functions.php

For those who prefer not to use a plugin, modifications can also be made directly to the theme files, specifically functions.php. Add the following code snippets as needed:

• Remove WordPress Version Number:

  remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_generator');

• Remove Shortlink:

  remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_shortlink_wp_head', 10, 0);

• Remove RSD Links:

  remove_action('wp_head', 'rsd_link');

• Remove Manifest Links:

  remove_action('wp_head', 'wlwmanifest_link');

Each line corresponds to a specific meta tag. After adding these lines, save the file and check your site’s page source to ensure the tags were successfully removed.

Cleaning Up With The wp_head() Hook

Hooking into wp_head() is another advanced method to remove multiple meta tags. By adding a function to your theme’s functions.php file, you can control exactly what gets executed in the wp_head hook:

function remove_unwanted_tags() {
  remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_generator');
  remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_shortlink_wp_head', 10, 0);
  remove_action('wp_head', 'rsd_link');
  remove_action('wp_head', 'wlwmanifest_link');
  // Add other lines as necessary
}

add_action('init', 'remove_unwanted_tags');

Ensure Compliance with Standards and SEO Best Practices

While it’s useful to remove unnecessary tags to clean up your site’s code and enhance security, ensure that you’re not removing any meta tags crucial for your website’s SEO. Tags like are important for search engine rankings and should be curated rather than removed. Always double-check your changes with SEO and web standards in mind.

Continuous Testing and Monitoring

After you have modified your site, continuously test and monitor the performance and visibility of your site. Changes in meta tags can subtly affect how search engines interpret and rank your pages, so it’s important to keep an eye on your site’s SEO performance using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console.

Optimizing your WordPress site by managing meta tags efficiently not only tidy up your site’s header but ensures it runs optimally while keeping up with security and SEO standards.