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To remove dates from WordPress post URLs, go to Settings → Permalinks, choose Post name, and save. A dated address such as /2026/01/01/post-title will use a date-free structure such as /post-title. On an established site, create redirects from every old address to its matching new address before announcing the change, because WordPress may not redirect old post URLs automatically.
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What removing the date actually changes
WordPress builds an individual post permalink from the structure selected in the Permalinks screen. Date tags such as %year%, %monthnum%, and %day% place publication information in that address. Removing those tags produces a shorter path that normally contains the post slug, represented by %postname%.
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For example, a post currently published at /2026/01/01/post-title can become /post-title. The change is not limited to future content: the new structure affects previously published posts as well as posts you publish later.
Individual post permalinks and date archive URLs are separate parts of WordPress’s rewrite handling. Removing the date from a post URL does not, by itself, mean that monthly, yearly, or daily archive pages have been deleted.
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Before changing the setting
Changing a permalink structure is a URL migration, even when the new setting takes only a few clicks. Make a short inventory first so that you know what must be redirected and tested.
Record the current pattern
Copy the current structure from Settings → Permalinks. Note whether dates appear as a year, year-and-month, or full year-month-day path. Also record any other component, such as a category segment, that your site has deliberately used.
Count and sample existing posts
Identify how many published posts use the dated pattern. You do not need to manually inspect every article to begin, but keep a representative sample: an old post, a recent post, a post with a long slug, and a post whose slug contains punctuation or non-English characters. These samples are useful after the change.
Decide whether a migration window is needed
If the site receives regular visits, appears in search results, or has links from other sites, schedule the change when you can check redirects immediately afterward. The official WordPress.com guidance warns that old links may not redirect automatically, so do not treat the setting change as a harmless cosmetic edit.
Choose a date-free permalink structure
WordPress provides a simple built-in choice and a custom option. Select the one that matches your site’s long-term URL policy rather than changing structures repeatedly.
| Choice | Example | What it does | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post name | /post-title |
Uses the post slug and leaves date tags out of the individual post URL. | A site that wants the shortest straightforward date-free address. |
| Custom structure | /%postname%/ |
Lets you define the path yourself while omitting %year%, %monthnum%, and %day%. |
A site that needs a deliberate convention beyond the built-in Post name option. |
| Custom structure with an identifier | A path containing %post_id% and %postname% |
Includes a numeric post identifier and a readable slug without date tags. | A site whose existing URL policy requires an additional stable identifier. |
The custom field must contain a post-identifying tag. Use %postname% for a readable slug or %post_id% when a numeric identifier is part of your convention. A custom pattern that simply removes the dates but leaves no post-identifying component is not a complete replacement.
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Choose Post name when you want the least complicated date-free URL and do not need another path component. It is the built-in structure intended for an address based on the post slug, and it is easier to explain to editors and maintain during future migrations.
When a custom structure makes sense
Use a custom structure when your site needs to preserve another identifier or a pre-existing convention while removing date tags. Keep the rule consistent. A custom path should be easy for editors to predict, and its resulting slugs must remain manageable and unique enough for your publishing workflow.
Step-by-step: remove the date in WordPress
- Sign in to the WordPress dashboard. Use an account that can change site settings.
- Open Settings → Permalinks. This screen lists the common permalink structures and the custom structure field.
- Choose Post name for the standard date-free path, or select the custom option and enter a structure that omits
%year%,%monthnum%, and%day%while including%postname%or%post_id%. - Review the intended result. Compare the new pattern with a real post slug. For instance, the target for
/2026/01/01/post-titleshould be/post-titlewhen Post name is selected. - Click Save Changes. WordPress applies the new structure after the settings are saved. Leaving the screen without saving does not complete the change.
- Keep the old-to-new mapping. For each existing post, retain the old dated address and its corresponding new address so that you can configure and verify redirects.
Redirect old post URLs to the new ones
A permalink change creates a new address for existing posts. The old address may not redirect automatically, so configure a permanent redirect for each old URL pattern or each known old URL. The destination must be the matching post, not a generic home page or an unrelated article.
Build the mapping
Start with the common transformation. If the old address is /2026/01/01/post-title and the new structure is Post name, the destination is /post-title. Repeat the mapping for every post whose slug or other path component differs.
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Do not assume that removing the date is the only change. If the old structure also contained another segment, preserve or deliberately transform that segment according to the new structure. A redirect that points to the wrong slug can send readers to an unrelated page while appearing technically successful.
Configure redirects with the facilities available to your site
WordPress.com explicitly recommends using a redirection plugin when old posts do not automatically redirect. On a self-hosted installation, use the redirect facility supported by your WordPress and hosting configuration. The important requirements are that the old address returns a permanent redirect to the corresponding new address and that the rule does not create a loop.
Preserve query strings and special cases where applicable
Test links copied from newsletters, social posts, and analytics campaigns as well as clean links. If your redirect mechanism supports query strings, verify that useful parameters are handled as intended. Treat posts with changed slugs, duplicate slugs, or unusual characters as explicit cases rather than relying only on a broad pattern.
Test the migration after saving
The setting change is complete only after representative old and new URLs behave correctly. Testing is practical protection against the redirect risk identified in the WordPress.com guidance.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches- Open an old dated URL. Confirm that it reaches the corresponding post at the new date-free address.
- Check the browser address. It should finish on the new URL rather than silently displaying the old path.
- Test a new URL directly. Open the date-free address without first visiting the old one and confirm that the post loads.
- Test several post types. Include an older post, a recent post, a long slug, and a slug with punctuation or non-English characters if those exist on your site.
- Look for chains. A direct old-to-new redirect is preferable to a sequence of redirects through several intermediate URLs.
- Look for loops. If the browser reports too many redirects, disable the conflicting rule and correct the mapping before restoring it.
- Check unmatched paths. A post that returns a not-found response needs a specific mapping or a corrected slug.
Keep a record of failed samples and the fix applied. Re-test each one after changing a rule; a broad redirect pattern can repair one URL while breaking another.
WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress differences
WordPress.com
The WordPress.com support guidance reviewed August 11, 2026 describes changing the permalink structure on plugin-enabled Personal, Premium, Business, and Commerce plans. The exact controls available depend on the plan and site configuration. If the Permalinks feature or redirect tooling is not present in your dashboard, check the plan-specific settings rather than assuming every WordPress.com site exposes the same controls.
Self-hosted WordPress
Self-hosted administrators use the Permalinks screen supplied by their WordPress installation, but the practical details can also depend on the hosting configuration. Confirm that you can change the setting and implement redirects in the environment where the site runs. The WordPress.org documentation describes the structure options and tags; your host’s supported configuration determines how redirect rules are deployed.
What happens to date archives?
Post URLs and date archive URLs answer different requests. A post URL identifies one article; an archive URL groups posts by a date period. Because they are separate rewrite concerns, selecting Post name does not establish that date archives have disappeared, been disabled, or been redirected. If your editorial policy also requires changes to archive pages, handle that as a separate task and test it independently.
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A shorter URL can be a useful editorial and usability choice, but the official WordPress material for this procedure does not establish a quantified ranking improvement, traffic increase, or guaranteed SEO benefit. Do not change the structure solely on the promise of a particular search-result gain.
The concrete risk established by the documentation is link breakage when old URLs are not redirected. Protect existing references first: map old URLs, configure redirects, and test them. Treat any search-performance change as an outcome to monitor rather than a guaranteed result of removing date tags.
Common failure modes and fixes
The post still shows a dated URL
Return to Settings → Permalinks and verify that Post name or the intended custom structure is selected. Confirm that you clicked Save Changes. If the setting is correct but a particular post remains dated, inspect that post’s actual link and any site-specific URL rules before changing the structure again.
Old links return a not-found page
The old address has no working redirect. Add a mapping from the exact dated URL to the matching new URL, then test the old link again. Do not redirect every failure to the home page; that hides the missing mapping and gives readers no direct route to the article they requested.
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Compare the old slug, the new slug, and the destination post. Correct the individual mapping or narrow an overly broad rule. This is especially important when two posts have similar titles or when a slug was edited during the migration.
The browser reports a redirect loop
Two rules are sending the request back and forth, or a rule is matching both the old and new paths. Temporarily remove the conflicting rule, retain one direct old-to-new mapping, and test the destination URL by itself before adding other rules.
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Only some posts fail
Do not infer that the global setting failed. Compare a working and failing URL character by character. Posts with manually changed slugs, unusual characters, or additional path components may require explicit mappings even when the general date-removal rule works for ordinary posts.
The site no longer behaves as expected after the change
Restore the previously recorded structure while you investigate, then reapply the migration with a tested redirect plan. Keeping the old pattern and a sample list makes this recovery decision possible; changing settings repeatedly without a record makes it harder to identify which rule caused the problem.
Additional migration decisions
Decide whether every old URL needs an individual rule
A predictable dated pattern may allow one carefully scoped redirect rule, while edited slugs or extra path segments require individual mappings. Start with the broad pattern only when you have verified that it cannot match a valid new URL or send two old addresses to the same destination. Explicit rules are slower to prepare but easier to audit when a site has many exceptions.
Keep editors informed
Tell authors when the change will happen and show them the new format. Existing drafts and published posts follow the newly selected structure once it is saved, so links copied from old editorial notes may need updating. Ask editors to report a dated link that still appears after the migration instead of creating a second, conflicting redirect.
Separate URL changes from slug rewrites
Removing date tags is one migration. Renaming post slugs at the same time makes the mapping harder to verify because both the path structure and the final segment change. If a slug must also change, record the old dated URL, the intermediate date-free slug, and the final destination so the redirect goes directly to the final address.
Keep a rollback record
Save the former structure, a sample of old URLs, and the redirect rules used. If a problem appears, restoring the former setting can make the site reachable while you correct the mappings. Reversing the setting creates another URL transition, so test the rollback rather than assuming it restores every old link automatically.
A practical migration checklist
- Record the current permalink structure.
- Choose Post name or a custom structure containing
%postname%or%post_id%. - Remove the date tags
%year%,%monthnum%, and%day%from the custom pattern. - Save the Permalinks settings.
- Map dated URLs for existing posts to their corresponding date-free URLs.
- Configure permanent redirects with the tools available on your WordPress setup.
- Test old URLs, new URLs, unusual slugs, and representative post ages.
- Check for redirect chains, loops, and unmatched pages.
- Keep date archive behavior as a separate decision.
- Do not claim a guaranteed ranking improvement that the official documentation does not establish.
When not to remove dates
Keeping dates can be reasonable when the date is part of the site’s established information architecture, when external systems depend on the existing pattern, or when you cannot provide reliable redirects for the site’s published links. The setting is reversible, but reversing it is another URL migration. Choose one durable convention and avoid repeated structural changes that create more old addresses to maintain.
Final decision
For most sites seeking a clean date-free post address, select Post name in Settings → Permalinks and save it. Use a custom structure only when the site has a specific need for another identifier. The essential protection is not the dropdown choice; it is the redirect map and the post-change testing that preserve access to previously published links.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Will changing Permalinks update old WordPress posts too?
Yes. The new structure applies to previously published posts as well as future posts, so plan the old-to-new URL mappings before saving.
Does WordPress automatically redirect dated post URLs?
It may not. Configure permanent redirects to the matching date-free URLs and test representative old links after the change.
Should I choose Post name or a custom structure?
Choose Post name for the simplest date-free path. Use a custom structure when you need another consistent identifier, such as a category segment or post ID, while still omitting the date tags.
Which date tags must be removed?
In a custom structure, omit %year%, %monthnum%, and %day%. Include %postname% or %post_id% so WordPress can identify the post.
Will removing dates delete yearly or monthly archives?
No conclusion about archive deletion follows from changing post permalinks. Individual post URLs and date archive URLs are separate rewrite concerns; handle archive changes separately.
What should I do if only some old URLs fail?
Compare the working and failing paths character by character. Edited slugs, unusual characters, duplicate slugs, or extra segments may need explicit redirect mappings.
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Is removing dates guaranteed to improve SEO?
No. The WordPress documentation explains how to change the structure and warns about old links, but it does not establish a guaranteed ranking or traffic improvement.
Which WordPress.com plans support this setting?
The WordPress.com guidance reviewed August 11, 2026 describes the feature for plugin-enabled Personal, Premium, Business, and Commerce plans. Availability depends on the plan and site configuration.
The Bottom Line
Use Post name for a straightforward date-free WordPress URL, save the setting, then redirect every old dated address to its matching new post and test the migration. Treat date archives and SEO expectations as separate decisions.
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