How to Show Old Post Updated/Modified Date in WordPress Without Plugins

How to Show Old Post Updated/Modified Date in WordPress: In WordPress, by default, the published date of a post is displayed on the front end of your website. However, the modified or updated date is not shown by default. This can be problematic if you frequently update your old posts and want to inform your readers about the latest changes. Fortunately, there is a way to display the updated date without using any plugins. In this article, we will guide you on how to show the modified date of old posts in WordPress without the need for additional plugins.

PHP code to show updated/modified dates in WordPress

Here you will learn how to show old posts with updated/modified dates in WordPress without using any plugins and I will show you how can you do that with the help of some short code.

Step 1: Access the Theme Editor

To begin, log in to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Appearance > Theme Editor. This will open the Theme Editor page, where you can make changes to your theme’s files.

Step 2: Locate the Theme Functions File

On the right-hand side of the Theme Editor, you will see a list of files. Look for the file named “functions.php” and click on it to open it in the editor.

Step 3: Add Code to Display Modified Date

Once you have the functions.php file open, scroll down to the end of the file and add the following code:

// By Abhishek Dey Roy

add_filter( 'generate_post_date_output', function( $output, $time_string ) {

    $time_string = '<time class="entry-date published" datetime="%1$s" itemprop="datePublished">Published on: %2$s</time>';



    if ( get_the_date() !== get_the_modified_date() ) {

        $time_string = '<time class="entry-date updated-date" datetime="%3$s" itemprop="dateModified">Last Updated on: %4$s</time>';

    }



    $time_string = sprintf( $time_string,

        esc_attr( get_the_date( 'c' ) ),

        esc_html( get_the_date() ),

        esc_attr( get_the_modified_date( 'c' ) ),

        esc_html( get_the_modified_date() )

    );



    return sprintf( '<span class="posted-on">%s</span> ',

        $time_string

    );

}, 10, 2 );

This code creates a function called `display_modified_date` that retrieves the modified date of the post using the `get_the_modified_date()` function.

It then checks if the modified date is different from the published date using the `get_the_date()` function.

If they are different, it appends the modified date to the content of the post with an appropriate HTML class for styling.

Step 4: Save Changes

After adding the code, click on the “Update File” button to save the changes made to the functions.php file.

Step 5: Style the Modified Date

Now that we have added the code to display the modified date, we need to style it to match the design of your website. You can do this by adding custom CSS to your theme’s stylesheet. To access the stylesheet, go to Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS.

In the Additional CSS section, add the following code to style the modified date:

.modified-date {
color: #888;
font-size: 14px;
margin-top: 10px;
}

Feel free to modify the CSS code to match your website’s design preferences.

Step 6: Preview and Test

Once you have saved the CSS changes, go to your website’s front end and navigate to an old post. You should now see the modified date displayed below the content of the post, indicating when it was last updated.

It is important to note that this method will only display the modified date for posts that have been updated. If a post has not been modified, the modified date will not be shown.

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FAQs

Conclusion

By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily display the modified date of old posts in WordPress without the need for any additional plugins. This allows you to keep your readers informed about the latest updates to your content, enhancing the user experience on your website.