{"id":64231,"date":"2022-09-29T13:02:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T13:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"\/tutorials\/?p=64231"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:45:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:45:04","slug":"wordpress-date-format","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/in\/tutorials\/wordpress-date-format","title":{"rendered":"WordPress Date Format: How to Change Date and Time in WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your WordPress posts automatically display your website date and time. However, as the WordPress site owner, you may want to change or customize the date and time format to your preferences.<\/p>

Fortunately, WordPress has a function that lets you freely configure your site’s date and time format, including the one on your homepage and each post. Keep reading this article to learn how to change or customize your WordPress time and date format easily.<\/p>

Download all in one WordPress cheat sheet<\/a><\/p>

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How to Change the Date and Time Format in WordPress<\/h2>
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  1. In the WordPress dashboard<\/a>, go to Settings<\/strong> -> General<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
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    \"The<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
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    1. In the General <\/strong>settings page, scroll down until you find the Date Format <\/strong>and Time Format <\/strong>menu.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
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      \"Date<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
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      1. Feel free to choose the date and time format that suits your WordPress site the most. You can also input an alternate format in the Custom <\/strong>box. In the next section, we will explain format strings that can help you create your ideal custom format.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Check the preview to make sure you chose the correct format. If you use punctuation marks like commas or dashes, keep note that they will be used literally.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
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        \"WordPress<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
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        1. Click Save<\/strong> Changes <\/strong>to apply the new date and time formatting.<\/li>\n<\/ol>

          Alternatively, you can change your website date and time format using the WordPress template file<\/a>. This option is especially useful when your theme or plugin files have their own default date and time format.<\/p>

          In the template file, find the WordPress tag functions the_date() <\/strong>and the_time()<\/strong>. These functions display the date and time format set in your WordPress dashboard.<\/p>

          WordPress Time and Date Formats<\/h2>

          In this section, you will learn more about the WordPress time and date format strings and characters.<\/p>

          On the Settings’ General <\/strong>page, next to each option in Date Format <\/strong>and Time Format<\/strong>, there is a series of characters called the format string<\/strong>.<\/p>

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          \"WordPress<\/a><\/figure><\/div>

          These format characters represent different elements of date and time structure. For example, here’s what each character in the m\/d\/Y <\/strong>format string represents:<\/p>