What is an excerpt? (Classic Editor)

Excerpt is an optional text associated to a Post. Most of the time, it is used as the Post summary.

WordPress excerpt metabox

Not finding the Excerpt editing box? Check your Post’s Screen Options.

Regarding the Theme you are using on your site, Excerpts can be displayed on different pages (search results, archives, etc.).

If Excerpt is empty, WordPress automatically creates an excerpt using the first 55 words of the post.

1. Go to Settings > Reading.
2. Scroll to For each article in a feed, show.
3. Select Summary.

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First published

November 6, 2018

Last updated

January 11, 2023