Over 30% Struggle with the WordPress “Read More” Tag
WordPress powers over 30% of all websites, yet many site owners struggle to properly configure the platform’s “Read More” tag to display post excerpts. From my early days of building sites, I vividly recall the client headaches caused by posts unexpectedly displaying full content rather than summaries. After some frantic troubleshooting, I traced the issue back to an incorrectly set “Read More” parameter.
In this post, we’ll cover the most common “Read More” errors in WordPress and walk through solutions to get your site excerpt functionality back on track. Whether you want to add, remove or customize the tag, this guide will help you avoid the need for any panicked client emails!
To quickly resolve many “Read More” problems, check that your WordPress Reading Settings are configured to show post summaries. You can also try installing plugins like “Read More Without Refresh” to enable excerpt-style content without page reloads.
If tweaking settings doesn’t fix things, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Read on as we dive deeper into both coding and non-coding troubleshooting tips for every type of “Read More” issue. With a bit of focused effort, you’ll have your post previews working perfectly.
Correct Use of the More Tag
The “Read More” tag is an incredibly useful feature in WordPress that allows you to display post excerpts in places like archives and feeds, while keeping the full post content on the actual post page. However, many site owners struggle to configure it properly, leading to the dreaded “missing Read More button” issue that leaves visitors hanging.
To avoid this, it’s vital to understand the intended use of the tag. Essentially, it creates a clear split between the post excerpt and content – excerpt shows in summaries, full content shows on the post page. By default, WordPress will truncate posts after 55 words in archives/feeds. The Read More tag overrides this, letting you choose where to split content more precisely.
So in practical terms, here is how to set up the Read More tag correctly:
- When writing a post, decide where you want the excerpt to end. Place your cursor at this point.
- Click the “Insert Read More” button in the editor toolbar. This inserts the tag.
- Text above the tag will display as the excerpt. Text below will show on the post page.
Additionally, there are a couple of settings under Settings > Reading that relate to the Read More tag:
- “For each article in a feed, show” – Set this to “Summary” to utilize post excerpts created with Read More tags.
- “When using excerpts” – Controls excerpt length if no Read More tag is found. Defaults to 55 words.
Save any changes after adjusting these settings to avoid potential display issues.
And that’s the basics of properly implementing the Read More tag in WordPress! With this set up correctly, you’ll have full control over post excerpts in archives and feeds. No more frustrating truncated posts or confusing configurations.
Now, let’s move on to adding and removing that handy Read More button itself…
Adding and Removing the Read More Button
The “Read More” tag is an essential part of WordPress
The “Read More” tag is an essential part of WordPress that allows you to break your posts up into excerpts and full articles. Around 43% of WordPress site owners make use of this helpful tag to improve reader experience. However, many users struggle with properly adding and removing the Read More button. In this section, we’ll cover the steps for inserting and deleting this feature easily.
Adding a Read More Button
If you’re using the Classic Editor in WordPress, adding a Read More button is simple. Just place your cursor where you want the excerpt preview of your article to end. Then utilize the dedicated “Insert Read More” tag option found in your toolbar editor. This will automatically add the split.
To adjust the read more position later, you can simply remove the existing tag and re-insert it wherever needed. Just highlight the tag and hit delete on your keyboard to remove it. Then place your cursor at the new desired location and insert the tag again from the toolbar.
Removing the Read More Button
If you want to get rid of the Read More button entirely from your WordPress site, that can be easily done as well.
Navigate to Appearance > Customize from your WordPress dashboard. Next, click on Content followed by the Blog/Archive tab. Here you’ll find an option titled “Enable Read More in Excerpts”. Simply toggle this off to disable the appearance of the Read More link across your site. This removes it without needing to delete the tag itself from individual posts.
The steps outlined above make adding and removing Read More straightforward. However, if any issues persist, don’t hesitate to tap into WordPress support resources online to troubleshoot further. Stuck with a specific Read More error? Search the forums at WordPress.org which provide fixes submitted by other users who have encountered similar problems.
Enabling Read More Without Page Refresh
One of the common frustrations with the standard WordPress “Read More” functionality is that clicking the button refreshes the entire page. This interrupts the user experience. Fortunately, there are solutions to enable the read more excerpt to expand without reloading the page.
The Read More Without Refresh plugin provides seamless read more that avoids page refreshes. After installing this handy plugin, head to Settings > Read More Without Refresh to customize the text on the read more and read less buttons. This allows you to replace the default text with whatever works best for your site’s voice and style.
Once activated, the plugin automatically converts all “Read More” tags in your content to smooth, ajax-powered buttons. There is no need to update old posts. The plugin handles this retroactively.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Installing and Configuring Read More Without Refresh
1. In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New
2. Search for “Read More Without Refresh” and click Install Now
3. After installation, click Activate to enable the plugin
4. Go to Settings > Read More Without Refresh
5. Customize the text for the “Read More” and “Read Less” buttons
6. Click Save Changes
That’s all there is to it! Now when visitors click the read more button on your site, the content will smoothly expand without reloading or interrupting their experience.
The key benefit of this plugin is delivering a smoother user experience that encourages visitors to continue reading content instead of getting frustrated with unnecessary page refreshes.
While this handles most needs, there are also advanced customization options available in the plugin settings. For example, you can exclude specific posts from the ajax load effect or customize the loading icon animation.
By spending just a few minutes installing and configuring this time-saving plugin, you can avoid one of the most annoying issues with the default WordPress excerpt functionality. No more unnecessary page refreshes interrupting your visitors.
Diagnosing Underlying Issues
WordPress is an incredibly powerful and flexible content management system used by over 30% of all websites. However, with great power comes great complexity. Many site owners find WordPress challenging to work with out-of-the-box, especially when it comes to more advanced functionality like properly configuring the “Read More” button.
Lack of Onboarding Process
Unlike simpler website builders like Wix or Squarespace that guide you through creating a site step-by-step, WordPress just gives you access to all the settings at once. This can be overwhelming for non-technical users who don’t know where to start. There’s no handholding or clear path to follow. You’re left to figure out everything through documentation or trial and error.
Necessity of Manual Configuration
WordPress is designed to be customized and extended through plugins, themes, and manual configuration. So getting things set up properly requires digging into settings and code. For example, there are over 20 options just under Settings > Reading that control site behavior and content display. If you don’t understand what something like “Syndication feeds show the most recent” means, it can be frustrating.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you’re struggling to get your “Read More” tag and buttons working properly, here are some troubleshooting tips:
Simplify and Isolate
Activate a basic WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-One and deactivate all plugins. Then test if the issue still occurs. This eliminates conflicts with your theme or plugins.
Check Server Resources
Some functionality problems come down to limited resources on your web hosting server. Check if increasing PHP memory limit or maximum execution time in wp-config.php solves things.
Leverage WordPress Support
The WordPress community is a valuable free resource for troubleshooting. Search the forums on WordPress.org, post a question if needed, and browse documentation for assistance.
This section covers the two main complaints around WordPress complexity, lack of onboarding and manual configuration needs, provides simplified troubleshooting tips for “Read More” tag issues, and points to WordPress community support resources.
Resolving “Read More” Problems and Contributing to the WordPress Community
We’ve covered several common issues that site owners face when configuring the “Read More” tag and excerpt functionality in WordPress. While the complexity of WordPress can definitely be frustrating at times, there are solutions available with a bit of focused troubleshooting.
The first step is always to double check that your WordPress Reading settings are configured properly to display post summaries. Additionally, installing a dedicated plugin like “Read More Without Refresh” can enable the seamless read more experience many users want without forcing page reloads.
If you still face problems, simplify by deactivating plugins, switching to a default theme like Twenty Twenty-One, and checking for resource limitations on your web server. The WordPress support forums at WordPress.org are also a great place to find solutions to specific issues you may encounter.
Beyond just troubleshooting problems, it’s also rewarding to contribute back to the WordPress open source community. You can report bugs, help fix them by contributing code via the WordPress Trac system, join mailing lists like wp-hackers for developer discussions, and stay updated on accessibility and multilingual initiatives that help make WordPress usable for more people.
WordPress powers over 43% of all websites because of the strength of its community. By participating, you ensure that essential projects like enhancing “Read More” functionality continue to improve. So take the first step by troubleshooting your own site’s issues, then pay it forward by getting involved in the global WordPress ecosystem. The software and the community will be better for your contributions.

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