Custom Excerpt Length

Control the length of WordPress excerpts in words and customize the “read more” link text. Perfect for matching blog archive layouts to your design requirements without editing theme code.

Use Cases#

• Set excerpt to exactly 25 words for blog archives to match your design
• Change the default [...] to “Continue Reading” or a custom message
• Create clickable “Read More” links instead of plain text
• Optimize excerpt length for mobile-friendly layouts

How It Works#

1. Enable the module in Switchboard
2. Set your desired word count
3. Customize the read more text
4. Changes apply immediately to all auto-generated excerpts

Settings#

Excerpt Length#

WordPress defaults to 55 words. Common alternatives:

Read More Text Examples#

Using %link% for Clickable Links#

The special %link% placeholder creates a clickable link to the full post:

... %link%

Displays as:

Post excerpt text… Read More

The link text is automatically translated to “Read More” in your site’s language.

Where Excerpts Appear#

This module affects excerpts shown on:

• Blog archive pages
• Category and tag archives
• Search results
• Author archive pages
• Any template using the_excerpt()

Automatic vs Manual Excerpts#

Automatic Excerpts (Affected by Word Count)#

WordPress generates these from your post content when you don’t write a manual excerpt. The module:

1. Counts words from your post content
2. Cuts off at your specified limit
3. Appends your “Read More” text

Manual Excerpts (Not Affected by Word Count)#

When you write a custom excerpt in the post editor:

1. Your full excerpt is used (no word limit)
2. Your “Read More” text is still appended

Design Tips#

Mobile Optimization#

Shorter excerpts (15-25 words) work better on mobile:

• Less scrolling required
• Cards and grids look cleaner
• Faster visual scanning

Consistency#

Use the same excerpt length across your site for visual consistency. If your theme has multiple archive styles, the single setting ensures uniformity.

Call to Action#

Using %link% creates a clear call-to-action:

• More clickable than plain ...
• Improves user engagement
• Better for accessibility

Compatibility#

Works With#

• All themes using WordPress’s the_excerpt() function
• Most page builders that pull excerpts
• RSS feeds

May Not Affect#

• Themes with custom excerpt functions
• Page builders with their own excerpt settings
• Custom post type archives (depends on theme implementation)

FAQ#