How to Add Breadcrumbs in WordPress: A Detailed Guide
Easy navigation is a top priority for most people who are on a WordPress website. Nowadays, people want to find whatever it is that they need with as few clicks as possible. Ideally, visitors to your site should be able to find information they are looking for with the utmost ease.
This is where adding breadcrumbs can come in handy. Breadcrumbs work by providing visitors with a straightforward method of moving around your website. Breadcrumbs can also help your visitors easily understand how your whole site is structured.
Breadcrumbs in WordPress: Your Quick Guide
In a nutshell, breadcrumbs are navigational aids designed to help your site visitors understand where they currently are on your website. Breadcrumbs show your web pages’ hierarchy. This can be used by visitors if they want to go back to a previous page. It can also be extremely helpful if they are looking for more relevant content.
Top Reasons to Add Breadcrumbs to Your WordPress Website
It makes site navigation quick and straightforward
When you use breadcrumbs, you give your site visitors easy access to related pages on your website with just a few clicks. Aiding navigation this way is considered ideal as it keeps site visitors engaged for a longer period. In addition, it also exposes your visitors to more relevant content as well as product offerings.
It can help lower bounce rates
Since your site visitors can access your site from any page, they also serve as guides for visitors so they can explore other parts of the site as easily as possible. That said, breadcrumbs can also help ensure site visitors have a great experience each time they visit.
It can help improve your search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts
What makes breadcrumbs truly amazing is it can do more than just enhance the user experience. Breadcrumbs can also help ensure search engines crawl your site and determine its internal linking structure. Google also uses breadcrumbs in their search results to help visitors navigate your site effortlessly.
How to Add Breadcrumbs to WordPress
- Install Yoast SEO and activate.
- Copy the breadcrumb embed code snippet and click on update file.
- Select Appearance and then choose Theme Editor.
- Paste the code snippet into the theme file(s).
- Click on SEO then Search Appearance.
- Click the Breadcrumbs tab.
- Click Enabled under the Breadcrumbs settings.
- Configure your breadcrumbs settings and click Save changes after.
How to Add Breadcrumbs Using Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is one of the most popular plugins for WordPress. Users can do a lot using Yoast SEO including breadcrumb navigation.
- Install and activate the Yoast SEO plugin. Go to Plugins and then Add New.
- Add a code to your theme file that will tell Yoast SEO where you want to display your breadcrumbs. Copy and post the following snippet.
3. Save your changes by clicking Update File.
4. Find the select Appearance on the left sidebar. Click on Theme Editor.
5. In the theme editor, paste the code snippet on the bottom of the following theme files:
- header.php (if you want the breadcrumbs to show in the header across the entire site)
- page.php (if you want the breadcrumbs to appear on all your pages)
- single.php (if you want breadcrumbs to appear on all your posts)
6. In the left sidebar, select SEO and then go to Search Appearance.
7. Click on the Breadcrumbs tab.
8. Click Enabled under the Breadcrumbs settings.
9. Select Enabled to reveal the breadcrumb settings. Configure them according to how you see fit.
10. Click on the Save changes tab you can see at the bottom of the page.
How to Add Breadcrumbs Using Other WordPress Plugins
If you prefer to use a different tool to add breadcrumbs, consider the following:
Rank Math
Rank Math is a WordPress plugin that can help users rank high in the search engines. Here is how you can add breadcrumbs using Rank Math:
- Install and activate the plugin by going to Plugins then Add New. This adds a new Rank Math option to the left sidebar.
- Complete the six step Setup Wizard. Click Return to the dashboard at the end of the setup.
- In the left side panel, select Rank Math and then go to General Settings.
- Under the Breadcrumbs tab, find On and click on the Enable breadcrumbs function.
- Configure the breadcrumbs settings according to your preferences.
- Click Save Changes once done.
Breadcrumb
Breadcrumb is a lightweight plugin made especially for breadcrumb navigation using shortcodes. To use this plugin:
- Find Plugins and go to Add New to install and activate the Plugins. This will add the Breadcrumb option to the left sidebar.
- Select Breadcrumb in the left sidebar.
- Under the Breadcrumb Settings, you can configure breadcrumbs according to how you see fit.
- Click Save Changes once done.
- Navigate a new or existing post or page in the WordPress editor and add the code [breadcrumb].
Flexy Breadcrumb
Flexy Breadcrumb is highly popular because it is easy to implement. It also uses shortcodes to add breadcrumbs to a site.
- Go to Plugins then Add New to install and activate. Flexy Breadcrumb will be added to the left sidebar.
- Select Flexy Breadcrumb in the left sidebar.
- Go to General Settings and configure the settings according to your liking.
- Save Changes once done.
- Add the following short code to your WordPress Visual editor [flexy_breadcrumb].
Adding Breadcrumbs to WordPress with Themes
Most of the latest WordPress themes enable breadcrumb navigation so you typically will not need to add anything extra to add the breadcrumbs to your website. Some themes that have a built-in breadcrumbs feature include:
- WooThemes. This is a collection of WordPress themes that come with breadcrumb capabilities.
- Page Builder Framework. This theme allows users to customise their plugins.
- Astra. This theme gives you the option to place breadcrumbs anywhere on the page.
- Shopkeeper. This theme allows you to enable breadcrumbs on your online store.
Conclusion
The importance of adding breadcrumbs to your WordPress site cannot be overstated. Just follow the steps above and you are well on your way to adding this amazing feature on your site.