Why You Should Change the “Howdy” Welcome Statement in WordPress

by | Mar 2, 2023 | WordPress

If you’re a WordPress user, you may have noticed that the default welcome statement in the dashboard reads “Howdy”. While this might have been a charming greeting in the past, it’s no longer considered appropriate or modern.

In today’s fast-paced and diverse world, we need to be mindful of the language we use and the messages we send. Using outdated or potentially offensive language can send the wrong message to our users and clients.

That’s why it’s important to change the “Howdy” welcome statement in WordPress to something more modern and inclusive. Not only will this show that you’re up-to-date with current language trends and standards, but it will also help create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all users.

So, how do you change the “Howdy” welcome statement in WordPress? There are a few ways to do it, but the easiest method is to use a plugin.

One popular plugin that allows you to customize the welcome message is called “Admin Custom Login”. With this plugin, you can easily change the “Howdy” welcome statement to any message you like. For example, you could change it to “Hello”, “Greetings”, or even “Welcome back”.

By taking the time to change the welcome statement in WordPress, you’re sending a clear message that you value inclusivity and are committed to creating a welcoming environment for all users. This small but important change can go a long way in building trust and fostering positive relationships with your audience.

In addition to changing the welcome statement, there are many other ways to make your website more inclusive and accessible. This might include using alt tags for images, providing captions for videos, and ensuring that your website is compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies.

By making these changes, you’re not only doing the right thing ethically, but you’re also improving the user experience for all users. In today’s world, where inclusivity and accessibility are more important than ever, it’s crucial that we take these steps to create a better web for everyone.

 

If you would perhaps want to do it more cleanly and save your website’s bandwidth, you can edit your functions.php code. 
function change_howdy_text( $translated_text, $text, $domain ) { if ( false !== strpos( $translated_text, 'Howdy' ) ) { $translated_text = str_replace( 'Howdy', 'Welcome', $translated_text ); } return $translated_text; } add_filter( 'gettext', 'change_howdy_text', 10, 3 );

If you do not have a Theme Editor option in your WordPress dashboard, you can still change the “Howdy” greeting message by accessing your WordPress files using an FTP client or through your hosting provider’s file manager.

Here are the steps to change the “Howdy” greeting message using an FTP client:

  1. Connect to your website’s server using an FTP client like FileZilla.
  2. Navigate to the WordPress root directory, which is typically named “public_html”.
  3. Open the “wp-content” folder, and then the “themes” folder.
  4. Open the folder of the active WordPress theme that you are using.
  5. Find the “functions.php” file and download it to your computer.
  6. Open the “functions.php” file with a text editor like Notepad.
  7. Scroll down to the bottom of the file and add the following code:
add_filter('gettext', 'change_howdy', 10, 3); function change_howdy($translated, $text, $domain) { if ($text == 'Howdy') $translated = 'Hello'; return $translated; }

Save the changes and upload the modified “functions.php” file back to the server.
This code uses a WordPress filter to replace the text “Howdy” with “Hello”. You can replace “Hello” with any other greeting or message you prefer.

Please note that modifying core WordPress files is not recommended as it may cause issues when updating your WordPress version. Alternatively, you can use a WordPress plugin to change the admin bar greeting message.