WordPress Copyright Footer PHP Code

WordPress: Here’s a unique, copyright-free PHP code snippet you can use to create a dynamic copyright footer in WordPress:

<?php
/**
 * Dynamic Copyright Footer for WordPress
 * This code is free to use and modify
 */

function dynamic_copyright_footer() {
    $site_name = get_bloginfo('name');
    $start_year = 2020; // Change this to your site's first year
    $current_year = date('Y');

    // Determine year display
    $year_display = ($start_year == $current_year) ? $current_year : $start_year . ' - ' . $current_year;

    // Build the copyright notice
    $copyright = sprintf(
        '&copy; %s %s. %s',
        $year_display,
        esc_html($site_name),
        __('All rights reserved.', 'text-domain')
    );

    // Optional: Add a custom message
    $custom_message = __('Content licensed under Creative Commons.', 'text-domain');

    // Output the footer
    echo '<div class="copyright-footer">';
    echo '<p>' . $copyright . '</p>';
    echo '<p>' . $custom_message . '</p>';
    echo '</div>';
}

How to Use This Code:

  1. Add this code to your theme’s functions.php file or a custom plugin
  2. Call the function in your footer template with <?php dynamic_copyright_footer(); ?>

Customization Options:

  • Change $start_year to match when your website was first published
  • Modify the copyright text as needed
  • Update the text-domain to match your theme’s text domain
  • Add CSS styling to the .copyright-footer class

This code is completely free to use and modify without any copyright restrictions. It automatically updates the year and can be easily customized to fit your site’s needs.