Want to Limit Post Title Length in WordPress? Here is How to Add Character Limits to Post Titles

As a WordPress consultant with over 5 years of experience, I often get asked: "What is the ideal post title length?"

While everyone has different opinions, research shows that 55-60 characters is optimal for click-through-rates across search engines and social media.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explain why limiting post title length is important and provide actionable solutions to add character limits in WordPress.

Why You Should Limit Post Title Length

Let‘s first go over some of the key reasons why limiting post title length can benefit your site:

Boost Click-Through Rates

According to recent experiments by BuzzSumo, post titles with 50-60 characters received over 60% more clicks on social media compared to longer titles.

Search engines like Google also display about 55-60 characters of titles in search results. Concise titles lead to better click-through-rates.

Improve Social Media Performance

Post titles with 60 characters earned a massive 21% higher social share count versus titles longer than 60 characters in BuzzSumo‘s analysis.

Twitter displays about 60 characters of a post title when shared. So it‘s wise to keep titles Tweet-friendly.

Enhance SEO & Readability

Long or repetitive titles are more difficult for users to parse. Short & sweet titles enhance readability.

They also reduce the risk of keyword stuffing penalties by search engines.

Spark Creativity & Consistency

Constraints drive creativity. Limiting post title length encourages writers to choose their words wisely.

It also leads to greater consistency across blog posts for improved user experience.

Best Practice Tips for Post Title Length

Based on my consulting experience, here are some best practices regarding post title length:

• For most sites, 55-60 characters is the optimum title length
• Use compelling power words that capture attention
• Focus on primary keywords near the beginning of titles
• Use conversational language to intrigue readers

Let‘s now dive into how to actually implement post title character limits in WordPress.

Plugin Method

The simplest approach is to use a purpose-built plugin. My top recommendation is Limit Post Title Characters.

Here‘s an overview of its key features:

• Set maximum title length (e.g. 60 characters)
• Counts characters and shows limit in post editor
• Works across all post types
• Easy install and configuration

Pros

• Simple set-up
• Reliable & risk-free

Cons

• Additional plugin required
• Limited customization

Installing the Post Title Limit Plugin

From your WordPress dashboard:

1. Go to Plugins > Add New
2. Search for "Limit Post Title Characters"
3. Install and activate the plugin

Next, navigate to Settings > Limit Post Title Chars to configure your settings:

![plugin settings screenshot]

You can set maximum title length and choose which post types it applies to.

Code Snippet Method

Alternatively, you can limit post titles by adding the following code to your active theme‘s functions.php file:

function limit_title_length( $data , $postarr ) {

  if ( ‘post‘ == $data[‘post_type‘] ) {
    if ( strlen( $data[‘post_title‘] ) > 60 ) {
      wp_die( __( ‘Maximum post title length exceeded‘, ‘mytheme‘ ) );
    }
  }

  return $data;
}

add_filter( ‘wp_insert_post_data‘ , ‘limit_title_length‘ , ‘99‘, 2 );  

This checks if titles exceed 60 characters and limits length if so.

Pros

• No added plugins
• Complete control

Cons

• Requires coding skills
• Risk of site issues

Final Thoughts

I hope this guide gave you clarity on the ideal post title length and actionable solutions to implement title limits in WordPress.

As a quick recap, the data-backed best practice is 55-60 characters for maximum click-throughs and social engagement.

Both the purpose-built plugin and code snippet methods have their respective pros and cons. Evaluate them against your site‘s needs.

If you have any other questions on post title optimization, feel free to reach out!