Reverse Title is a lightweight WordPress plugin that swaps the order of the page title and site name in the browser <title> tag on posts, pages, and custom post types. The default WordPress title format is Page Title – Site Name, and with Reverse Title it becomes Site Name – Page Title. The front page title is unchanged.
The most common alternative to Reverse Title is using a small custom filter in functions.php, and there are title reversal features found in plugins like Yoast SEO. Reverse Title is a bit different, though, because it tries to address just one problem, and that's it.
Well, Reverse Title does offer a little bit more. You can also:
- Change the separator between your site name and page title
- Enable or disable title reversal on a per-post basis
- Add a custom tagline, slogan, or even a Unicode character between your site name and page title
If like me you like having your bookmarks and tabs sorted by [site name] and being able to use a custom separator, this plugin is for you. Using Reverse Title has no negative impact on SEO. If your site has an up to date sitemap.xml file, search engines will simply pick up your site's new titles in a couple days. (An important exception is emojis. Unicode characters are fine, but don't use emojis in your <title> tags. Sites using emojis in their titles may experience a measurable drop in traffic.)
Reverse Title was developed for the McMinnville Chess Club website. If you find this plugin useful, consider making a donation to the McMinnville Chess Club!
Title reversal
Applies to posts, pages, and any registered custom post type. The front page is always excluded. The reversal is applied via the document_title_parts filter, which means it affects the <title> tag used by browsers and search engines.
Custom separator
By default Reverse Title uses whatever separator WordPress is configured to use (usually –). A custom separator can be set under Settings -> Reverse Title, for example ·, |, or even ♝. Leave the field blank to fall back to the WordPress default. The custom separator also applies to the front page title when the site has a tagline set under Settings -> General. If the separator contains an emoji, an inline warning appears explaining the SEO risk (see the note about emoji in the intro).
Archives and search
By default only singular posts, pages, and custom post types are reversed. An opt-in setting under Settings -> Reverse Title extends reversal to category, tag, author, date, search, and 404 titles as well. The front page is always excluded.
Per-post opt-out
Individual posts and pages can be excluded from title reversal. A Reverse Title meta box appears in the sidebar of the post and page editors with a single checkbox: Don't reverse page title and site name for this post. The meta box appears on all public post types, including custom post types. The checkbox state is stored as post meta and deleted (not set to 0) when unchecked, which keeps unnecessary post data out of the database.
Developer filters
The reversal condition is passed through the wp_reverse_title_enabled filter so other plugins or themes can override the logic without modifying this file:
// Disable reversal on a specific page by ID
add_filter( 'wp_reverse_title_enabled', function( $enabled ) {
return ( is_page( 42 ) ) ? false : $enabled;
} );The separator used in reversed titles is passed through the wp_reverse_title_separator filter, allowing a different separator per post type or per post without touching Settings:
// Use a different separator on a specific post type
add_filter( 'wp_reverse_title_separator', function( $sep ) {
return is_singular( 'product' ) ? '·' : $sep;
} );- Upload the
wp-reverse-titlefolder towp-content/plugins/. - Activate the plugin from the Plugins admin screen.
- Title reversal is active immediately on all singular posts and pages.
All options are under Settings -> Reverse Title.
Custom separator
Replaces the default WordPress title separator in reversed titles. Accepts any length of text - use this to add a custom tagline, slogan, or even a Unicode character between your site name and page title. Leave blank to use the WordPress default. A live preview updates as you type.
Per-post opt-out
When enabled, a Reverse Title meta box appears in the editor sidebar on all public post types, allowing individual posts to opt out of title reversal. Enabled by default. Disable this if you don't need per-post control and prefer a more minimal editor sidebar.
Archives and search
Off by default. When enabled, title reversal also applies to category, tag, author, date, search, and 404 pages, not just singular posts and pages. The front page is always excluded.
- The custom separator setting applies globally by default. Use the
wp_reverse_title_separatorfilter (above) to vary it per post type or per post. - Titles for archives, 404s, and search results are unaffected unless the Archives and search setting is enabled.
- While Unicode separators are supported by all modern browsers and common characters like
·or|are safe, some screen readers may announce characters by name. For example, instead of "pi" the 𝜋 symbol may be announced as "MATHEMATICAL BOLD ITALIC SMALL PI" instead.
The title order isn't changing.
Confirm the plugin is active. If the front page is a static page, its title is intentionally left unchanged. Check whether the post has the per-post opt-out checkbox enabled.
The custom separator isn't appearing.
The separator is applied via document_title_separator, which WordPress calls before document_title_parts inside wp_get_document_title(). If another plugin or theme hooks into document_title_separator with a priority higher than the default (10), it may override the custom separator. Try deactivating other plugins one at a time, and if you find the conflicting plugin let me know by opening a GitHub issue.
The custom separator appears garbled.
Check that your database is UTF-8 encoded. WordPress uses UTF-8 by default, but older WordPress sites may still be using latin1. RSS readers, text-based browsers, and older systems and their system fonts may also not support your favorite Unicode characters, but that's not a problem with WordPress.
- The custom separator is stored in
wp_optionsunderwp_reverse_title_separator. - Whether the opt-out meta box is shown is stored in
wp_optionsunderwp_reverse_title_show_meta_box. - The archives and search setting is stored in
wp_optionsunderwp_reverse_title_reverse_archives. - Per-post opt-outs are stored as post meta keyed
_wp_reverse_title_opt_outon the post.
Reverse Title tries to play nice, and uninstalling the plugin deletes all three options and all per-post opt-out meta entries via delete_post_meta_by_key().
GPL-2.0-or-later