A recent article I did on writing timeless posts included the idea of removing the date from your posts. My reasoning was that removing it helped give your content a sense of timelessness.
Search engine visitors who happened upon a post from a year or two ago wouldn’t get the impression that your blog and it’s content was outdated if the date was removed.
If you write timeless content, you don’t want the first impressions of a visitor to affect their opinion before they even get a chance to see what an expert you just may be on a particular subject.
So what are your thoughts? Do you think it matters? Does the post date affect your opinion of the content? Please vote and maybe offer a further explanation in the comments.
Loading ...
Get a Gravatar
My name is Steven Sanders and I'm a Professional Blogger, Izea Insider, Web Designer, Social Media Enthusiast, Dad, Husband, and Friend.
Hey STeven,
To clarify my vote, if the content is still valid then probably not. With that said, if we’re talking about anything techie, I’ll discount it if it’s more than a few months old.
George
I was just looking on how to remove the date from my blog. Any plugins or advice on how to remove it? Thanks for the post.
A lot of my niche blogs, which are essentially niche mini-sites, have timeless info and go unchanged for long periods. I have done several free dateless WordPress themes that I make available. But, it does depend on the subject matter.
For example, if you wanted to do a site on crochet techniques this info is essentially the same today as it was for your great-grandmother. But, if you’re talking about current tech items or current news trends like banking and mortgages it’s best to date your material and to keep it timely.
I generally don’t care about the date as long as the information seems sound and pertinent to my situation. However, before I spread the info about I will often check the date to see how likely it is that others are already aware of it (ie: I’m just now getting into GTD, so I don’t need to gush about it to others).
I don’t think removing the date is the right solution though. If I see a post without a date, particular something informative or technical (instead of just fun or opinion) – I won’t give it credit without a date. Because who knows how old it is?
The way I deal with this issue is to either write a new post about why the original post is still useful and relevant and add updated information, OR add dated “update” sections to the top of the original post that gives new information with a more recent timestamp.