How to set minimum word count for WordPress posts

WordPress does not specify a minimum amount of text for blog posts, and if your site accepts content from multiple authors, specifying a minimum work count is critical. This article will demonstrate how to set a minimum word count for a WordPress blog post.

Setting a minimum word count for WordPress blog posts

Always perform a backup before you make any changes to the theme files. If you break any codes, it will be easier to revert your site to its last good known state. Alternatively, you could also create a child theme. Read this link on how to create a child theme: https://www.a2hosting.com/blog/wordpress-child-theme/  

Follow the steps below to edit your Theme setting file to set minimum word count blog posts in WordPress:

  1. Log in to your WordPress site with an administrator account.
  2. On the Dashboard in the left sidebar, click Appearance, and then click Theme Editor:

  3. On the Theme Editor , select the Theme you want to edit from the dropdown:

  4. The files for this selected theme are listed on the right column under Theme Files. Click on the file named “functions.php”:

  5. Insert the following code to the end of functions.php file and click Update File Button to save the changes:

    function minWord($content)
    
    {
    
        global $post;
    
        $content = $post->post_content;
    
        if (str_word_count($content) < 100 ) //set this to the minimum number of words
    
        wp_die( __('Error: your post is below the minimum word count. It needs to be longer than 100 words.') );
    
    }
    
    add_action('publish_post', 'minWord');

     

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