There’s one trend I’ve been noticing lately when it comes to blogging: not including the date on posts. While there are a ton of great reasons to not include the date and I completely understand why one would remove it, I want to take a look at why you should consider including the date with your blog posts.
Information is constantly changing
Nowadays things are changing rapidly. What might have been relevant 2 years ago may no longer be. Because of this, publishing content and not including the date can be misleading, especially if your content is on a subject where information becomes outdated. By including the date on your posts, you’re giving your readers context. They can automatically decide whether your information is current or not. They’re not wasting their time reading a post and implementing things only to later find out that all their time and energy spent was for nothing.
It Shows Currency
How many times have you stumbled across an awesome blog and were unsure when the last time it was updated? Including the date on your posts tells people “Hey! I’m still here!” I don’t know about you, but when I stumble across a blog that hasn’t been updated in awhile, I usually just walk away, making no effort to connect. If the date isn’t listed on your posts, how will people know that your blog is still active? Some people might automatically assume that it is, while others might think the opposite.
Who Should Include the date?
Some blogs can get away with not including the date, while others will benefit from it. Posts on technology, social media, or even reviews should think about including the date. If the information within your niche changes rapidly, then you should probably consider including the date. Of course while you are always free to go back and edit past posts, there may come a time when you are unable to do so. The date at least will provide some insight into the fact that the content presented might not be current.
How to incorporate the date in a non-obvious way
Okay, so let’s say you want to include the date, but you’re afraid people are going to see it and think your posts are no longer relevant. I understand. Luckily, you can still include the date in a non-obvious way. That way, you aren’t turning readers away, but those who are looking for the date can find it.
The first way is to add the date to the bottom of your posts. Readers won’t immediately be hit with the date as soon as they land on your posts, but it’s still there for those who are looking for it.
If you want to leave the date off your individual posts, but still let people know that your blog is updated regularly, you can display the date on your main blog page, but hide it on individual posts. That way, people searching through your site will still receive some context, but your individual posts will remain timeless.
One final way to incorporate the date is to display an updated on date rather than a published on date. As we all know, some content can still remain relevant years after the fact. Displaying an updated on date allows your older content to remain current. This method does require a bit of coding knowledge in order to get the date to change as a post is updated, so it’s definitely not a quick fix.
Do you display the date on your posts? Why or why not? Join in the discussion below.
Note: This post was originally published as “Is Your Blog Missing This One Crucial Thing?” I’ve since updated this post to reflect the fact that including the date is not a necessity, but is something you should consider. I have a guest post in the works that will discuss the benefits of not including the date on your posts so you can see both sides and make an educated decision when it comes to your blog.
About the Author
Allyssa is a web designer from New Jersey who works with small business owners to create an online presence that elevates their brand to premium status.
THANK YOU. No dates are my biggest blogging pet peeve.
Hi Alyssa, great blog you have! I usually find your posts very informative, but want to throw in the other perspective for you to consider on this one- there are definite reasons to not date your posts. What if you have years worth of still relevant content and people think- oh this is from 2011, it must not apply/be good info anymore- so they skip right over it? It depends on the topics you cover, of course, but in the past year I removed the dates from my 9+ year old blog and suddenly older, still awesome and relevant content is new again and getting fresh looks it probably wouldn’t get if the dates were attached still. It’s made all my content “evergreen” which is incredibly valuable. Recency and relevancy don’t necessarily go hand in hand. There are no hard and fast rules to blogging, even this one- different things can work well for different circumstances and experimenting with what works for you is always best.
Jena, you make excellent points.Those reasons are why I understand people not wanting to date their posts. I definitely think the subject matter should be taken into account. In some instances, the date is absolutely important. But in others, it’s not. Thanks for chiming in. It’s awesome that you’ve gotten more views after removing the dates. It’s always interesting to see what works for others!
I agree. If you write about technology in any way, shape or form, PLEASE include the date. If you write about life and time really doesn’t have anything to do with it, I think leaving the date off might help so someone doesn’t pass because it’s a few years old. :-)
I also am very against dates, though it seems like we’re in the minority here. I also try to make evergreen content. And when it’s not evergreen (like a link roundup), I’ll include the date somewhere else like in the image.
My most popular blog posts will be around for the long haul, and I update them as needed. It’s safe for me to say that the 20-80 rule fits my blog perfectly – 20% of my content drives 80% of my traffic. So it isn’t hard for me to keep that information up to date.
And yes, I absolutely will skip reading a blog post if I see the date and it’s a couple of years old, even if it is still evergreen content.
Jennifer, good points. And I agree that since your content will be up for the long haul, it’s important to keep them up to date. I think if you do so, then a date isn’t completely necessary. Unfortunately, I don’t think many people go back to update their posts, and I think that’s when having the date is important. And I don’t think you and Jena are in the minority! It seems like it’s definitely something a lot of people recommend. In fact, I think I’m slowly joining your side, haha. You both have made great arguments for it that I never thought of!
Yes to this! It drives me crazy when I don’t see a date on blog posts. And when it’s not even in the comments, either. Sharing this post now.
Thanks for sharing! I can see not having the date on your post, but the comments is another thing. I don’t get that one at all.
It bothers me when blog posts don’t have the date. It’s spammy to me- like you’re trying to hide how often something is updated
That’s how I feel sometimes too. Especially when I stumble across a blog and I realize that it hasn’t been updated in years. I understand some content may still be relevant, but when it makes your blog look like it’s being updated and it’s not, then that’s a problem.
I’m a big fan of being able to see the date on blog posts. I can see the advantages to not listing the date, but I use the date to understand the context around the post. If you don’t want to list the date, at least having the date in comments allows for some context and a reader with my mindset can take a look at figure out roughly when it was posted.
I’ve always displayed the date but have recently noticed many blogs hiding it. I wondered why! Your info is very relevant, though, and it makes me think maybe I should display it at the bottom of posts rather than the top, especially since I tweet older posts to keep up engagement! Thanks for the tips!!!
Thanks so much for this post – I’ve been reading lots about removing the date from my posts and haven’t made up my mind about the whole thing yet, it’s so useful to hear the other side of things. I really love the idea of placing the dates at the bottom of the post though – genius!
Ellie
I don’t think the date crucial but I do agree that people should have it! I don’t get why people would want to leave it off. Nowadays, users know how to tell if a post is old (comments, for example, usually still have timestamps) and there are other ways to optimize evergreen content.
I hate when a blog doesn’t date their posts! I was scrolling through one the other day and loved their content, about to hit subscribe when I was looking through the comments…. from 2012… It is just important for the blogs history even if it no longer exists. Especially if it is time specific, things change so fast these days!
Exactly! There’s nothing worse than coming across an amazing site and wanting to subscribe only to find out it’s inactive. Of course the content could still be valid, but it’s a bit of a let down.