It’s a small detail and, let’s be honest, a two-minute task, but manually updating the year in your website footer copyright notice is one that often gets overlooked as the new year ticks over.

Luckily, manually updating it doesn’t have to be another task on your January to-do list. 

Swap your annual two-minute manual task for a quick, two-minute automated setup and you can make sure your footer stays current without ever thinking about it again.

This guide will walk you through step-by-step instructions for setting up an auto-updating footer year across major page platforms like WordPress (Elementor and Divi), Squarespace, and Showit.

But first…

1. First Impressions Count

Keeping the copyright year in your footer up to date might seem like a small insignificant detail. But it’s the kind of detail that signals to potential clients that you’re polished, professional and still in business. In other words, it is a small but mighty trust signal.

2. Boosts SEO

Search engines love websites that are regularly updated. So ensuring your website copyright footer date updates yearly is an easy way to signal freshness to search engines. 

For some industries, keeping copyright dates accurate is a legal necessity and can reinforce ownership of your content.

4. Saves Time

Automating the update means no more manual edits every January or scrambling to fix it when you finally realise in July that your copyright notice still displays the previous year.

Woman in white sweater on her laptop updating website copyright footer

The Secret to Dates that Automatically Update:  Dynamic Content

Dynamic content is content that updates automatically based on predefined rules, data, or user inputs. 

Instead of combing through your website to manually edit details like your business name, dates, prices, or testimonials, dynamic content pulls in live data to keep everything accurate and up-to-date.

It’s a feature of many WordPress page builders and is just one of the many reasons why I love using WordPress when creating websites for my clients.

Elementor – WordPress (Code Free!)

I love the WordPress page builder Elementor for its design and functionality flexibility AND it doesn’t require any coding to set up auto-updating information like the copyright year in your footer – win-win! 

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open the Footer Section: Navigate to Templates > Theme Builder > Footer.
  2. Add a Text Editor Widget: Drag and drop it into the footer area where you want your copyright notice.
  3. Insert the Auto-Updating Year:
    1. Click the Dynamic Tags icon (it looks like stacked coins).
    2. Select Current Date Time and click the wrench icon.
    3. Set the Date Format to “Custom” and type Y (uppercase) for the year.
  4. Customise the text surrounding the year: Click ‘Advanced’ and add your custom info before or after the year e.g. “© [Your Business Name]. All rights reserved.” 
  5. Publish & Test: Check the live site to confirm the update.

More of a visual person? Watch my Elementor Tutorial for automatically updating the copyright year in your footer.

Divi – WordPress (Code Free!)

  1. Open Footer Template: Navigate to Divi > Theme Builder > Global Footer 
  2. Add a Text Module: Place it where you want the copyright notice.
  3. Insert Dynamic Year:
    1. Click the Dynamic Content icon (stacked coins with a plus sign).
    2. Choose Current Date > Date Format > Custom and set to Y (uppercase) for the year.
  4. Customise Text: E.g. add “© [Business Name]. All rights reserved.”
  5. Save Changes: Publish and preview your site.

Squarespace (Requires Coding)

Advertised as a ‘no-code’ platform for beginners, the true no-code way to update the copyright date in a Squarespace footer is to do it manually. For an auto-updating date, you’ll need to get friendly with coding… 

  1. Go to Footer Settings: Open the editor and navigate to the footer section.
  2. Add a Text Block: Select Add Block > Text Block in the editor.
  3. Add Code: Follow the coding instructions from S-E Web Design 
  4. Save & Test – Ensure it updates automatically.

Showit (Requires Coding)

Like Squarespace, Showit also claims to be a ‘no-code’ option but to set up an auto-updating website copyright year, you’ll also need to cosy up with some code.

  1. Edit Footer Section: Open the Showit editor and select the footer area.
  2. Add a Code Block: Place the code block where you want the year displayed.
  3. Add your code: Copy and paste the following code, adding your business name where it says “YOUR BUSINESS NAME” 
© YOUR BUSINESS NAME <script>
    document.write(new Date().getFullYear());
</script>. All rights reserved.
  1. Style the code block: to match the rest of your site.
  2. Save & Publish 

Extra tip: Make sure you update the footer in the mobile version of your Showit website too.

Final Words

And there you have it—proof that not all website updates have to be complicated or time-consuming! 

Setting up an auto-updating footer is one of those small wins that keeps your site looking fresh without adding to your to-do list.

Your footer is sorted—what’s next? Grab my Client Connection Scorecard and get a custom action plan to take the guesswork out of creating a client-converting website.