Do you know what WordPress Smart Quotes are? If not, that’s okay. In this post, I’ll explain what they are, how to use them, and why you should consider using them in your own blog posts. So let’s get started!
What are WordPress Smart Quotes
WordPress smart quotes are a feature that automatically converts certain characters into “smart” typographic symbols.
For instance, when you type an apostrophe, WordPress will automatically convert it into a right single quotation mark. This can be helpful for ensuring that your text looks its best, but it can also be confusing if you’re not familiar with the process.
WordPress smart quotes are only triggered when certain characters are typed. Specifically, they only affect straight quotes (i.e., ” and ‘), em dashes (—), and ellipses (…). Additionally, they only apply to the following languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Simple Chinese, and Hebrew. If you’re using a different language or writing in a different character set, WordPress smart quotes will not be activated.
Why use WordPress Smart Quotes?
Despite the problems they can cause, there are still some good reasons to use smart quotes in your WordPress posts.
For one, they can make your posts look more professional. If you’re writing for a formal audience, using smart quotes can give your writing an extra touch of refinement.
Another benefit of smart quotes is that they can help improve the readability of your posts. This is because the curved quotation marks can make it easier for readers to distinguish between quote marks and other punctuation.
How to Turn Off WordPress Smart Quotes
WordPress is a content management system that uses smart quotes by default. Smart quotes are those curved or slanted quotation marks that some people prefer over straight, vertical marks. However, not everyone wants smart quotes on their website.
If you would prefer to use straight quotes, there are a few easy steps you can follow to turn them off.
First, open the WordPress Dashboard and go to Settings > Writing. In the “Formatting” section, titled “Convert emoticons like 🙂 and 😉 into graphics on display”, uncheck the box next to “Do convert emoticons”. This will disable smart quotes for all posts and pages on your website.
You can also use a WordPress Plugin.
Changing Straight Quotes to Smart Quotes
One of the benefits of using WordPress is that it automatically converts straight quotation marks ( ” ) and apostrophes ( ‘ ) to “smart quotes.” This feature can help to improve the readability of your content and make it look more professional. However, there may be times when you want to use straight quotes instead of smart quotes.
For instance, if you are quoting code or adding an HTML tag. In these cases, you can disable the automatic conversion by adding a simple code snippet to your functions.php file. Once added, this snippet will tell WordPress to use straight quotes instead of smart quotes. As a result, you can rest assured that your content will always look its best.
WordPress uses a function called “wptexturize” to convert straight quotes to smart quotes, among other things. This function is located in wp-includes/formatting.php. If you want to disable this function, you can add the following code snippet to your theme’s functions.php file:
// Disable wptexturize function remove_filter(‘the_content’, ‘wptexturize’); remove_filter(‘comment_text’, ‘wptexturize’); // Enable wptexturize function add_filter(‘the_content’, ‘wptexturize’, 20); add_filter(‘comment_text’, ‘wptexturize’, 20);
By default, WordPress runs the wptexturize function on both post content and comment text. The code snippet above disables the function for both post content and comments. However, you can also disable the function for just post content or just comments by removing the appropriate line of code. For example, if you want to disable wptexturize for just post content, you would remove the line that says “remove_filter(‘comment_text’, ‘wptexturize’);”.
When Should You Use Smart Quotes?
As a general rule, you should only use smart quotes when you are writing for a formal audience. For instance, if you are writing an article for a news website or blog, using smart quotes can give your writing an air of sophistication. On the other hand, if you are writing for a more casual audience, such as a personal blog or website, using straight quotes may be more appropriate.
Ultimately, the decision of whether to use smart quotes or not is up to you. If you are unsure of which style to use, we recommend erring on the side of caution and sticking with smart quotes. That way, you can be sure that your writing will always look its best.
In closing, WordPress smart quotes can be a great way to improve the readability and professionalism of your writing. However, there may be times when you want to use straight quotes instead. Luckily, WordPress makes it easy to disable the automatic conversion of straight quotes to smart quotes. Simply add a code snippet to your functions.php file and you’re all set!
