In short. In Settings > Reading, select Full text or Excerpt for feed content, then click Save Changes.
Definition: WordPress's feed content setting selects whether each post in a syndication feed includes its full text or an excerpt, a short summary. A syndication feed supplies website updates to feed readers and other applications.
Key facts
- As of 17 October 2026, WordPress's Reading settings documentation describes Full text as including the full content of each post and Excerpt as including a shorter version that can save bandwidth.
- WordPress's excerpt guide states that an empty excerpt field produces an automatic excerpt from the first 55 words of the post.
- The Reading screen source labels the current control For each post in a feed, include and explains that the theme determines how content appears in browsers.
Where is the feed content setting?
In the administration area, the path is Settings > Reading, as described in the excerpt guide. The guide calls the shorter choice Summary. The Reading settings documentation calls it Excerpt; both describe the shorter feed content option.
Under the feed content control, selecting Full text supplies the article body to feed readers. Selecting Excerpt supplies a summary. WordPress's Reading settings documentation instructs administrators to click Save Changes to store the choice in the database. A confirmation appears at the top of the screen after saving.
The separate Syndication feeds show the most recent setting controls how many posts the feed contains. The content choice controls how much of each post is included. These settings answer different questions when configuring a feed.
What does choosing an excerpt change?
The excerpt documentation defines an excerpt as optional text associated with a post, usually used as its summary. A supplied excerpt therefore gives a post an explicit summary; an empty excerpt field uses the automatic text described above. In the Classic Editor, the guide points to Screen Options when the excerpt editing box is missing.
The feed setting concerns the material distributed through feeds. The Reading screen source explicitly assigns browser display to the theme. Changing this radio button therefore serves feed distribution; the theme's handling of post summaries remains a separate display choice.
How can the saved result be checked?
WordPress's feeds handbook distinguishes feeds containing recent content updates from a feed containing comments. A content feed is the appropriate place to inspect the article text after saving the setting.
For an RSS feed, the core feed template provides precise fields to search for in a post's item:
<description>
<content:encoded>
These are opening tags to locate in the feed source. The template outputs the excerpt in description for either choice. With full text selected, it also outputs content:encoded, using the post content when available and the excerpt as its fallback. With excerpts selected, that template branch outputs the excerpt without the additional content element. Inspecting only description can therefore overlook the full text carried elsewhere in the same item.
Related terms
- Where is the search engine visibility setting in WordPress?
- How do I choose a static homepage in WordPress?
- How do I change a WordPress permalink structure?
FAQ
Should I choose Full text or Excerpt?
Choose Full text to supply the article body through the feed. Choose Excerpt to supply a shorter version; WordPress's Reading guide identifies potential bandwidth savings for this choice.
Why do some instructions say Summary?
WordPress's older Classic Editor excerpt guide uses Summary in its Reading settings instructions. The Reading screen source uses Excerpt for the shorter option.
Does this also change my blog's appearance?
The Reading screen's own help text says that your theme determines how content appears in browsers. Check your theme's display settings when the intended change concerns summaries on the website itself.
Sources
- WordPress.org, "Settings Reading screen", updated 8 June 2024
- WordPress.org, "What is an excerpt? (Classic Editor)", updated 11 January 2023
- WordPress, "wp-admin/options-reading.php", accessed 17 October 2026
- WordPress Developer Resources, "WordPress Feeds", updated 14 October 2026
- WordPress, "wp-includes/feed-rss2.php", accessed 17 October 2026
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