When visitors come to your website, you want them to find what they need quickly and without frustration. One simple feature that can make navigation much easier is breadcrumbs.
Think back to the story of Hansel and Gretel: Hansel left a trail of breadcrumbs in the forest so he and his sister could find their way home. Website breadcrumbs work the same way – they create a clear “trail” showing visitors exactly where they are on your site and how to navigate back to previous pages.
The goal of breadcrumbs is to make your website easier and more enjoyable to use. Before adding or removing breadcrumbs, think about whether this feature will help your audience find what they’re looking for.
What are Breadcrumbs on a Website?
Breadcrumbs are typically a string of words, located at the top of the page content, showing you which page you are currently looking at in relation to its parent pages.
This is an example of what the breadcrumbs look like in a webpage:
You can see that page here:
https://websitecreationworkshop.com/examples/websites-for-coaches/donna-denomme/
Here are some more examples of other websites with breadcrumbs:
Target’s site makes it easy to find out which category the product is in because they use breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs in Dropbox help you find where your files are located
Why Use Breadcrumbs?
WordPress breadcrumbs make it easier for visitors to understand where they are on your website. They improve navigation by showing a clear path from the homepage to the page they’re currently viewing.
Breadcrumbs are especially helpful on larger websites with many pages, blog posts, or product categories. They help visitors move around your site quickly, reduce frustration, and make the overall experience more user-friendly.
In addition, breadcrumbs can give your site a small SEO boost, as search engines use them to understand your site structure.
How You Can Add Breadcrumbs to Your WordPress Site
Some WordPress themes give you a built-in breadcrumbs option. With the Divi Theme from Elegant Themes (https://christinasresources.com/elegantthemes, my link), they have a breadcrumbs module built into the theme.
Check your WordPress theme options to see if your theme has built-in breadcrumbs.
WordPress Plugins that Enable Breadcrumbs:
And of course, there are plugins that enable you to add breadcrumbs to your site! Here are some you might want to look into:
1) Yoast SEO
By Yoast
Yoast SEO is not only a great search engine optimization tool, but it also lets you add breadcrumbs if your website is compatible. Even if your site is not compatible, they have instructions on how to make it work. It’s very easy to use, and according to Yoast, it gives you an advantage in the search results pages as the breadcrumbs will be shown there as well.
Here is a short video to show you how to do it:
Here is a screenshot of the settings in YoastSEO where you enable the breadcrumbs:
(Advanced tip: If you want to change the separator between the breadcrumbs, this page has some nice arrows you can use: https://www.toptal.com/designers/htmlarrows/arrows/)
2) Breadcrumb NavXT
By John Havlik
Breadcrumb NavXT is another plugin that makes it easy to generate breadcrumb links on a website. You can customize the link’s appearance, and if you are working with an advanced website developer, you can do even more with it.
Final Thoughts…
Breadcrumbs are a small feature, but they can make a big difference in how easy your website is to use. They help visitors understand where they are on your site and make it simple to move back to other pages or categories.
Not every website needs breadcrumbs, especially if your site only has a few pages. But if your website has many pages, blog posts, or different types of services, breadcrumbs can help visitors find their way around more easily.
Now, review your own website and decide if breadcrumbs would improve the experience for your visitors. If they would, you now know several simple ways to add them to your WordPress site.
(Originally Published July 2015, Updated March 2026)
Thanks so much Christina!
You have the gift of bringing Word Press dashboard/backroom features into clear view using easy to follow language!
I was curious about the breadcrumb term. I didn’t know when or if I would ever take the time to attempt to learn and figure it out on my own… and then here you are.
The fact that you begin with a ‘Once upon a time’ fairy tale catches my attention immediately…your fun and playful use of story in the context of learning technology really helps me to keep from zoning out, makes it fun to ‘follow the path’ and to see where you will lead me next in discovering more wonderfulness in the ‘intriguing forest’ of WP.
Now…back to following that trail…
Donna,
Thanks so much for your nice comments!
Yes, I love making WordPress fun and simple for my audence 🙂
Thank you for the information on Yoast SEO. I didn’t know about the breadcrumb connection with this plugin. Thank you for the ongoing education Christina.
Maria,
Yes Yoast can do a LOT, and not everyone knows about all the features.
Use the breadcrumb if you like it on your site. Or not. WordPress gives us lots of options and features.
🙂
Do I need to upgrade to Yoast SEO Premium to be able to use breadcrumbs?
No you don’t need to upgrade to Yoast SEO Premium. I use the free version for the breadcrumbs.
Thanks, Christina!
I am running an e-commerce website on WordPress, as after reading your blog I get clearer about breadcrumbs and that helps me on my website.
Glad this helped!