Simple Meta Description Checker

A simple WordPress tool that scans published posts and pages for missing or potentially problematic meta descriptions.

Features

• Finds missing meta descriptions
• Flags short descriptions
• Flags long descriptions
• Shows character count
• Shows total scan results
• Filters results by status
• Provides View and Edit links
• Works without Rank Math or Yoast SEO
• Checks the meta description in the rendered HTML

Installation

Method 1: Using Code Snippets

1. Install and activate the Code Snippets plugin.
2. Go to Snippets → Add New.
3. Create a new PHP snippet.
4. Copy the contents of meta-description-checker.php.
5. Paste the code into the snippet.
6. Save and activate the snippet.
7. Go to Tools → Meta Description Checker.
8. Click Scan Website.

Method 2: Install as a WordPress plugin

1. Download the ZIP file from the Releases section.
2. Go to WordPress → Plugins → Add New Plugin.
3. Click Upload Plugin.
4. Upload the ZIP file.
5. Install and activate the plugin.
6. Go to Tools → Meta Description Checker.

What it checks

The tool checks published WordPress posts and pages and categorizes their meta descriptions as:

• Good — 70–160 characters
• Short — fewer than 70 characters
• Long — more than 160 characters
• Missing — no meta description was found
• Could not scan — the page could not be retrieved

The 70–160 character range is used as a practical warning threshold. Google does not have a fixed meta description length that guarantees how much text will appear in search results.

Important notes

Version 1.0 scans up to 100 published posts and pages per scan.

The tool makes an HTTP request to each public URL. Large websites may therefore take longer to scan.

A page marked Could not scan may be affected by server security rules, firewalls, redirects, SSL problems, authentication, or other hosting restrictions.

Always test new code on a staging website before using it on a production website.

License

GPL-2.0-or-later