Aurora uses its own date format setting rather than pulling from WordPress’s global Reading settings. This lets you choose a format specifically for how dates appear on post cards, single posts, and archive listings without affecting the rest of your site.
Where to Find It
- Go to Appearance → Customize.
- Open General Settings.
- Choose a format from the Date Format dropdown.
Available Formats
| Option | Example output |
|---|---|
| Short month (default) | Jan 5, 2025 |
| Full month name | January 5, 2025 |
| ISO format | 2025-01-05 |
| US format | 01/05/2025 |
| EU format | 05/01/2025 |
| Day + month | Sun, Jan 5 |
| Custom | Enter any PHP date format string |
Using a Custom Format
Selecting Custom reveals a text field where you can enter any valid PHP date format string. The default custom value is j F Y, which outputs dates like 5 January 2025. PHP date format characters are documented at php.net/manual/en/datetime.format.php.
You can access this setting from the Customizer under General Settings.
Layouts That Ignore the Date Format Setting
The Underlined archive layout uses a fixed date display (large day number with month and year stacked below) that does not follow this setting. All other layouts respect your chosen Date Format.