How to Confirm a Website on Pinterest with WordPress

Confirming your WordPress website on Pinterest is one of the fastest ways to unlock powerful marketing features on the platform. This guide will walk you through three different methods, from using a simple plugin to adding the code manually, so you can claim your site and start getting more out of every Pin.

Why Bother Confirming Your Website on Pinterest?

Taking a few minutes to confirm, or "claim," your website is more than just a technical step, it's a strategic move that unlocks a suite of invaluable tools. When you connect your WordPress site to Pinterest, you get immediate access to benefits that serious creators and businesses rely on.

• Access to Pinterest Analytics: This is the biggest win. Once your site is confirmed, Pinterest gives you detailed analytics about the content people are pinning from your website. You can see which blog posts, images, and products are getting the most attention, what your audience is interested in, and how much traffic Pinterest is sending your way. This isn't just data, it's a roadmap for creating more of what your audience loves.
• Enable Rich Pins: Rich Pins automatically sync information from your website to your Pins. For a blog post, this means the headline, author, and story description appear right on the Pin. For a product, it can show real-time price, availability, and a direct link to the product page. This makes your Pins more useful and drastically increases click-through rates.
• Brand Attribution on Every Pin: After you claim your website, any Pin saved from your site - whether by you or a visitor - will feature your profile picture and a link back to your Pinterest account. This builds brand recognition and establishes you as the original source of the content, no matter how many times it gets repinned.
• A Credible and Professional Profile: A confirmed website displays a small globe icon next to your website URL on your profile page. It's a subtle but important trust signal that shows visitors you are a legitimate business or creator.

Start Here: Getting Your Confirmation Code from Pinterest

No matter which method you choose to add the code to your WordPress site, your journey begins inside your Pinterest account. Follow these steps to find the verification code you'll need.

1. Log in to your Pinterest Business account. If you have a personal account, you'll need to convert it to a free business account to access these features.
2. Click the down-arrow icon in the top-right corner of your screen and select Settings.
3. In the left-hand menu, click on Claimed accounts.
4. Next to 'Websites,' click the Claim button. A pop-up window will appear with three options for claiming your site.

You'll see these choices:

• Add HTML tag: Adds a single line of code into the <,head>, section of your website. This is often the easiest for WordPress users.
• Upload HTML file: Requires you to download a small HTML file and upload it to your website's main folder (the root directory).
• Add TXT record: This is a more advanced DNS-level verification typically used if you only want to claim your root domain and not subdomains. We'll focus on the first two, as they are most common for WordPress.

Choose your preferred method on Pinterest and get your code or file ready. Keep this Pinterest tab open - you'll need to come back here later. Now, let's head over to WordPress.

Method 1: The Easiest Option with an SEO Plugin

If you already use a popular SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, this is by far the most straightforward method. These plugins create a dedicated field for social media verification codes, so you don't have to touch any theme files directly. We'll use Yoast SEO as the primary example, but the process is very similar for other major SEO tools.

Using Yoast SEO

1. In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Yoast SEO >, Settings in the left-hand menu.
2. Click on the Site Connections tab.
3. You'll see several fields for various webmaster tools. Look for the Pinterest field.
4. Go back to the Pinterest pop-up and copy the HTML tag. It looks like this:

1. You don't need the entire tag. You just need the code inside the content="" attribute. Copy that long alphanumeric string of text.
2. Paste this string into the 'Pinterest confirmation code' field in Yoast.
3. Click Save Changes.
4. Finally, go back to the Pinterest tab and click the Continue button. That's it!

Using a plugin is a safe and reliable way to handle verification, as it keeps your additions separate from your theme's core code, preventing them from being erased during a theme update.

Method 2: Manually Adding the HTML Tag to Your WordPress Header

If you don't use an SEO plugin or prefer a more hands-on approach, you can add Pinterest's HTML tag directly into your site’s header. There are a couple of ways to do this - one is much safer than the other.

Using a Code Snippets Plugin (Recommended Safe Method)

The safest way to add code to your header or footer is with a dedicated plugin. A plugin like WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers is perfect for this. It gives you a simple interface to add scripts and code snippets without needing to edit your theme files.

1. Install and activate the plugin from your WordPress repository.
2. In the WordPress dashboard, go to Code Snippets >, Header &, Footer.
3. On Pinterest, copy the entire HTML tag this time. (Example: <,meta name="p:domain_verify" content="youruniquecodehere"/>,)
4. Paste the full tag into the "Header" box within the plugin's settings.
5. Click Save Changes at the top of the page.

Editing Your Theme's header.php File (For Advanced Users Only)

Warning: This method involves editing your core theme files. An error here could break your site. It is strongly recommended that you only do this if you have a child theme active. If you edit a parent theme directly, your changes will be overwritten and lost the next time the theme is updated.

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance >, Theme File Editor.
2. On the right side, find and click on the file named Theme Header (header.php).
3. Look for the closing <,/head>, tag. It's usually near the top of the file.
4. From Pinterest, copy the full HTML tag.
5. Paste the HTML tag on a new line just before the <,/head>, tag.
6. Click the Update File button.

Method 3: Uploading an HTML File to Your Server

This method doesn't involve adding any code to your site. Instead, Pinterest gives you a unique HTML file to upload to your website's main ("root") directory. This confirms to Pinterest that you are the owner of the server where the site is hosted.

1. In the Pinterest verification pop-up, select the Upload HTML file option.
2. Click Download to save the file to your computer. The filename will look something like `pinterest-1a2b3.html`. Do not rename it.
3. You now need to upload this file to the root directory of your WordPress installation. This is the main folder that contains your `wp-config.php` file and the `wp-admin` and `wp-content` folders. You can do this in two common ways:

Using Your Hosting cPanel's File Manager

• Log in to your web hosting account and open the File Manager.
• Navigate to your website's root folder. This is often named public_html or is named after your domain.
• Click the Upload button and select the HTML file you downloaded from Pinterest.

Using an FTP Client

• Connect to your website using an FTP client like FileZilla. Your host provides the login details for this.
• In the remote server panel (on the right), navigate to your site's root directory.
• In the local panel (on the left), find the Pinterest HTML file you downloaded.
• Drag the file from the left panel over to the right panel to upload it.

The Final Step: Completing Your Confirmation with Pinterest

You’ve done the work on your WordPress end, but you're not done yet. You need to let Pinterest know that everything is in place for verification.

1. Go back to that tab you left open on Pinterest.
2. If you used the HTML tag method, click Continue. You'll be prompted to enter your website URL, so do that and click Verify.
3. If you uploaded the HTML file, simply click the Continue button after the upload is complete.

Pinterest will then check your website for the code or file. You should get a confirmation email within 24 hours (though it’s often almost instant). Once it’s done, you'll see your website listed under the "Claimed accounts" section with a green checkmark.

What If It Isn't Working? Troubleshooting Common Issues

If Pinterest returns an error and can't find your verification code, don't worry. It's usually a simple fix. Here are the most common reasons why verification might fail:

• Clear Your Site's Cache: By far, this is the most common culprit. If you use a caching plugin on WordPress (like W3 Total Cache or WP Rocket) or if your server has its own caching system, your changes might not be live yet. Clear all caches for your site and try the verification again.
• Double-Check Your Code: Go back and make sure you copied the correct code from Pinterest. If using the Yoast method, confirm you only pasted the content string, not the whole tag. If using the header method, ensure you copied the entire line of code perfectly.
• Confirm Proper File Location: If you uploaded the HTML file, make sure it's in the correct root directory and not inside a sub-folder. You should be able to visit `yourwebsite.com/pinterest-1a2b3.html` in your browser and see a success message.
• Wait a Few Minutes: Sometimes, things just need a moment to update. If you've triple-checked everything, take a short break and then ask Pinterest to verify one more time.

Final Thoughts

Confirming your WordPress site on Pinterest connects you with the platform's best analytical and branding tools. By following one of the methods above, you can get verified in less than 10 minutes and begin making data-driven decisions to grow your Pinterest presence and drive more meaningful traffic back to your website.

Once your site is confirmed and Rich Pins are flowing, managing your content becomes the main focus. Creating a consistent publishing schedule across Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms can feel overwhelming. That's why we built Postbase. Our visual calendar lets you see your entire social media strategy at a glance, making it simple to plan campaigns and schedule your Pins alongside your Reels and TikToks without jumping between apps. We designed it from the ground up to handle today's content formats, helping you post everywhere without the usual headaches.