How to fix non iso date on WordPress.org

Steps for WordPress.org

1. If using Yoast SEO or Rank Math, these plugins output ISO-8601 dates automatically — no change needed unless you have overridden schema output.
2. For custom schema in your theme's functions.php or a custom plugin, replace get_the_date() with get_the_date('c') and get_the_modified_date() with get_the_modified_date('c') — the 'c' format returns full ISO-8601.
3. If schema is in a template file (e.g., single.php), locate the JSON-LD script block and apply the same get_the_date('c') fix.
4. Update child theme files via Appearance → Theme File Editor, or via FTP/SFTP for direct file access.
5. Clear any active caching plugin (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, etc.) after saving.
6. Verify with Google's Rich Results Test.

What is non iso date?

Structured data on your pages (the hidden JSON-LD code that tells Google and other search engines what your content is about) includes date fields such as `datePublished` and `dateModified`. ISO-8601 is the internationally standardised date format — for example, `2025-03-12` or `2025-03-12T09:00:00+00:00`. When a date is written in plain English instead — like "Wed Mar 12 2025" — machines can't reliably read it, because there's no single agreed way to parse natural-language dates. Your current schema contains at least one date in a non-standard format, which means search engines may misread or completely ignore it.

Content freshness is a real ranking signal. Google uses `datePublished` and `dateModified` to understand when your pages and articles were created or last updated, and it surfaces that information directly in search results (e.g., "3 days ago" next to a result). If the date can't be parsed, Google may either ignore freshness entirely — hurting rankings for time-sensitive queries — or infer an incorrect date, making a new page look old. For AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), where AI-powered tools like Google's AI Overviews and Bing Copilot prioritise the freshest, most reliable sources, an unreadable date can mean your content is skipped over in favour of competitors whose schema is clean. Fixing this is a quick win with direct impact on how your pages are indexed and presented.

See the complete Non iso date guide for every platform and the full background.