We can’t remember the last time we saw a company as iconic as the social media network formerly known as Twitter undergo a complete rebrand. And for good reason! Updating a company’s name, logo, visual identity, etc. is a huge pain in the neck — especially when that logo is embedded on millions of websites, blog posts, email signatures, business cards, and so on and so forth.
If you are one of the millions whose website still has the blue Twitter bird in the header, the footer, the blog, or anywhere else, you may be wondering when and how to update it to X.
We got you.
Follow this guide to make sure you catch every sneaky instance of the Twitter logo on your website — and don’t break anything in the process! We’ve even included an optimized image file of the new X logo you can download for free. Let’s get started.
When to Update the Twitter Logo to X on Your Website
The short answer to this question is: whenever you’re ready. Twitter — er, we mean X — has officially changed their brand guidelines to include the new logo. You will still see the bird around for a while, though, even on the social network’s own site.
So that’s fun.
We honestly can’t predict whether the X logo will undergo further changes, but with the release of the new brand guidelines, the company is signaling that X is here to stay. So if you want to update your website with the new logo, we won’t try to stop you.
How to Change the Twitter Logo to X on Your Website
The fun answer to this question is: it depends. Are you using a plug-in for social media buttons? If so, is it custom or off-the-shelf? What content management system (CMS) are you using?
To keep things simple, we’re going to focus on WordPress, which is the most popular CMS on the web. There are a lot of methods for getting a Twitter icon onto a WordPress site’s page, and we couldn’t possibly come up with a method to fix all of them. (We will deal with plugins later in this post.)
If you’re using the native Social Link Block, you’ll be able to update to WordPress 6.4 to switch out the logos without lifting a finger. But if for any reason you can’t update to 6.4 or you’re in a hurry to do it yourself, we have a solution.
The basic idea here is that we’re going to use Javascript to find any Twitter Social Link blocks on the page, and then we’ll go block by block, replacing one of the most celebrated logos of the modern age with Brand X.
To add Javascript to your page, you’ll want to use a Custom HTML block. Just put this right after your Social Links block. Then, copy-and-paste this code into it. A Tag in Google Tag Manager would also be a quick-and-easy way to add a snippet like this to your site.
By using this method, we’re able to maintain whatever size and color settings your block is using. We are simply changing the logo svg’s path into the new logo path.
Changing the Twitter Logo with Plugins
If you’re using a social media icon plugin on your WordPress website, updating the new Twitter logo really depends. As a general rule, we recommend waiting until your plugin updates the logo. In a hurry? Get in touch with your plugin team with a request to push the new X logo.
If you happen to be using the popular FontAwesome icons, here’s a handy guide to making the switch.
Updating the Twitter Logo on a Vital-built Website
At Vital, we use our own custom social icon plugin we call Cher. If you’re lucky enough to be a client, we’ll make life easier for you. Just reach out to your account manager or contact us to request the change on your site, and we’ll get right on it.
Want More Help Updating the Twitter Logo on Your Site?
If you’re not (yet) a Vital client and you’re struggling to update the logo on your own, never fear. You, too, may contact us to talk about how we can help. While you’re at it, you might want to check out the full suite of our WordPress website design and development services.
(Mad at X and want to remove the Twitter logo from your site altogether? No judgment. We can help with that, too.)
Download the New Twitter Logo
To get the new X logo files, visit the social network’s page for brand guidelines, or download the images here.
