The meta description location in WordPress depends entirely on whether you're using an SEO plugin. With Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All in One SEO, you'll find a dedicated meta description field directly below your post or page content editor. Look for a box labeled "Yoast SEO" or "Rank Math SEO" with a snippet preview and a text area for your description—this is standard on 95% of WordPress sites we audit. Without an SEO plugin, WordPress core doesn't provide a meta description field. You'd need to either install code in your theme's header.php file using wp_head hooks, create a custom field through Advanced Custom Fields, or use the theme's built-in options if it includes SEO features. Most modern themes like Astra or GeneratePress integrate basic SEO fields, but they're less robust than dedicated plugins. For Gutenberg block editor users, the meta description field appears in the same plugin box, usually docked to the right sidebar or accessible via a toggle. In Classic Editor, it sits below the main content area. On taxonomy pages like categories and tags, navigate to Posts > Categories, click edit on any term, and scroll down to find the plugin's SEO section. At Ottawa SEO Inc., we configure Yoast or Rank Math on every client site because leaving meta descriptions to WordPress auto-generation from content excerpts produces terrible results—usually truncated sentences that don't match search intent. The plugin approach gives you per-page control, character count feedback (aim for 140-155 characters), and preview snippets. One critical detail: the meta description field only matters if your theme or plugin actually outputs the meta tag in your page's HTML head. After adding a description, view your page source (Ctrl+U) and search for "meta name='description'" to confirm it's rendering. If it's missing, your theme might be stripping plugin output, which requires a developer fix. For custom post types, some plugins require manual activation in their settings to show meta fields on those editing screens.