 <p><a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/the_title"><code>the_title()</code></a> echoes, it doesn't return its title. </p> <p>Use <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/get_the_title"><code>get_the_title()</code></a> instead.</p> <pre><code>&lt;?php if (get_the_title() != 'Home'): ?&gt; &lt;h1&gt;&lt;?php the_title(); ?&gt;&lt;/h1&gt; &lt;?php endif; ?&gt; </code></pre> <p>As an aside, it looks like you're trying to detect if you're on the home page. Checking against a title can be flaky, as that can change. </p> <p>Use <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/is_home"><code>is_home()</code></a> instead.</p> <pre><code>&lt;?php if ( ! is_home()): ?&gt; &lt;h1&gt;&lt;?php the_title(); ?&gt;&lt;/h1&gt; &lt;?php endif; ?&gt; </code></pre>