Help CenterThe "Message of the Day" (MOTD) on your Minecraft server is more than just a welcome message. It's your server's first impression, an opportunity to capture a player's attention and express the unique personality of your server.
That's why it's not just about what the message says but also how it looks. In this guide, we'll delve into the world of colorful and formatted text, demonstrating how to make your MOTD more eye-catching and engaging using the SimpleGameHosting Control Panel.
👋 Before diving into this more advanced guide, if you're new to changing the Message of the Day or need a refresher on the basics, we recommend reading our article on How to Change the Message of the Day on your Minecraft Server.
Formatting Your Minecraft Server's MOTD
🟩 The Easy Method: MOTD Generator
The easiest way to format your server's Message of the Day is to use a generator online. Here are two options:
Using a generator takes the hassle out of creating a custom MOTD for your server. It's by far the simplest and quickest solution. We'll use the Minecraft Tools MOTD Generator listed above.
Step 1: Write Out Your Message
You'll need to limit your MOTD to two lines (max). In the 'Your Message' field on the generator, type out the message you want to display on the Multiplayer page. Once the text is written, you can more easily format it using the formatting options available in the editor.
Step 2: Generate your MOTD
You can press "Preview MOTD" from here to see how it'll look once complete. If all looks good, hit "Create the MOTD" to display the raw code. Copy it to your clipboard.
Step 3: Paste into the 'server.properties' File
1. Stop your server by pressing the Stop button on your servers Console tab.
2. Head over to your 'server.properties' file either by accessing the File Manager or connecting to your server via SFTP. You can view our full guide here on how to find the MOTD in the Files Manager here.
3. Paste the newly generated MOTD in the file. The MOTD is usually located around line 35. Save your changes, and load up Minecraft to test if it worked.
Step 4: Testing Your Changes
Now it's time to test if your server MOTD is showing up correctly.
1. Go back to the Console tab in the menu bar.
2. Click the Start button to launch your server.
3. Next, open Minecraft on your computer and navigate to the Multiplayer tab.
- If you already had the Multiplayer tab open, be sure to click Refresh so the server list updates with the new MOTD.
⚒️ Pro Tip: Need your server IP? Just click the two overlapping squares next to the IP address on the Console page to copy it to your clipboard instantly.
If everything was set up correctly, you should now see your new server MOTD below your server name on the Multiplayer screen.
🟨 The Manual Method
If you don't want to use any MOTD Generators, you can always manually format your server's message of the day using the following formats:
| Color Reference | Formatting Reference |
| 0 - Black | k - Obfuscated/MTS (Magical Text Source.) |
| 1 - Dark Blue | l - Bold |
| 2 - Dark Green | m - |
| 3 - Dark Aqua | n - Underline |
| 4 - Dark Red | o - Italic |
| 5 - Dark Purple | r - Reset |
| 6 - Gold |
|
| 7 - Gray | |
| 8 - Dark Gray | |
| 9 - Blue | |
| a - Green | |
| b - Aqua | |
| c - Red | |
| d - Light Purple | |
| e - Yellow | |
| f - White |
Example 👇
\u00a79\u00a7l\u00a7nSimpleGameHosting’s Test Server\u00a7r\n\u00a72\u00a7o\u2714 Skyblock\u00a7r\u00a7o | \u00a7b\u00a7o\u2714 SMP\u00a7r\u00a7o | \u00a7e\u00a7o\u2714 Bedrock Support
Using an online generator is likely going to be the preferred method for most, as typing everything out manually can get tricky with keeping up with all the formatting.
However, once you have all of that done, you can repeat the same steps from method one.
1. Stop your server by pressing the Stop button on your servers Console tab.
2. Head over to your 'server.properties' file either by accessing the File Manager or connecting to your server via SFTP. You can view our full guide here on how to find the MOTD in the Files Manager here.
3. Paste the newly generated MOTD in the file. The MOTD is usually located around line 35. Save your changes, and load up Minecraft to test if it worked.
Now it's time to test if your server MOTD is showing up correctly. Open Minecraft on your computer and navigate to the Multiplayer tab.
- If you already had the Multiplayer tab open, be sure to click Refresh so the server list updates with the new MOTD.
⚒️ Pro Tip: Need your server IP? Just click the two overlapping squares next to the IP address on the Console page to copy it to your clipboard instantly.
If everything was set up correctly, you should now see your new server MOTD below your server name on the Multiplayer screen.
If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team by submitting a Support Ticket or contacting us directly via LiveChat!