Editing CSS Code in WordPress – A Simple Guide

Starting any guide with the basics is a sure way to understand the topic.

WordPress, one of the most commonly used website creator tools, has made sure that every person can create an online presence whether for personal reasons or business. That said, sometimes, it is easier said than done. Although WordPress gives tons of options on how you want to design/style your website, navigating through those options might be difficult for some.

Styling your website means that you will be using a language called CSS. CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. Although not necessary but most of the time, you will require to edit this CSS language in order to get the style of your choosing. This calls for editing the CSS code in WordPress.

This is where our years of experience comes in handy. In this blog, we will guide you through the process of editing the CSS code in your WordPress website. We have tried to simplify it as much as possible, but if you feel it’s beyond your experience just give us a call.

How to Edit CSS Files of your WordPress Website?

When it comes to editing CSS of your WordPress website, first, you will have to access your CSS files which are stored in the source code of your WordPress website called the WordPress theme (You can learn about accessing these files in our blog here). Once you have access to files, follow any of the three methods mentioned below.

There are three methods used for the purpose of editing CSS files in a WordPress website:

  1.  By editing your CSS files in the Theme Editor
  2.  By using a built-in CSS editor within the WordPress customizer
  3.  By adding CSS through a plugin

Which method to choose for editing CSS files depends upon two things:

  1.  extent of editing, and
  2.  iterations of changes

We will start with the first method and go through them one-by-one.

1. How to Edit your WordPress CSS Using the Theme Editor?

If you’re opting to edit your WordPress CSS code through the use of Theme Editor then you will have to look at CSS files which you can easily find in the theme editor (Appearance > Theme Editor).

The first step is to look for the files ending with the .css extension on the right-side of the list (see below):

ending

Just click on either file that you want to make a change into using this editor and once you are done, save the changes. You can do this by clicking on the ‘Update File’ option.

2. How to Edit Your WordPress CSS Using the WordPress Customizer?

The second way to modify your CSS other than WordPress Theme Editor is called the WordPress Customizer. Navigate to Appearance > Customize from your WordPress dashboard to access it.

Customizer

Once you select ‘Customize’ the following page will open. Click on Additional CSS ( You will see it at the bottom of the left-side navigation panel.)

Additional

At this stage, you can add custom CSS after opening a code editor. In this step, it is important for you to know that adding custom CSS means that you know CSS a little to add this code to make the required style changes to your website.

Additional

When you’re done adding custom CSS to the Customizer, click on the Publish button to save your changes.

Although, you can rewrite your website’s style extensively, however, this editor is quite handy for modifying minorly. However, for big changes, you should use the theme editor or a plugin.

3. How to Edit your WordPress CSS with the Help of a Plugin?

One of the greatest advantages of using WordPress for your website is that you get plugins for everything without ever having to write any complex code. We suggest this method to website owners with limited know-how of CSS and overall coding. Use of a plugin is effective if you make changes to your WordPress website iteratively. Because, this way, it will be easy for you to organize your changes.

Our recommendation to you is to use CSS Hero – a plugin to customize your WordPress themes with WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface.

Hero

This WordPress plugin works in real-time letting you store changes as easily as A-B-C. Just click the element you like to edit and adjust as per your need that too live.

It creates an extra CSS stylesheet overriding the original one. So, you should not worry about anything as it will not cause any damage during and after the editing of your WordPress CSS files.

I would suggest you to get started using CSS Hero because it gives you following advantages:

  • Ease of customizing the appearance of your themes and previewing in one-click.
  • Pre-made editable style combinations
  • Unsplash integration for high-res, royalty-free images.
  • Store snapshots of your edits without pushing them live.

Once, you’ve downloaded the plugin, upload and install it on your WordPress website. Just put your license key (it will be provided to you when you’ve purchased a plan), and you’re good to go.

Ending with Style

Who wouldn’t want their website to be stylish, right? This guide to editing the CSS code in WordPress is pretty straightforward as you have already read. The methods discussed are for only minor changes that will not ruin the actual theme of your website (if you are using a theme) or the custom code.

In case, you wish to make extravagant changes, then the above methods might not be enough as custom coding would be required which will interact with other languages in play to give you the required look and feel of your WordPress website. This would call for professional help as, unless you are technical enough to do it yourself, any major changes can throw off your website’s look which won’t sit well with your customers when they visit your website.

Just give us a holler and our experts will be with you at every step of the way.

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