Your Ultimate Guide on How to Edit WordPress – HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript

WordPress being one of the most used and user-friendly platforms, had a CMS market share of nearly 61.8% in the previous year, which has continued to increase. This has resulted in the significant need to learn how to edit WordPress HTML and change other technicalities in a fully functioning WordPress website.

The need to Edit your WordPress website may arise due to different reasons, including any malicious malware, updating any plugin or WordPress version, or a simple website crash. In several cases, slight website customization may do the thing for you; however, in most cases, you either require editing WordPress HTML or the source code in WordPress.

This article brings you the answer to questions like how to edit the source code in a WordPress website and how to edit the HTML in WordPress. Before moving on, let’s get our facts straight about why editing WordPress HTML and source code is important.

Related: How To Add jQuery Scripts To WordPress Easily

WordPress Editing – Why

The major purpose of developing a website is to improve your online presence and interaction with your customers. Additionally, having a WordPress website makes everyday functionality, management, and performance easy. However, there may come situations in which you may be required to improve WordPress functionality by either editing WordPress HTML or editing WordPress source code.

Learning how to edit WordPress by editing HTML and other source code helps ensure proper functioning, adequate security, and continuous connectivity. Updating WordPress websites helps businesses achieve greater control and perform advanced customizations on websites.

From the slightest change in WordPress to edit HTML and upgrading themes to checking and maintaining the security and hosting services, WordPress editing includes all of it. To get into further details of why WordPress website maintenance is essential.

Now, without any further delay, let’s get into how to edit the WordPress website. First, we would get into the details of how to edit HTML in WordPress websites.

Steps to Edit the Source code in WordPress Website

Updating the WordPress website significantly includes editing the source code of the website, other than just editing the HTML. A WordPress website comes together when different functionalities and programming languages are used to design, structure, and maintain it.

This also highlights the importance of sequential monitoring and management of WordPress to make sure it is updated, as it ultimately improves the performance and functionality of the website. Let’s move on and learn about how to edit the source code in a WordPress website.

The Source code for a WordPress website includes codes written in CSS, PHP, and JavaScript that cater to design functionalities, and performance, respectively. One cannot say which is less important in developing a WordPress website; however, we can tell you how to edit them to improve your WordPress website’s overall appearance.

Editing the source code in a WordPress website can be achieved through access the file in your website’s theme editor. However, there are two ways you can access the files. First, Using WordPress Theme Editor, or Second, Using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

Editing WordPress Source Code Using the WordPress Theme Editor

The theme editor in your WordPress website works as the built-in website editor that lets you modify your theme’s files. The editor allows access to all the CSS, PHP, JavaScript, and all the other theme-related files.

Pro Tip: Before starting off with editing your theme and source code in WordPress, make sure to create a backup for your website to save you from any hassle.

While making edits to your theme, we suggest you create a child theme and make your desired changes there. It saves you from the overwriting issues in the theme that usually come after updating the WordPress website. Now let’s get started with how can we access the theme editor

How to Access Theme Editor

First things first, you can never edit your theme files until and unless you do not know where they are located. If you know how to access the theme editor, scroll down to the next heading, but if you don’t, then continue reading.

Accessing the theme editor requires access to your website’s backend. Once you move across the construction site of your website, click on the Appearance tab in your WordPress web site’s sidebar, and you will see a dropdown menu showing the theme editor option in the last.

Clicking on the tab opens up the CSS file of your currently running theme. This is where you can make all the design edits in your WordPress website’s outlook. In case you are using multiple themes or a combination of parent-child themes, you can switch between them from the top right dropdown option that displays the name of your theme.

Pro Tip: Once you are done updating your WordPress website, press on the “Update file” button at the bottom to save your changes. However, if you are unable to save your changes, there might be some errors in the code you have added.

One of the prominent features of WordPress that makes it a better option for updating WordPress source code is that it does not allow you to save your changes if it contains errors. This feature makes editing WordPress safer than using FTP.

Note: In several cases, there comes a situation where you may not be able to access the theme editor. Here’s what you got to do if this happens;

• Look for a theme-specific code editor in your files. Several themes in WordPress make different use of theme editors, which also affects visibility and functionality.
• Search for any security plugins and checks you might be using that have resulted in “hiding” the theme editor option for better security against intruders.

Editing WordPress JavaScript Files Using Theme Editor

JavaScript helps with better responsiveness and performance of a website. Change in size or color of a button when hovered over, opening a dropdown menu when clicking a button, is all because JavaScript is at the back.

In most cases, a WordPress theme is well incorporated with JavaScript files hosted in a different server and are included in the theme using a “call” function. These are called external JS files that are sometimes also added using third-party plugins in your site.

However, you can write and add your own JavaScript files to a theme and access them via the theme editor. Generally, using a JavaScript file, whether third-party or self-written, requires you to use the call function in the place where you want to use it, as many times as you want. The following call function is used to incorporate the JavaScript file in the code.

The JavaScript files are added in the source code file using the