Unveiling the Magic behind CSS in WordPress

As a website designer or developer, understanding and utilizing CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is only but essential in achieving an impressive look and feel for your website. It is a programming language that defines the style and layout of a webpage, setting the colors, fonts, spacing, and other visual aspects of the page.

Adding CSS to WordPress

There are several ways to add CSS to your WordPress website but the following are the most common methods:

Using the WordPress Customizer

The WordPress Customizer feature allows you to modify your website’s appearance in real-time. You can make changes to the layout, colors, fonts, and other visual aspects of your website by going to Appearance → Customize in your WordPress dashboard. Clicking on the Additional CSS option will reveal a new panel to input your CSS rules. While this method is user-friendly, it is best suited for minor changes.

Using a plugin

You can add CSS to your WordPress website by using a plugin like Simple Custom CSS, Jetpack, or WP Add Custom CSS, depending on your preference.

Editing the theme’s style.css file

For those comfortable with editing code, adding CSS rules directly to your theme’s style.css file is an option. Select your theme’s style.css file from the list of files on the right-hand side of the screen under Appearance → Editor in your WordPress dashboard, add your CSS rules, and click on the Update File button.

Organizing your CSS

As your website grows, your CSS file will require proper organization to keep everything readable and easily maintainable. Here are some tips to help organize your CSS:

Use comments

Adding comments to your CSS file helps you and others understand the purpose of specific CSS rules.

Use external CSS files

Splitting your CSS rules into different files helps you locate a specific rule or make changes to your website’s theme. You can create a new CSS file and save it in your WordPress theme directory, then add the following code to your theme’s header.php file: