{"id":17392,"date":"2019-04-29T07:35:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T07:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/?p=17392"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:35:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:35:30","slug":"wordpress-text-editor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/ca\/tutorials\/wordpress-text-editor\/","title":{"rendered":"A beginner\u2019s guide to WordPress text editor"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re new to WordPress, you might be wondering what the WordPress text editor is for and how it’s different from its visual counterpart.<\/span><\/p>

The text editor displays the content in <\/span>HTML<\/span><\/a>, which allows for extra customization options to those familiar with the language. It also offers features for faster HTML editing<\/a>, such as buttons to insert frequently used formatting code.<\/span><\/p>

This article will explain how to use the WordPress text editor and suggest alternative text editor plugins if you’re not satisfied with the default option.<\/span><\/p>

Download all-in-one WordPress cheat sheet<\/a><\/p>

WordPress Text Editor vs. Visual Editor<\/span><\/h2>

The WordPress text editor, also known as the HTML editor, generates and displays the HTML code of a post or page, which is very useful for plain text formatting.<\/span><\/p>

When customizing with the text editor, users can also fix unwanted styling and formatting changes that WordPress might automatically apply. <\/span><\/p>

However, it’s crucial to note that if you want to customize your WordPress website using the text editor, HTML knowledge is essential. <\/span><\/p>

In comparison, the visual editor is based on the What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG)<\/a> principle. This means that the content’s design and styling are displayed in the exact way it will look when published.<\/span><\/p>

The newest version of WordPress uses <\/span>Gutenberg<\/span><\/a> as its visual editor. It implements the drag-and-drop function, comes with a defined layout, and offers a content block system with an intuitive toolbar. <\/span><\/p>

These features mean it’s very easy to use, making it an excellent choice for the average user. <\/span><\/p>

While it’s possible to only use one type of editor, both the visual and text WordPress editors can create a much more neat and professional blog post when used side by side. <\/span><\/p>

To access the Gutenberg text editor, click the <\/span>three dots (Options) <\/b>at the top right corner of the screen, then select <\/span>Code editor<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>

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If you’re using the WordPress classic editor<\/a>, simply click the <\/span>Text <\/b>tab at the toolbar to open the text editor.<\/span><\/p>

\"The<\/a><\/figure><\/div>

WordPress Text Editor and HTML Tags  <\/span><\/h2>

As mentioned before, to edit a post or page using the text editor, some basic knowledge of HTML is required.<\/span><\/p>

An HTML document is made up of a set of HTML elements or tags when in text mode. Take note that an HTML tag consists of an opening and closing tag with the following syntax:<\/span><\/p>

<tag><\/tag><\/span><\/pre>
The content is added in between the tags. As an example:<\/span><\/p>
<tag>write sentence here<\/tag><\/span><\/pre>
Furthermore, there are two types of HTML tags in text mode – block-level and inline.<\/span><\/p>
Block-level elements start at a new line and occupy the full horizontal space of the page. The vertical space is equal to the height of the content. <\/span><\/p>
The three block-level tags that every HTML documents should contain are:<\/span><\/p>