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How to Add Custom CSS in WordPress

How to Add Custom CSS in WordPress (Beginner Friendly) 

Written By: author avatar Stacey Corrin
author avatar Stacey Corrin
Stacey has been writing about WordPress and digital marketing for over 10 years and on other topics for much longer. Alongside this, she's fascinated with web design, user experience, and SEO.
     Reviewed By: reviewer avatar Turner John
reviewer avatar Turner John
John Turner is the co-founder of SeedProd. He has over 20+ years of business and development experience and his plugins have been downloaded over 25 million times.

Have you ever tried to change a color or hide something on your WordPress site, only to find there’s no option for it? I’ve been there too. I remember spending way too long looking through my theme settings for a simple font tweak that just wasn’t possible.

That’s when I learned about custom CSS. It’s a quick way to fix small visual issues on your site, without editing theme files or hiring a developer.

If you’re new to this, don’t worry. You don’t need to know how to code or understand how websites work under the hood.

In this guide, I’ll show you beginner-friendly ways to add custom CSS to WordPress. I’ll also walk you through my favorite tool for the job, SeedProd, which makes the whole process much easier.

Methods to Add Custom CSS in WordPress:

What Is Custom CSS?

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It’s a simple language that controls how your WordPress site looks.

For example, this bit of CSS changes a heading color to red:

h1 {
  color: red;
}

And this one hides an element on the page:

.hidden {
  display: none;
}

You don’t need to write code like this from scratch. Most of the time, you’ll just copy and paste it into the right place.

The key is knowing where to put your custom CSS, and that’s exactly what I’ll show you next.

Why Add Custom CSS in WordPress?

Sometimes you want to change a button color, center a heading, or remove a bit of extra spacing, and your theme doesn’t give you a way to do it.

That’s where custom CSS comes in. It gives you control over the small design details that make your site look and feel just right.

With CSS, you’re not stuck with the default WordPress theme settings. You can fine-tune your layout, style, and spacing without switching themes or installing extra WordPress plugins.

Even small tweaks can make a big difference in how professional your site looks.

So, how do you actually add custom CSS in WordPress?

There are a few different ways, but I’ll start with the one I use most often, and the one I recommend if you want full control without the hassle.

1. Add Custom CSS with SeedProd (My Favorite Way)

SeedProd Drag-and-drop WordPress website builder

If you’ve never used SeedProd before, it’s a drag-and-drop WordPress builder that makes customizing your site super easy, even if you’re not a developer.

I use it all the time because I can build full themes or landing pages without touching any code. And when I do want to add a bit of CSS, SeedProd gives me a simple place to do it.

Before we get into the steps, it helps to have SeedProd set up on your site. If you haven’t used it yet, here are a couple of beginner-friendly tutorials to help you get started:

Once you’ve built a landing page or theme with SeedProd, you’re ready to add your own custom CSS. Let’s start with how to do that on a single landing page.

How to Add CSS to a Landing Page in SeedProd

To get started, open your WordPress dashboard and go to SeedProd » Landing Pages.

Find the landing page you want to edit and click the Edit link next to it.

Editing a WordPress landing page in SeedProd

This will open the SeedProd page builder. In the bottom-left corner, click the gear icon to open your Global Settings.

Opening the global page settings in SeedProd

From the left-hand sidebar, click on the Custom CSS tab.

Now paste in your CSS. For example, here’s one that styles your paragraph text:

p {
  font-style: italic;
  color: #444;
}
how to add custom CSS in WordPress landing page using SeedProd

Click the Save button in the top-right corner.

You can then preview your page to see the saved changes live on your website.

Example of custom CSS changing paragraph text to italic in WordPress

How to Add Global CSS with SeedProd’s Theme Builder

If you’re using SeedProd’s Theme Builder to design your entire site, you can apply custom CSS that works across every page.

To get started, open your WordPress dashboard and go to SeedProd » Theme Builder.

Find the template called Global CSS and click Edit Design.

Editing the Global CSS template in SeedProd

Inside the builder, click the gear icon in the bottom-left corner to open Global Settings.

From the left-hand sidebar, click the Custom CSS tab.

Click the Edit Custom CSS button. This opens the WordPress Customizer in a new window.

Edit Custom CSS button in SeedProd Global CSS Settings

In the Customizer, click Additional CSS, then paste in your code.

how to add custom CSS in WordPress theme with SeedProd

For example:

p {
  font-style: italic;
}

This will make all paragraph text across your site appear italic.

Click Publish to save your changes and apply them sitewide.

You can now refresh your page to see the update live.

Example of making WordPress theme paragraph text italic using Custom CSS in SeedProd

This method is helpful for making global style changes like font adjustments, spacing, and color tweaks.

2. Add Custom CSS in WordPress Without a Page Builder

If you’re not using a page builder like SeedProd, you can still add custom CSS directly in WordPress. The steps depend on the type of theme you’re using, either a classic theme or a block theme.

Classic themes use the older Customizer tool and often rely on widgets and page templates. Block themes, on the other hand, use the newer Site Editor, which lets you design your whole site with blocks.

Let’s start with classic themes.

Use the WordPress Customizer (Classic Themes)

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance » Customize.

Customizing the appearance of a Classic WordPress theme.

From the Customizer menu, click on Additional CSS.

A text box will appear where you can paste your custom code. For example:

p {
  color: #0073aa;
}

This changes all paragraph text on your site to a shade of blue.

You’ll see a live preview of your changes on the right as you type.

how to add custom CSS in WordPress using the theme customizer

When you’re happy with how it looks, click the Publish button to save your changes.

This method works well with older themes that support the Customizer, and it doesn’t require any WordPress plugins.

Use the Site Editor (Block Themes)

If your WordPress site uses a block theme, you’ll manage your design using the full Site Editor instead of the Customizer.

To begin, go to Appearance » Editor in your WordPress dashboard.

Opening WordPress full site editor

In the left-hand sidebar, click the Styles icon. It looks like a half-moon or a paint palette.

Opening full site editor styles

Then click the small pencil icon labeled Edit Styles.

Editing styles in WordPress full site editor

You’ll now see the WordPress editor. In the top-right corner of the screen, click the three-dot menu (⋮) and select Additional CSS from the dropdown.

Opening additional CSS in WordPress full site editor

Paste your custom code into the box. For example:

p {
  color: #0073aa;
}

This will change the paragraph text color across your entire site.

how to add custom CSS in WordPress using the full site editor

Click Save in the top-right corner to apply the changes.

⚠️ If you don’t see the Additional CSS panel, your block theme may not support it. In that case, you can use a plugin like WPCode or switch to a builder like SeedProd.

3. Use a Custom CSS Plugin

If your theme doesn’t support the Customizer or Site Editor, or if you just want a clean way to manage your CSS in one place, I recommend using a plugin like WPCode.

WPCode WordPress code snippets plugin

WPCode is a lightweight WordPress plugin that lets you safely add custom code snippets, like CSS, HTML, JavaScript, or PHP, without editing your theme files.

Once you’ve installed and activated WPCode, go to Code Snippets » + Add Snippet in your WordPress dashboard.

Adding a new code snippet in WPCode

Click the box that says Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet) and give your snippet a name, like Custom CSS Styles.

Add custom code snippet in WPCode

Under Code Type, select CSS Snippet from the dropdown.

Now paste your CSS into the code box. For example:

p {
  color: #0073aa;
}

Scroll down and choose Auto Insert to apply the CSS across your entire site.

how to add custom CSS in WordPress using WPCode plugin

Then click Save Snippet and toggle the switch at the top to Active.

That’s it! Your custom styles are now live across your site, and you can come back to this snippet anytime to make changes.

This method only works if you’re using a classic theme. Block themes don’t include access to the Theme File Editor in the WordPress dashboard.

If you’re using a classic theme, and you’re comfortable editing code, you can add custom CSS directly to your theme’s style.css file. But I don’t recommend this unless you know what you’re doing.

When you edit theme files directly, your changes can be lost during updates. You also won’t see a live preview, and even a small typo can break your layout.

That said, if you’re using a child theme or know how to restore your site if something goes wrong, here’s how to do it.

Go to Appearance » Theme File Editor in your WordPress dashboard.

Opening Classic WordPress theme file editor

From the list of files on the right, click on style.css.

how to add custom CSS in WordPress style.css in theme editor

Scroll to the bottom of the file and paste your CSS. For example:

p {
  color: #0073aa;
}

Click Update File to save your changes.

Example of customized CSS by changing style.css file.

⚠️ Only do this if you’re using a child theme or know how to safely restore your site. For most users, tools like SeedProd or WPCode are much safer options.

Bonus: Target Custom CSS to Pages or Blocks

Sometimes you don’t want your CSS to affect the whole site, you just want it to apply to one page or a single block. You can do that by using page IDs or custom CSS classes.

Using Page IDs in WordPress

Every page in WordPress has a unique ID, and you can use that to target styles for just that page.

To find the page ID, visit the page in your browser, right-click anywhere, and choose Inspect.

Inspecting a WordPress page element in Chrome web browser

In the code, look for the <body> tag. It will include a class like page-id-37.

Finding the WordPress page ID in inspect element tool

You can then use that in your CSS like this:

.page-id-37 p {
  color: green;
}
Adding custom CSS to specific page IDs in WordPress

This will only change the paragraph text color on that specific page.

Example of custom CSS targeting specific page IDs in WordPress

Using SeedProd’s Block Settings

If you’re using SeedProd, you can target specific blocks by adding a custom class name.

Open your page in the SeedProd builder and click on the block you want to style. In my case, I want to style a specific heading block.

In the left-hand panel, go to the Advanced tab, look for the Attributes option, and expand it.

Block attributes in SeedProd block

Find the field labeled CSS Class and add a class name like my-special-style.

Adding a custom Class to a heading block in SeedProd

Then, in your global or page-level Custom CSS box, add something like this:

.my-special-style {
  background-color: #fff7e6;
  border-radius: 10px;
}
Using the custom CSS class to change the heading block CSS

After saving and previewing the page, you’ll see your changes on that specific block without affecting the rest of your site.

Example of eading block customized using custom CSS class in SeedProd

FAQs About Adding Custom CSS in WordPress

How do I add CSS to a specific page?
You can target a specific page using its unique page ID. For example:

.page-id-123 p {
color: red; }

Or, if you’re using SeedProd or WPCode, you can create a custom CSS class and apply it to a block or section manually.
Can I use HTML and CSS together?
Yes! You can add HTML inside WordPress blocks or widgets, and style it using custom CSS. Just make sure the CSS targets the correct element or class.
Is it safe to add CSS without a developer?
Yes, as long as you’re using beginner-friendly tools like SeedProd, WPCode, or the built-in WordPress options. Avoid editing theme files directly unless you’re using a child theme or know how to fix mistakes.
Will Adding CSS to WordPress affect mobile devices?
Most CSS will apply to all screen sizes unless you use media queries. If you’re using SeedProd, you can preview and adjust your CSS for mobile directly in the builder.

Ready to Customize Your WordPress Site?

As you’ve seen, there are several easy ways to add custom CSS in WordPress, even if you’re not a developer.

You can style individual blocks, tweak your whole theme, or make small changes that help your site look exactly the way you want. Whether you prefer using SeedProd, WPCode, or one of the built-in WordPress tools, the important thing is that you don’t need to feel stuck with your theme’s defaults.

If you want more control without editing theme files, SeedProd is the easiest way to build and style your pages, no code required.

Want to keep customizing your WordPress site? Here are some guides I recommend next:

author avatar
Stacey Corrin Writer
Stacey has been writing about WordPress and digital marketing for over 10 years and on other topics for much longer. Alongside this, she's fascinated with web design, user experience, and SEO.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that we believe will add value to our readers.

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