Whether you buy a WordPress theme or develop your own theme, you’ll discover you want to add some custom CSS to your site.
Which you can do within the WordPress Customizer.
But it’s not easy, due to the narrow width of the editing window.
Frustrated, I searched for an easier solution.
It didn’t take long to find another option, one with great reviews, and excellent support.
Read on to find out why I recommend Simple CSS and why it’s one of the common plugins I install on WordPress sites.
Simple CSS Plugin
The one goal of Simple CSS is to make it straightforward to add custom CSS to your website.
And it does the job well in a clean, easy-to-use layout.
With Simple CSS, you can add custom CSS styles to override theme and plugin default settings.
The plugin is free and has a five-star rating in the WordPress plugin repository.
Added bonus: your CSS is theme independent; you won’t lose your custom CSS when you change themes.
Why I Like It
In the past, I’ve used the Additional CSS option in the Customizer to add custom styles. But it was frustrating working in the narrow window.
I couldn’t easily add CSS styles without them wrapping in the narrow editing window.
Which made it difficult to add, modify, and view my changes.
That all changed when I started using the Simple CSS plugin.
Here are a few more reasons I like Simple CSS:
- Constantly maintained and updated
- Full-width layout for editing
- Theme independent; maintain your custom CSS when you change themes
- Use the metabox to apply CSS to a specific page or post
- Dark and light themes
- Tom Usbourne, the plugin developer, replies quickly to questions in the support forum
How the Plugin Works
Once you’ve installed and activated the Simple CSS plugin, you’ll find a new option added to Appearance as well as to the Customizer.
To add CSS, you can either navigate to Appearance > Simple CSS or Appearance > Customize.
While you can access Simple CSS from the Customizer (with the narrow editing screen), I find it easier to work in the full-width layout available from Appearance > Simple CSS.
Once you’re on the Simple CSS page, add CSS in the editor section. In addition, you can customize the editor layout to a Dark or Light theme. (option available below the Save CSS button)
Here’s a screenshot of Simple CSS full-width layout with the Save and theme display options.
Be aware that if you have extensive CSS changes, more than 1000 lines, the developer recommends you create a child theme.
Summary
Simple CSS is a useful plugin to add to your site-building toolbox, making it straightforward to add CSS to your sites.
Have you used the Simple CSS plugin on your WordPress sites? Share your thoughts in the comments
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