Data drives the Web, and one of the ways to display data on your WordPress Website is using a table but how can you create one if you don’t want to use a plugin?
Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to discuss in this article.
There are a couple of reasons why you may not want to use a plugin to insert a table in your WordPress posts or pages, one of which may be that the plugins available breaks your theme or that you already have a lot of active plugins and don’t want to add any more.
So, without further ado, let’s go through the different ways to insert a table in WordPress posts and pages without using a plugin:
1. Using Google Docs
The easiest way to insert a table in WordPress posts is by using Google’s own extensive Word Processor, Google Docs.
You can just visit and open the Google Chrome app on your Desktop and then click on the 6 dot-like buttons beside your profile image and then scroll down and select Google Docs.
Create a new Blank Document and then from the top navigation menu, click on Insert, select Table, and the Dimensions you want to use (Rows and Columns).
You should then copy the table to your WordPress Visual Editor and then fill it out there, it’s important to note that you can’t add additional rows and columns after you paste the table on your Editor.
If you find that the Rows and Columns are not enough, you can always insert a new table into your Google Docs Spreadsheet and then select the number of rows and columns that you need, then copy and paste them back into WordPress.
2. Using HTML and CSS Code
An alternative method of inserting a table in WordPress without a Plugin is using the Custom HTML block which comes with your visual editor.
To get to the Custom HTML Block, you should simply click on the Ads Button “+” at the top left corner of your editing screen and then search for “Custom HTML”, and click on the block to insert it into your editor.
Once done, you can copy the HTML and CSS Code below and paste it into the Custom HTML Block Field:
<table style=”text-align: center; height: 152px;” border=”1″ cellspacing=”0″ cellpadding=”0″ width=”390″>
<tbody>
<tr style=”background-color: #e9e9e9; font-weight:bolder;”><td>First Title </td><td>Second Title</td>
<td>Third Title</td>
<td>Fourth Title</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Row 1 Detail</td>
<td>Row 2 Detail</td>
<td>Row 3 Detail</td>
<td>Row 4 Detail</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>Switch to Preview Mode and you’ll see how the Table looks and whether you’d love to continue or not.
You can always edit the CSS Stylings on the code to match your Site’s color theme, your preferred height, cell spacing, and cell padding. You need Basic knowledge of CSS so that you won’t mess things up.
If you want to add more columns, you can always use the code below:
<td>Your Info</td>If it’s Rows that you want to add, then the code below is what you need:
<tr>
<td>Detail One</td>
<td>Detail Two</td>
<td>Detail Three</td>
<td>Detail Four</td>
</tr>3. The Table Block (Using Block Editor)
I frequently use tables where necessary on my blog posts and I don’t use a Plugin because my block editor comes with a Tables Block which I can insert anywhere.
Do note that this is only for those of you using the Block Editor which you most definitely should be using.
All you need to do is enter a new paragraph on the Block Editor and then click on the Black “+” button and then in the search bar enter ‘Table’.
Select the Table Block and you’ll be prompted to select the number of Rows and Columns you want your Table to Have.
This method is better than using Google Docs because you can add a new row or column to your table and you can customize it better as it’s part of your Editor.
Final Thoughts
After Reading this article, you must have been able to master the best 3 ways to insert a table on WordPress Posts or Pages without a Plugin:
- Using Google Docs
- Add HTML Code using the Custom HTML Block
- Using the Table Block provided by WordPress’ Block Editor.
This, of course, doesn’t mean that there are no plugins that can help you insert Tables on your WordPress Website but you shouldn’t rely on plugins for everything which is why I want you to read my article on Can WordPress Plugins Contain Viruses? and Do Inactive Plugins Slow Down your Website?.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions to ask, the comments section is always open for you.
