Being able to easily add tables on your pages can be really handy. Tables help you sort and present data to people in a format that can make your information easier to understand.
WordPress provides users with a feature-rich visual editor, but there are some things that the default editor won’t let you do, like being able to easily create tables.
Although you can create tables manually in WordPress if you know HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), for most non-technical WordPress users, this is not a realistic option.
Fortunately, you can do almost anything you can imagine on a WordPress site with plugins, and creating tables is no exception.
In this tutorial you will learn how to create and add tables easily into your WordPress posts and pages with no coding skills required.
Creating And Inserting Tables Into Pages And Posts With WordPress
If you want to create and add tables to your WordPress posts or pages without touching code, then the step-by-step tutorial below will show you how to easily do this using a FREE WordPress plugin called TablePress.
WordPress Plugin – TablePress
TablePress is a great WordPress plugin that makes creating, editing and managing tables in your WordPress posts and pages simple and easy.
TablePress requires no knowledge of HTML, CSS, etc. It lets you easily edit your table data. You can add any kind of data to tables.
An additional JavaScript library can be used to include features like sorting, pagination, filtering, and more for visitors. You can insert tables into your page content using shortcodes and even display tables using text widgets.
You can also import and export tables from/to CSV files (e.g. from Excel), HTML files, and JSON formats.
The plugin was written and developed by Tobias Bäthge and is licensed as Free Software under GNU General Public License 2 (GPL 2).
Using TablePress Plugin For WordPress – Tutorial
To create and manage tables in WordPress, first install and activate the TablePress plugin.
Download the plugin here:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/tablepress
Or install it directly from your own WP Dashboard …
After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu item will appear on your WP admin menu called TablePress …
Click on TablePress and select Plugin Options from the list of submenus …
The “Plugin Options” area affects the plugin’s behavior in different areas of your site …
For example, in the “User Options” section, you can specify where the TablePress menu entry appears on your WP admin menu.
By default, the menu entry displays around the middle of your menu column. If you plan to use this plugin often, then you can position the menu option towards the top of your admin menu by choosing “Top-level (middle)” on the User Options > Admin menu entry dropdown menu …
The TablePress menu item now shows close to the top section of the menu list …
You can also play with other settings in the “Plugin Options” area, such as formatting styles for your tables, default language, and so on. If you don’t need to modify this section, simply leave the options as the default.
With TablePress, you create and edit your tables inside the plugin section. Tables are then added via a shortcode into your text. The table will then display after saving your page.
The great thing about doing this is that you can easily update the data in your tables without having to touch your pages and posts. The plugin then updates all of your table data in all instances where the table has been added to your content.
To create a new table select TablePress > Add New Table …
Type in a name, an optional description, and the number of rows and columns you would like for the new table into the “Add New Table” form in the Add New tab, then click on the Add Table button to create your new table. You can change the name, description and size of any tables you create at anytime…
Once your new table is created, it will be listed in the “All Tables” list and get assigned a unique Shortcode ID …
The TablePress shortcode allows you to easily insert tables anywhere inside a post or page by simply typing or copying and pasting the shortcode wherever you want to display your table …
Once you have created a new table, adding content to the table is very easy.
In the “Table Content” section, just click inside the cell and either type or paste the content you want to display. You can add text, images and format your content (e.g. bold or italicize words, insert links, etc …)
After your new table has been created, additional options appear that let you configure your table.
For example, in the “Table Options” section you can specify the first row of your table to be the table header and the last row of the table to be the table footer, display alternate background colours on consecutive rows, highlight rows when a visitor hovers their mouse over the table, display the table name and description above or below the table, and more …
You can also edit your table after it has been created in the “Table Manipulation” area. You can perform a range of table manipulations, like adding links and images, hiding, showing, inserting, deleting and cloning selected rows and columns, adding new rows and columns, combining cells, etc …
You can also enable JavaScript library features in your tables, such as allowing your visitors to sort, filter and search your table content, set the number of table rows displayed on your page (and also allow visitors to change the number of rows displayed), display table information, etc …
You can see how your table looks anytime, by clicking on the Preview button …
A preview window will open on your web browser displaying your table. Certain features such as the JavaScript options are disabled in preview mode, but will display when your table is published …
Remember to click the Save Changes button when finished to save your new table information …
To view a list of all your tables TablePress > All Tables …
All the tables you have created are displayed in a list. You can edit, see the shortcode, copy, export, delete and preview tables …
How To Use The TablePress Shortcode To Embed Tables Into Your Pages And Posts
You can insert a table into posts and pages using a shortcode.
You can get the shortcode for your tables by clicking on the Show Shortcode menu item below the table title to get the shortcode …
The plugin also adds a shortcode menu icon to your WordPress editor. This allows you to easily insert tables into your posts and pages while working on your content.
Place your cursor where you want your table to be inserted then click the TablePress menu icon …
TablePress Menu Icon In WordPress Visual Editor Screen
Note: You can also add a table when working in the “Text” area of the editor …
TablePress Menu Icon In HTML Editor Screen
Clicking on the menu icon brings up a list of all your tables.
Select the table you want to embed in the content and click Insert Shortcode …
Your TablePress shortcode will be added …
Publish your post or page to display your table contents …
As stated earlier, one of the great things about this plugin is that you can edit information after publishing the table without having to open your post or page. Edit the content in the plugin area, then save your new table settings and refresh your content to view the updated content.
Another great time-saving feature of the TablePress plugin, is that if you plan to keep adding new data to an existing table, you can simply export your current table, then add new items, make changes, etc. You can then re-import your exported file with the news changes and your table content will be automatically updated throughout your site.
To export an existing table, click on TablePress > Export a Table in the WP admin menu …
In the “Export Tables” section, choose the table(s) you want to export (tip: select multiple tables by holding down the “Ctrl” key), then select the Export Format you want(e.g. CSV) and any other export options you’d like to make and click on the Export Table button to download the table file to your hard drive …
After making changes and resaving the table file, you can then easily reimport the table into WordPress.
To import a table, go to your menu and select TablePress > Import a Table …
TablePress can import tables from existing data, such as CSV file data, from a spreadsheet application, an HTML file, or its own JSON format.
To import a table, select and enter the source in the “Import Tables” area. You can import multiple tables from a ZIP file and choose whether to import a table as a new table or to replace an existing table.
To learn more about the plugin, including where to access documentation about additional features, or get plugin support, contact the plugin author, etc., click on the “About Tab” in the plugin admin section, or select TablePress > About TablePress …
As you can see, TablePress is an extremely powerful and feature-rich plugin that is free and will help you easily create and embed tables into your site content.
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