WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world. It’s been around since 2005 and is used to create everything from small personal sites to massive news organizations. In 2019, it is the #2 most downloaded software globally, according to Statista.

The most common use case for WordPress is to create a website. But did you know that you can use it to edit all of the code that makes up your website’s design?

In this guide, you’ll learn the fundamentals of editing your WordPress site’s code so you can eventually customize everything from its appearance to its functionality. You’ll start by learning the basics of HTML, the language that programs are expressed in, then move on to learning CSS, the styling language that programs are expressed in. Finally, you’ll learn about the various WordPress functions that you can use to build the foundation of your website. Along the way, you’ll discover essential tips and tools to make the process easier and more enjoyable.

Basic HTML

To edit the code that makes up your website, you first need to understand HTML, the HyperText Markup Language. Most web developers are familiar with HTML, its abbreviation, and even some of its more advanced structures. If you’re unfamiliar with it, don’t worry: you’ll have plenty of practice as you move along in this guide.

HTML is a programming language that allows you to add markup to a document. A markup is a way of structuring a piece of text in a special way that allows a computer to process it and display it on a screen or storing it in a database.

You’ll learn more about the different types of markup in later sections of this guide. For now, it’s enough to know that there are three basic types:

• Headings: These are the big chunks of text that you’ll use to structure your content. They’re always surrounded by `
  

  `,

  `,

  `, and `` elements. You can also include a Markdown heading for even more control over the way your content is displayed.

• Paragraphs: These are the normal chunks of content that you’ll use in your blog posts. They’re usually separated by a `` element. They are also usually surrounded by two blank lines.
• Blockquotes: Similar to a heading, a blockquote is a chunk of text surrounded by `` elements. However, a blockquote should not contain the `` element. It should only contain text.

You can use HTML to add styling and effects to the way content is displayed on your website. There are many different elements that you can use, and many different ways of structuring your content with HTML. But at the end of the day, you just need to keep things simple. Don’t get too fancy – the more you know, the more you’ll end up struggling. Once you start getting familiar with the basics of HTML, you can start adding some flair to your content.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

Just as with HTML, you’ll need to understand Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) in order to edit the code that makes up your website. CSS is another programming language that you can use to add styling and effects to the way web content is displayed.

You’ll learn more about CSS and the different ways in which you can use it in later sections of this guide. For now, it’s enough to know that CSS is a style sheet that you can use to style the elements on your website. Just like with HTML, there are many different selectors, properties, and values that you can use to style your content the way you want it.

You can use anything from font-size to colors, background-images, and list-styles to style your content. Additionally, you can use media queries to make your content responsive (displaying itself on different devices with different screen sizes).

WordPress Functions

Now that you know the basics of HTML and CSS, you can start adding more structure to your content by learning about the various WordPress functions that you can use to build your website. WordPress is a content management system that can be used to create and manage blogs, websites, and social media accounts.

There are seven basic functions that you can use to add more structure to your content: