How to Indent Text in WordPress — 4 Basic Methods

Indenting text is common in print. It is rather unusual to indent text in digital publications, though. 

That said, it doesn’t come as a surprise that indenting text in WordPress is actually not that easy to do.

But it can be done.

Read on to find out how it’s done.

 

How to indent text in WordPress?

There are four basic ways to indent text in WordPress:

• Indent a single paragraph in the visual editor
• Indent a single paragraph in the text editor
• Indent the first line of all your websites paragraphs
• Indent the first line of specific paragraphs on your website

 

We will cover all four ways below.

 

How to Indent in WordPress: Step-by-step Guide

There are two ways to accomplish an indent in the WordPress on-page editor. On page indents will indent the entire paragraph. A small change to the style sheet is needed to indent only the first line in the paragraph.

Edits to your style sheet can change the style of one paragraph on your site or bulk change all your website paragraphs.

Style sheet edits create consistency throughout your entire website and allow you to make the same changes on multiple pages.

 

Indent a single paragraph in the visual editor

To indent a single paragraph in your WordPress editor you need to locate the “toolbar toggle button”. Click the button in the editor to see an expanded menu.

The toolbar toggle button is on the right and has three horizontal lines.

In the expanded menu you will find an indent right or indent left button. By clicking this button you indent the entire paragraph you have highlighted either left or right.

If you wish to indent multiple paragraphs highlight what you would like to indent on the page and click the right or left indent button. The button will indent your paragraph 8 spaces.

 

Indent a single paragraph in the text editor

In the right-hand corner of the WordPress editor, there is an option to click the text editor. The WordPress text editor gives you a chance to easily use HTML code in your WordPress content blocks.

 

Once in the text editor use the HTML code:

<p style=”padding-left:25px;”>Your text </p>

 

Place your paragraph between the code snippet. This will indent your entire paragraph by 25 pixels. You can change the pixel number to make your indent larger or smaller.
 

Indent the first line of all your websites paragraphs

To indent only the first line of each paragraph on your website you will need to make a small change to the cascading style sheet (CSS). In your WordPress account, you will need to complete the following steps.

1. Go to appearance
2. Click customize
3. Add this snippet in the code section:

article p {

Text-indent:25px;

}

 

This snippet will set a rule in your WordPress account that indents the first line of every paragraph you publish. This will keep your account consistent.

If you would just like to indent the first line of a WordPress post, also make sure to have a look at this article here: How to Indent the First Line of a WordPress Post.
 

Indent the first line of specific paragraphs on your website

If you don’t want the first line of every paragraph to be indented in your WordPress account you can set a CSS rule to only indent the paragraphs you tell your WordPress to indent.

This probably is the most popular way to indent text on WordPress, as it simulates newspaper-style indenting.

So, if you want to set that up, here’s how you do it:

 To set up a rule in your WordPress account to indent the first line of specific paragraphs you need to follow these steps.

1. Go to appearance
2. Click customize
3. Add the snippet in the Customize CSS code section:

 

p.custom-indent {

text-indent:40px;

}

 

Then on the paragraph, you want to indent add this code snippet in the text editor of the specific WordPress page.

<p class=”custom-indent”> Your text </p>

In our example from above, we decided to indent 4opx. You can obviously change this value to whatever you want. 20px or 60px would work as well.

 

Why is Indentation on WordPress Uncommon?

Indentation started as a way to easily signal a new topic or conversation in print. The use of indentation was not transferred to digital platforms because titles of different sizes grew in popularity.

Indentation is uncommon in WordPress because it is not widely used in digital. There are, however, times when indentation is required. It is used most often on images, for quote blocks, and on bulleted lists.

The most important thing to remember when using indentation is to use it the same way throughout your website. Set a style guide that outlines when and how indentation should be used.

This will keep continuity throughout your site for your readers.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Indent in WordPress

 

How do you indent in WordPress blocks?

A WordPress block is a section that is coded into the theme of your WordPress site by the designer. Each new page on your site starts with a content block.

Your WordPress content block will always be available on a new or existing page unless the designer specifically had it removed for certain page types. Your WordPress editor is also called your content block.

The CSS changes you make affect your entire website as they are attached to a site-wide style sheet that is different from the blocks you edit the text in.

 

How do you indent bullets in WordPress?

Creating and indenting a bulleted list in your WordPress account works the same as setting up bullets in a word document.

1. Make sure you are in the visual editor of your content block
2. Type out the list you wish to bullet
3. Highlight your list
4. Find the “unordered list (bulleted list)” button and click it
5. Don’t forget to publish your page to save changes

 

How do you create a hanging indent in WordPress?

A hanging indent is when your first line is not indented, but the rest of the paragraph underneath is indented. To create a hanging indent on your paragraph you need to switch to the text editor in your WordPress block.

 In the text editor paste

<p style=”margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in”> Your text. </p>

 This will only indent the paragraph you place within the single-angle quotes. It will not change or update any other part of your WordPress site.

 

Final Thoughts

Indenting paragraphs on WordPress is not a common process and should be used sparingly. The best way to use indentation is to use it consistently throughout your entire website.

Having a style guide to outline how and when indentation is used on a website will keep your site consistent.