Do you want to change the font size in your WordPress posts or pages?
Sometimes you may want to make a line or a paragraph larger, or you might want to increase the font size on the entire page.
In this article, we’ll show you how to easily change the font size in WordPress posts and themes.
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, just keep reading.
Method 1: Using Paragraph Headings
Using headings in your content is a great way to grab user attention with a larger-size font. In most WordPress themes, headings are in a larger font than regular body text. They allow you to break your posts and pages into sections.
Headings are great for SEO as well. Search engines give proper headings more weight than normal paragraph text.
How to add a heading in the default WordPress block editor
You can add a heading to your posts or pages by simply adding the ‘Heading’ block. You can search for it or find it in the ‘Text’ section in the WordPress block editor.
The block will default to Heading 2. Normally, it makes sense to stick with Heading 2 for your subheadings. If you want to change this, then you can simply click on the ‘H2’ drop-down to select a different size.
Alternatively, you can change this in the block settings on the right-hand side of the screen. You can also change the heading’s color there as well.
How to add a heading in the older Classic Editor
If you are still using the older classic editor in WordPress, then you can add headings using the ‘Paragraph’ drop-down.
Just highlight the text that you want to turn into a heading, click the ‘Paragraph’ drop-down, and select your heading size.
The sizes and colors of the different Heading styles are controlled by your theme’s stylesheet (style.css).
If you’re using a premium WordPress theme, then you may have the option to change these settings under Appearance » Customize.
Method 2: Changing the Size of the Text in the Block Editor
What if you want to have a paragraph or even your whole post in a larger font? You can do this easily using the default WordPress block editor.
Just click on any paragraph block, then select the font size under ‘Typography’ on the right-hand side.
You can select from the drop-down, which covers Small, Normal, Medium, Large, and Huge. If you change your mind, then just click the ‘Reset’ button to set your paragraph back to the default text.
There’s also a ‘Custom’ option where you can simply type in the pixel size that you’d like. If you want, you can also set a large Drop Cap to appear at the start of your paragraph.
These options aren’t available in the older classic editor for WordPress. If you want to use them, then think about making the switch. Our tutorial on how to use the new WordPress block editor will help you.
If you are determined to stick with the classic editor, then this next option is for you.
Method 3: Change Font Size Using Advanced Editor Tools
Advanced Editor Tools, previously known as TinyMCE Advanced, is a WordPress plugin that gives you more control over font sizes and text formatting, as well as a range of other features.
This is particularly useful with the older classic editor, but it also works with the block editor. It adds a new block called “Classic Paragraph” that has all the formatting controls.
To use it, you’ll first need to install and activate the Advanced Editor Tools plugin. If you’re not sure how to do that, check out our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Next, go to Settings » Advanced Editor Tool (TinyMCE Advanced) to configure the editor settings. This is where you can set up the buttons you want to use in the TinyMCE Advanced toolbar.
If you’re using it with the Classic editor, then you should see that TinyMCE has the ‘Font Size’ drop-down enabled by default in the second row of icons.
You can move it to the first row by dragging it upwards if you want.
If you’re using the block editor, then you’ll need to scroll down the screen and add the Font Sizes drop-down to the toolbar by dragging and dropping it.
Make sure you click ‘Save Changes’ at the bottom of the screen.
To see the button in action, create a new post or edit an existing one.
In the block editor, you’ll now have the option to add a ‘Classic Paragraph’ block. It will have the Advanced controls, like this:
In the classic editor, you’ll see the toolbars with a font size drop-down:
You can select any font size from the drop-down.
Note: this doesn’t give you as many options as the WordPress block editor, and you can’t type in your own font size.
Method 4: Change Site-Wide Font Size Using CSS
If you are changing font sizes every time you edit a post, then you may want to make it easier by changing it permanently in your theme.
The good news is that you can change the default paragraph size across your whole site. The best way to do this is by using the Theme Customizer under Appearance » Customize.
Some WordPress themes may come with an option for you to change the font size. If you can find this option, then you can use it without writing CSS code.
However, if your theme does not have that feature, then you can add custom CSS to add your own font size rules.
Simply click on the ‘Additional CSS’ option in the theme customizer. This is where you can store all your custom CSS code.
Now under the additional CSS text box, simply add your CSS code. In this example, we are changing the font size to ’16px’, you can choose a different font size.
p {
font-size:16px;
}
You’ll immediately see the changes on the preview on the right-hand side of the screen. If you’re happy with the font size, click the ‘Publish’ button at the top of your screen to make it live.
Note: Your custom CSS will only be applied to the theme you’re using. If you later choose to switch to a different WordPress theme, you’ll need to copy and paste it into the Customizer again.
The above code only applies to paragraph text. What if you wanted to change the font size of all h2 sub-headings?
Simply modify the above code to target the h2 element in your theme like this:
h2 {
font-size:32px;
}
You can do the same thing with other headings as well by simply changing h2 to h3, h4, or h5.
We hope this article helped you learn how to easily change the font size in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to use custom fonts in WordPress or our list of the best drag & drop WordPress page builder plugins.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Joseph says
The TinyMCE really worked! Thanks alot☺
mate wierdl says
How about changing font size in comments to blog posts?
Naomi says
Thanks for the TinyMCE plugin suggestion for this. Super simple and it works great. I appreciate it!
WPBeginner Support says
Hey Naomi,
Glad you found it useful
You may also want to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials.
Admin
Abhisehkd says
really helpful. my site is also suffering from low font size . is there is any way to solve this through style.css
Aslam Fawad says
Thanks. Nice Post..
Judy says
I too, would like to learn how to change font size in the style sheet.
J says
Thank GOD I found this article!
Keivon says
OMG. You are wonderful. That plugin is so simple and exactly what I needed. Thanks
Henderson says
Thanks for this very helpful post
dennis mitchell says
Thanks. very helpful.
Brian Woodburn says
the point to change size of font etc has gone from the face bar
ifaheem says
Thanks for the help!
Jana Sheeder says
Thank you very much for a great tutorial. Very soothing voice that’s clear and easy to understand, too. I appreciate you!
Susan says
Unfortunately, this is only available to paid accounts. If you’re using WordPress.com, there is no Plugins tab located in the Dashboard.
“On WordPress.com, we include the most popular plugin functionality within our sites automatically. As a result, WordPress.com users won’t find a Plugins tab in the Dashboard.”
Melissa says
Actually, it’s only available to WordPress.org accounts, which is not the same as a paid WordPress.com account. Anytime you see “WordPress” without a .com at the end, it’s safe to assume it’s referring to the self-hosted .org, which WPBeginner tips & tutorials are aimed at. I know it can be confusing for people who use .com, but the two really are very different animals. When looking for help, you’ll get better results if you’re sure to include “wordpress.com” in your search terms.
Jo-Anne says
I have tried to download TinyMCE several times without success. When I try to open the files. everything appears to be written in Arabic (characters look like that!) Any other suggestions as I’m new to WordPress and would love to get my website up and running. Thank you!
Cinnamonblue says
NO Thanks for NOT publishing my comment. I did see in another comment that I cannot use TinyMCE or plug ins on WordPress.org.
I’m still not sure about paragraph headings, though. I have that button, but I didn’t seem to be able to get it to give a dropdown menu or anything.
One main reason I got frustrated with WP was that I couldn’t seem to change font size and the text of my blog always seemed too small.
Anthony says
thank you so much.
i am relieved now that i have this plugin
Laura says
Thank you so much for the tutorial! I was able to change the font size in my posts…. but I cannot figure out how to change the font for the widgets in my sidebar… any suggestions?
WPBeginner Support says
Please see our guide on how to add custom styles to WordPress widgets.
Admin
Grace Joubarne says
I sure wish someone could explain how we can change the post title font size without the change affecting the Recent Posts widget. I am using the basic Twelve Thirteen. It offers advanced Post Title font changes with a link found directly under the title. But totally useless, since any changes equally affect the Recent Posts box!
Grace Joubarne says
What about changing the font size of the Title….when I try to do this, the Recent Posts in the sidebar increases in size and looks terrible. No way is offered to resolve this anywhere that I can find…and I’ve been looking for hours. But unless I reduce the title size, the default size is so large it takes up half the opening page.
Greg Smith says
Are these option, including the plugin font size options not available if you host your own site or something? I did everything everybody says to do, dragging the font size button to the bar etc., and I get no option to resize fonts no matter what.
I also have no “paragraph” menu.
Thanks.
WPBeginner Staff says
We have updated the article with new instructions. Hope this resolves the issue. Thanks for notifying us.
Colin says
In method 2 described in this article- the font size option does not exist when you install it. It does add options (most of which already exist) but the one that nearly everybody wants is sadly absent. I guess photoshop was used for the above illustration
Pastelaso29 says
how can I change the font of a specific title page without affecting the title on the rest of the pages?
Casey says
I installed the plug-in from the link on this page and installed and activated it. I opened the second menu with the last button on the first row but it looks the same as before I installed it. I tried deactivating and reactivating several times but the option to change the font is still not there. A new row at the top (I think it’s new, anyway) appeared with “file”, “edit”, “insert”, etc. right above what used to be the first row.
richard lee morris says
Thanks! This article helped me. I was guided to the “extended” menu — by clicking the last button “Toggle Toolbar.”
Zakia H says
Richard!! You just save me from pulling my hair out. I’ve been trying to figure out how to view the extended menu and had no idea I had to click the “Toggle Toolbar” button. Thank you for your comment
Sharon Seltzer says
Your video was very helpful. I already found and changed the size of the one font my WordPress Theme gives me, but it’s a beginning. I will download your suggested Plugin.
Liz says
AMAZING tutorial, thank you!
KevinJosephCollinson says
Great short video. This helped a lot…. Thanks!!!…. Tip for others… Please make sure that when you “Go To Settings” and you see the “TinyMCE Advanced” text in the drop down Menu… Remember to configure your Toolbar with the Font Size etc otherwise you will not have it in your toolbar as the toolbar has much more options and the Font Size is not an automatic part of your new toolbar… So simple with the drag-and-drop to configure…. Thanks again for the great share and taking time to help other people!!!
juna id says
I have Tinymceadvanced plugin installed in my WordPress Blog and i am using Sahifa wordpess theme but still in new post page i don’t find Font size option,
WPBeginner Staff says
Please report in the plugin’s support forum and attach a screenshot of your post editor.
Andriken sonwane says
hii mod ‘ update your post and add a extra line about this problem solution ‘ i had replied it on juna id comment’ i will be glad if you do it ‘ Thanks by d way !
Andriken sonwane says
hii juna id ‘ dont worry i was dealing with the same problem but then after i figured out that ‘ you have to go to TinyMce Advanced plugin which is located in the Setting ‘ after activated and then drag the font size option from unsed options and drop it right in used option’ and save it ‘ that’s it
Chris says
Thanks for this article. One of my biggest pains about posting on WP is resolved forever!
Dr3Tri says
I have not ever seen those toolbars. I wonder if ANYONE would actually ask this question if they’d have those menus right under their noses!
—
Just found out that toolbar must be _extended_ to see those MOST usable buttons…
Craig Desmarais says
I am having a weird issue. I set my main points to H2 tags and they were showing up but when I tried to switch them to H1 to make them larger they weren’t showing up. Anyone have any insight?
Briony says
Hi There
I found your video really helpful. Can you insert plugins tp change font size on wordpress.com or only wordpress.org. I need to change font size under photo’s on wordpress.com.
Cheers
WPBeginner Support says
You can not use plugins on WordPress.com
Admin
Cheeni says
Hello,
I want to change font of my headings and other items apart from posts.
I have tried to amend css style sheet but I am lost because nothing happens and I have never used it before as well.
Please help!
Tine MCE only helps with post sizes but what about other things on website?
Thanks!
Emel says
Downloaded and activated this plug-in, but as a couple of users mentioned earlier, it doesn’t include the option to change the font size. All of my options are the same as the picture you provided with the exception of the Font Size. In place of it, I have Styles. Your picture is very misleading.
Chris says
How is ‘jumping to conclusions without exploring a plugin’ working for you? Please don’t be a moron when someone takes the pain of creating an entire article explaining stuff. You posted this 3 months ago and your question was answered by the admin below a comment posted 1 month prior to that.
Gurpreet says
My add/edit post window does not have the entire second line of options that you have pictured in this tutorial. This means that I don’t have the paragraph tab in which to change font size. Any advice?
WPBeginner Support says
The second line of buttons appears when you click on the last button in the first row, its called show/hide kitchen sink button. Clicking on it will display another row of buttons in your visual post editor.
Admin
Dr3Tri says
Thanks, this was it!
Sarah says
My add/edit post window does not have the entire second line of options that you have pictured in this tutorial. This means that I don’t have the paragraph tab in which to change font size. Any advice?
Sunganani says
The TinyMCE Advanced plugin is just the one for my site. It is working beautifully. Thank you for this post
Tom Reber says
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I appreciate the article…very helpful!
Radek says
Nice tutorial. Thanks!
Balaji says
Thanks for this post.
Ivor Vale says
Can you adjust the spacing between paragraphs in WordPress ?
Editorial Staff says
Yes, but you would have to edit the theme’s CSS.
Admin
Dominique says
Don’t forget to click the “Show/Hide The Kitchen Sink” button in the visual editor to display the paragraph setting. It’s hidden by default.
Marie says
Where can I find this button? My visual text editor doesn’t have a paragraph option; basically it only has the top row of options from the screen shot. Thanks!
Marie says
Nevermind, I found it!
thethaiguy says
You guys are great and thank you for info!
Michael says
Another way is to use a theme framework like Thesis, and I suppose Genesis or Headway and the like(I use Thesis, so it’s what I’m familiar with). You have a dashboard to easily change anything you like anywhere, such as font size in specific locations.
Raja Tahir Qaiser says
Can I know how to change default font size ?
Editorial Staff says
You would need to edit the style.css file and change the font size on your body element.
Admin
sim says
so please explain how you change the default font by changing the style.css??
Jake says
How do you give the user an option to change the font size and elements (if they have bad eyesight, etc.) Here is an example: drwalisever. com. In the top right corner there are 2 buttons. It uses the Fusion theme, which is no longer developed. A tutorial would be great, thanks!
Bozga Ovidiu says
i don’t like plugins
Editorial Staff says
Any particular reason for that?
Admin
Ashutosh Joshi says
But I think will effect in SEO, as there are no option for Heading tags are being shown.. is it so?
Editorial Staff says
The heading tag options only show up in the visual editor. If you are in the HTML editor, it will not show.
Admin