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How to Easily Change the Font Size in WordPress

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.

How to change font size in WordPress

Video Tutorial

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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.

Add a heading block

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.

Change heading from h2

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.

Choose heading in classic editor

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.

Typography settings

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.

Advanced editor tools classic editor font size

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.

Add font size to toolbar

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:

Advanced editor tools classic editor font size

In the classic editor, you’ll see the toolbars with a font size drop-down:

Change font in classic editor

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.

Add additional CSS

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.

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Reader Interactions

176 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Thank you guys for such a useful tutorial, solved my font size problem quickly. Thanks again

  2. Thank you. Your explanation is clear. But, I cannot apply it to my editing activities. In my Block Editor and Classic Editor, there is no font size dropdown menu. It’s frustating. Can you help me?

  3. Hi there,

    thanks for this tutorial. I was trying to do the fourth method and wanted to change my H2 size. I copy and pasted the code into my custom CSS but when I change the px value nothing happens. The Size doesn’t change. Very annoying :O

    • You may need to check with your theme’s support in case they are overriding your CSS

      Admin

  4. In the new wordpress block editor, regardless of whether I give it a H1 or H4 heading, it doesn’t change the size of the font at all. Sure, in the editor the size changes, but when I publish, there is no size change for what the public sees.

    • Your theme may have styling for your headings that make the text look the same. You would either want to edit it with CSS or reach out to your theme’s support.

      Admin

  5. Hi, is there a way to set/change defaults with the Classic paragraph editor? So for example if you wanted each block of text to have size 14 in Book Antiqua, is there a way to keep as a preset instead of having to manually change every block or even line?

    • For what you’re wanting, you would likely need to use the CSS method from this article to set the text how you’re wanting.

      Admin

  6. Hi there,
    I have the tiny mce advanced plugin. I added the font size to the selection but when i go to my pages, but doesn’t appear and I’ve clicked through all the options and don’t see where else to add it.

    • You will likely need to reach out to your specific theme’s support and they should be able to assist with what could be preventing the changes.

      Admin

  7. Hello. Thanks for the posting. I have one question. If I want to enlarge a couple of words in one block, how can I do it?

    • You would likely need to edit the paragraph using HTML to manually add the text changes to specific sections.

      Admin

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