7 Best WordPress Table Plugins to Display Your Data

Are you looking for a WordPress table plugin you can use to display data?

WordPress table plugins let you store and present your data in a table format to make it easy for your visitors to read. 

In this article, we’ll show you some of the best WordPress table plugins you can use to show your data.

Why Use a WordPress Table Plugin?

Tables are a great way to display large data sets in an easy-to-read way. You can use tables to share original data, show price comparisons, create web directories, and much more. 

WordPress has a default feature that lets you add tables to posts and pages, but it’s limited and doesn’t offer many styling options. 

Using a WordPress table plugin gives you access to additional features like drag and drop table builders, advanced sorting options, complete color and style control, and much more.

When you create engaging and interactive tables, it’s easier to keep your visitors engaged and spending more time on your WordPress website. 

Having said that, let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress table plugins you can use along with your WordPress site.

1. TablePress

TablePress is one of the most popular table plugins for WordPress. It lets you create beautiful tables simply and easily without any code. 

If you’ve used Excel before, then you’ll be right at home using this plugin. The process for adding data is just like adding data to a spreadsheet. 

Beyond adding data manually, you can import and export your tables in Excel, HTML, CSV, and JSON format. This makes it easy to migrate your tables from another plugin. 

It also comes with a unique feature that makes your tables more interactive. Your users can engage with your tables by using pagination, filtering, sorting, and more.

For more details, see our guide on how to add tables in WordPress posts and pages.

2. Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms is one of the most advanced form builder plugins in the market. It also has features that make it a powerful table building tool.

Essentially, you can create a form using the plugin, collect data, and then use that data to make and display your tables.

You can choose from multiple different styles for your tables and have them completely match the design of your site. Plus, the table builder lets you add sorting and filtering features, pagination, and more. 

With Formidable Forms, you can pull data from your existing forms, so your tables will automatically be updated as new data becomes available. 

This makes it an excellent choice for real estate websites, business directories, classified listings, and more. 

3. wpDataTables

wpDataTables is a premium table plugin that lets you quickly add tables to WordPress. It comes with a unique table builder that enables you to create visually appealing tables without writing any code.

You’ll find features that let you merge cells, add star ratings, give each cell a different style, add shortcodes to each cell, and more.

Once you activate the plugin, there’s a wizard that will walk you through the steps of creating your first chart. You can enter your data directly into the table, or import data from a CSV or Excel spreadsheet, XML file, PHP, and more.

To display your table, you can use the included Gutenberg block, shortcode, or a supported page builder. 

4. Data Tables Generator by Supsystic

Data Tables Generator is a flexible table plugin for users who need to create many different types of tables.

It offers support for sorting and search, and can display any type of data or media in your tables.

Similar to Excel and other spreadsheet software, you can even add equations and mathematical formulas into your tables.

You can also convert the data being stored in your tables into graphics, charts, and diagrams. This data visualization can help your visitors better understand your data. 

There’s an option for your users to export data on the front end and download it in PDF, Excel, or CSV format. 

5. Ninja Tables

Ninja Tables is a great WordPress table plugin that lets you create beautiful tables with ease. This plugin has several features that make more easy customization. 

You can choose between 13 different color schemes or create your own to match the design of your site.

Plus, you can customize how your table will look on mobile, tablet, and desktop devices. All existing table options can be turned on or off with a single click. 

The manual data entry process can be slow since you have to enter each column and row individually. But there are data import options to help speed this up. 

It even has a unique feature that lets you add custom CSS and JavaScript to your table for those who want to add custom code. 

6. Visualizer

Visualizer is a feature rich and easy to use table and charts plugin. If you’re writing WordPress blog posts and need to add both tables and charts, then this can be a great choice.

You can use the plugin to create interactive tables for your site and have complete control over the design. You can also add pagination, search, sorting, scrolling, and more. 

If you want to edit your tables directly from your posts and access the data import features, then you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro version of the plugin. 

7. WP Table Builder

WP Table Builder is a drag and drop table builder that lets you create good looking and fully responsive tables. 

You can add text, images, lists, buttons, star ratings, shortcodes, and custom HTML. 

This makes it useful for more than just displaying data. You can use it to create pricing tables, list tables, comparison tables for review sites, and more. 

It also comes with sorting functionality, and you have complete control over the style of your tables. 

Bonus: SeedProd

SeedProd is the best WordPress page builder plugin in the market. You can easily create completely custom pages for your website using the drag and drop builder.

It comes with a template library with over 150+ templates you can use as a starting point when creating your pages. Plus, it includes a block library with pre-built features you drag and drop onto your page.

One of these is a pricing table block that lets you create completely custom pricing tables.

These can be very useful when you’re building a sales page or product page and want to highlight different price points of your products. 

We hope this article helped you learn more about the best WordPress table plugins to store your data. You may also want to see our guide on how to choose the best blogging platform and our expert picks of the best virtual business phone number apps.

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.

The post 7 Best WordPress Table Plugins to Display Your Data first appeared on WPBeginner.

January 28, 2022 at 04:00PM

How to Add a WordPress Widget to Your Website Header (2 Ways)

Do you want to add a WordPress widget to your website header area? 

Widgets allow you to add content blocks to specific sections of your theme easily, but not every theme includes a header widget area. 

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily add a WordPress widget to your website header.

Why Add a Header Widget to Your WordPress Site?

Your website header is one of the first things your visitors will see when visiting your WordPress website. By adding a WordPress widget to your header, you can optimize this area to help capture reader attention.

Most website headers will include a custom logo and a navigation menu to help visitors get around your site.

You can also add a header widget above or below this area to feature helpful content, banner ads, limited-time offers, single line forms, and more. 

Here at WPBeginner, we have a header call to action directly below the navigation menu.

Most WordPress themes have widget ready areas in the sidebar and footer areas of the site, but not every theme adds widget ready areas in the header. 

Editor’s Note: If your theme doesn’t have a widget-ready header area, then you can now create completely custom WordPress themes from scratch (without any coding).

But first, let’s take a look at how to add a WordPress widget to your website header in your existing theme. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use.

• Add a WordPress header widget in WordPress theme settings
• Add a WordPress header widget by adding code to WordPress

Method 1. Add a WordPress Widget to Your Website Header in WordPress Theme Settings

Many of the best WordPress themes include a header widget area that you can customize to your liking. 

First, you’ll want to see if your current WordPress theme supports a WordPress widget area in the header.

You can find this by going to the WordPress theme customizer or the widget area of your WordPress admin panel. To do this, navigate to Appearance » Customize and see if there is an option to edit the header.

In this example, the free Astra theme has an option called ‘Header Builder’. We’ll show you how to use this feature in Astra, but keep in mind that this will look different depending on the theme you’re using.

If you click this, it brings you to a screen to edit your header and add widgets. 

At the bottom of the screen, you can completely customize the header, along with the areas above and below the header. Simply hover over one of the empty areas and click the ‘Plus’ icon.

This brings up a popup menu where you can select ‘Widget 1’. 

There are additional options to choose from, but you’ll need to select one of the ‘Widget’ options to make the header widget-ready.

To add a widget area to your header, click the ‘Widget 1’ box that’s in the header customizer section.

This brings up the option to add a widget.

Next, click the ‘Plus’ add block icon in the left-hand menu. 

This brings up a popup where you can select a widget to add to your header. 

You can continue customizing your header and add as many widgets as you’d like.

Once you’re done, make sure to click the ‘Publish’ button to save your changes.

Now you can view your header area with the widget or widgets you added.

Not using Astra?

Another way to see if your theme already has a WordPress header widget is by navigating to Appearance » Widgets in your WordPress admin panel.

Then, see if there’s a widget section labeled ‘Header’ or something similar. 

If there is, then simply click the ‘Plus’ add block icon to bring up the widgets menu.

Then you can add whatever widget you like by clicking on it. 

Make sure you click the ‘Update’ button to save your changes to the header widget area.  

Method 2. Add a WordPress Widget to Your Website Header by Adding Code to WordPress

If your WordPress theme doesn’t currently have a WordPress widget area in the header, then you’ll need to add it manually by adding code to WordPress.

If you haven’t done this before, then see our guide on how to copy and paste code in WordPress.

Then, you can add the following code snippet to your functions.php file, in a site-specific plugin, or by using a code snippets plugin.

function wpb_widgets_init() {

        register_sidebar( array(
                'name'          => 'Custom Header Widget Area',
                'id'            => 'custom-header-widget',
                'before_widget' => '<div class="chw-widget">',
                'after_widget'  => '</div>',
                'before_title'  => '<h2 class="chw-title">',
                'after_title'   => '</h2>',
        ) );

}
add_action( 'widgets_init', 'wpb_widgets_init' );

This code registers a new sidebar or a widget ready area for your theme.

If you go to Appearance » Widgets, then you will see a new widget area labeled ‘Custom Header Widget Area’.

Now, you can add your widgets to this new area. For more details, see our guide on how to add and use widgets in WordPress.

However, your header widget won’t display live on your website just yet. We’ll show you how to do that next.

Displaying Your Custom Header Widget in WordPress

Now that you’ve created the header widget area, you need to tell WordPress where to display it on your website. 

To do this, you need to edit your theme’s header.php file. Then, you need to add the following code where you want the widget to display.

<?php

if ( is_active_sidebar( 'custom-header-widget' ) ) : ?>
    <div id="header-widget-area" class="chw-widget-area widget-area" role="complementary">
        <?php dynamic_sidebar( 'custom-header-widget' ); ?>
    </div>

<?php endif; ?>

This code will add the widget area you created earlier to your website header area. 

Now, you can visit your WordPress blog to see your header widget area live.

Style Your WordPress Header Widget Area Using CSS

Depending on your theme, you may also need to add CSS to WordPress to control how the header widget area and each widget inside it are displayed. If you don’t know CSS, you can use a plugin like CSS Hero instead.

To learn more, see our guide on how to easily add custom CSS to your WordPress site.

Next, navigate to Appearance » Customize in your WordPress admin panel. 

This brings up the WordPress theme customizer panel. You need to click on the ‘Additional CSS’ tab.

This lets you add additional CSS directly to your theme and see the changes in real time. 

Here is some sample CSS code to help you get started:

div#header-widget-area {
    width: 100%;
    background-color: #f7f7f7;
border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;
    text-align: center;
                padding: 20px;
}
h2.chw-title {
    margin-top: 0px;
    text-align: left;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    font-size: small;
    background-color: #feffce;
    width: 130px;
    padding: 5px;
    }

Simply add the CSS code to the ‘Additional CSS’ box.

Once you’re finished adding your CSS, make sure to click the ‘Publish’ button to save your changes. 

Here is how the custom header widget looks with the CSS changes live.

We hope this article helped you learn how to add a WordPress widget to your website header. You may also want to see our guide on how to choose the best WordPress hosting and our expert picks of the best live chat software for small businesses.

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.

The post How to Add a WordPress Widget to Your Website Header (2 Ways) first appeared on WPBeginner.

January 27, 2022 at 05:08PM

How to Preview and Test Your WooCommerce Emails (The Easy Way)

Do you need to preview and test your WooCommerce emails?

When you’re customizing your WooCommerce emails, it’s nice to be able to preview their layout to see how they’ll look to your customers. It’s also smart to test their deliverability to make sure they will reach your customers’ inboxes and not end up in spam.

In this article, we’ll show you how to preview your WooCommerce emails before they send.

Why Preview and Test Your WooCommerce Emails?

When running a WooCommerce store, you need to know that your receipts and order update emails look professional, have the right information, and will be delivered quickly and reliably.

You’ll want to customize the wording and appearance of your emails to match your brand and provide the best user experience for your customers.

When you’re customizing your WooCommerce emails, it’s useful to be able to preview the changes you make onscreen without having to send out test emails each time.

While the WooCommerce » Settings » Emails page provides a ‘Click here to preview your email template’ link, it displays dummy text instead of the wording and layout of your store’s customized emails.

Luckily, you can preview your WooCommerce emails using a plugin. We’ll show you how to do that below.

You should also make sure to test that your WooCommerce emails are being delivered properly. That’s because with default settings, WordPress emails aren’t optimized for deliverability, meaning they often end up in spam folders or being blocked altogether.

That being said, let’s have a look at how to preview and test each email that will be sent from your WooCommerce store.

How to Preview Your WooCommerce Emails

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Preview E-mails for WooCommerce plugin. To learn more, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit the WooCommerce » Preview Emails page so you can choose which WooCommerce email to preview.

To do that, simply click the ‘Choose Email’ drop down menu. Here you can select the WooCommerce email you wish to preview.

Next, you need to select an existing order from the ‘Choose Order’ drop down menu.

The data from this order will be used in the email preview.

If the order you wish to use for the preview isn’t displayed in the list, then you can search for it by using the ‘Search Orders’ field.

Tip: If your WooCommerce store has not yet received any orders, then you can create a dummy order by first placing Stripe payments in test mode.

If you would also like to send a test email, then you can enter an email address in the ‘Mail to’ field. You should leave this blank if you only wish to preview the email onscreen.

When you click the ‘Submit’ button, a preview of the selected email will be displayed. If you filled in the ‘Mail to’ field, then a test email will also be sent to that address.

How to Test Your WooCommerce Emails

Next, you’ll want to test your emails to make sure your customers will receive them.

You should start by installing and activating the WP Mail SMTP plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

There is a free version of WP Mail SMTP which includes all the basic features you need to improve your email deliverability. For this tutorial, we’ll be using WP Mail SMTP Pro because it’s needed to test WooCommerce emails. The Pro version also includes features like priority support, detailed email delivery logs, and controls over what emails get sent from your site.

On activation, you will need to configure the plugin to work with an SMTP mailing service.

The WP Mail SMTP wizard will take you through the process step by step, or you can follow our guides on how to set up WP Mail SMTP with Sendinblue, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Amazon SES, or your web host. Sendinblue is recommended and free for up to 300 emails a day.

If you’d rather not deal with the technical details yourself, the Elite plan includes a White Glove setup so their team can install it for you.

Once WP Mail SMTP is installed and configured, you can send a test email.

To do that, go to WP Mail SMTP » Tools and you’ll see the test page. Simply enter an email address to send the test email to, and then click the ‘Send Email’ button.

Then you’ll need to check your email inbox to see if you received it.

For more details on testing your emails, see our guide on how to send a test email from WordPress. If you’re having trouble receiving the test emails, then you can follow our guide on how to fix WooCommerce not sending order emails.

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to preview your WooCommerce emails. You may also want to learn how to create a WooCommerce popup to increase sales, or check out our list of the best WooCommerce plugins for your store.

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.

The post How to Preview and Test Your WooCommerce Emails (The Easy Way) first appeared on WPBeginner.

January 26, 2022 at 04:00PM