How to Change the Text Color in WordPress (4 Easy Methods)

As an experienced webmaster, I‘ve learned that text color is one of the most impactful yet overlooked design elements on a website. Adjusting text hues may seem trivial, but it can have a profound effect on your site‘s aesthetics, usability, and even conversions.

In this comprehensive 4,000+ word guide, I‘ll show you 4 easy ways to customize text color in WordPress.

Whether you want to highlight key content, strengthen branding, improve readability, or optimize design, tweaking text color is a must. Let‘s dive in!

Why You Should Change Text Color in WordPress

Over my 15 years of building websites, I‘ve seen firsthand the power that strategic use of color wields.

Here are 5 key reasons why you should take the time to adjust default text colors in WordPress:

1. Draw Attention to Important Content

Your website likely contains many types of content – some more important than others.

Call-to-action buttons urging users to subscribe…Testimonials reinforcing your brand trust…An email opt-in form…The main slogan…

You want visitors to notice these critical elements first.

But with default black text on white background, every piece of content blends together.

By making key content a different color, you guide visitors‘ eyes directly where you want. Bolder hues naturally attract attention.

For example, changing your call-to-action button to a bright contrasting color against muted paragraph text ensures more visitors will see (and hopefully click) that CTA.

2. Strengthen Brand Recognition

Does Coke make their logo light blue? Does Target use neon green for their bullseye?

Of course not – because colors are intrinsic to branding.

Your website‘s color scheme should reinforce brand identity. Having a consistent set of colors is crucial for brand recognition.

So if your brand features a vivid red, using a muted pink for headlines would be off-brand.

Customizing text color allows you to match colors used in your logo, images, and other branding material. This strengthens brand consistency across the board.

3. Enhance Readability of Text

Staring at black text on a white screen can strain eyes after a while.

In fact, studies show dark backgrounds with lighter text actually reduce eye fatigue and improve readability.

Even just slightly shifting text hues can increase contrast with the background.

This makes text easier to consume, especially for those with visual impairments or color blindness.

4. Convey Emotion and Influence Mood

Different colors evoke different psychological responses.

Cool blues and greens promote a sense of trust and security. Warm reds and oranges convey energy and excitement.

Adjusting text colors accordingly helps establish the desired emotional response.

For example, financial sites often use conservative blue hues to inspire reliability. Whereas a party supply site may use lively reds and yellows to cultivate fun.

Choosing the right text colors for your brand message sets the mood you want visitors to feel.

5. Better Accommodate Disabilities

Have you heard of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?

They contain recommendations for making web content more accessible to those with disabilities.

One key guideline is having proper color contrast between text and background. This helps those with visual impairments or color blindness.

By testing contrast ratios and tweaking text color accordingly, you can make your website more inclusive.

Bottom line – adjusting text color provides immense value, far beyond just aesthetics. Let‘s look at easy ways to do it in WordPress.

Method #1: Using the Visual Editor

For quick text color changes within individual pages or posts, the WordPress block editor‘s visual editor is perfect.

It allows you to customize color on a granular level per block or text selection.

Let‘s walk through an example…

Say I want to make the call-to-action on my services page "Download My Services Guide" stand out more.

Here‘s how I‘d do it using the visual editor:

1. Edit the Services page in the block editor.

2. Select the paragraph block containing my CTA text.

3. In the right sidebar, go to "Styles" then click on "Color" under "Text."

4. Choose a bold contrasting color like green from the theme palette.

And that‘s it! Now my CTA grabs visitor attention.

I can also use the color picker to choose any color, or enter a hex code if I want a specific shade.

Pro Tip: Install the Gutenberg Color Palettes plugin to add even more color options in the visual editor.

The benefits of using the visual editor include:

• Quick and easy with a simple interface
• Select specific blocks of text or words
• See changes in real-time
• Access theme colors that complement design

However, this only changes color on a per-page basis. To make sitewide adjustments, a different method works better.

Method #2: Via the Theme Customizer

The WordPress Theme Customizer allows you to change text colors globally across your entire site.

For example, let‘s say I want to change my paragraph text from the default black to a nice grey (#666666).

Here‘s how I‘d do it using the Customizer:

1. Go to Appearance → Customize in the WP dashboard.

2. Under "Typography", find the "Body Text" or similar option.

3. In "Colors", select the text color box and choose my new grey.

4. Click "Publish" to save the change.

Now all paragraph text across my site shares that consistent grey color.

Because the Customizer modifies the theme style sheet, the change applies everywhere in one click.

Some key perks of using the Theme Customizer include:

• Change text color site wide
• Simple point-and-click interface
• See edits in real-time
• Access complementary theme colors

However, it only works for default text elements like paragraphs, not specific ones like links or headings. For more control, custom CSS is required.

Method #3: Adding Custom CSS (Recommended)

For maximum control over text color in WordPress, adding custom CSS code is the best approach.

With CSS, you can target any text element and assign colors with precision.

Let‘s walk through a quick example…

Say I want my <h1> headings navy blue (#000080), <h2> headings slate grey (#708090), and paragraph text black (#000000).

Here‘s the custom CSS I‘d add using WPCode:

h1 {
  color: #000080; 
}

h2 {
  color: #708090;
}

p {
  color: #000000;
} 

This overrides my theme‘s default colors with my custom ones.

I can also use CSS variables to easily update colors site-wide later on:

:root {
  --primary-color: #000080;
  --secondary-color: #708090;
  --text-color: #000000;
}

h1 {
  color: var(--primary-color);  
}

h2 {
  color: var(--secondary-color);
}

p {
  color: var(--text-color);
}

Now I can simply change the variable values to tweak colors across the whole site.

The benefits of using custom CSS for text color include:

• Target any text element (headings, links, etc.)
• Change color of text selections with CSS pseudo selectors
• Use CSS variables for easy global updates
• High level of control for advanced customization
• Colors update across all pages

The only downside is it requires basic CSS knowledge. But once you have that, the possibilities are endless!

For steps on adding custom CSS in WordPress, see my in-depth CSS tutorial.

Method #4: With a Page Builder Plugin

If you want maximum design freedom for specific high-value pages, a dedicated page builder plugin is the way to go.

For example, tools like SeedProd or Elementor allow you to drag-and-drop content blocks onto a custom page layout.

You can then customize everything including text color on a block-by-block basis.

Page builders give you full creative control when designing landing pages, opt-in pages, lead generation forms, and other conversion-focused pages.

Let‘s look at an example using SeedProd…

Say I‘m creating a new landing page and want the heading navy blue (#000080) but paragraph text slate grey (#708090).

Here‘s how I‘d adjust the colors in SeedProd:

1. Edit my landing page in SeedProd‘s drag-and-drop builder.

2. Select the Heading block and open Styles > Color in the left sidebar.

3. Enter my hex code #000080 into the color picker.

4. Select the Text block and choose my slate grey #708090.

5. Save and publish the landing page.

Now my custom heading and paragraph colors are applied exclusively to this landing page without affecting my site-wide design.

The key benefits of using a dedicated page builder include:

• Customize text color on a per-block basis
• Consistent experience across devices with responsive design
• No need to write custom CSS code
• Easy drag-and-drop interface
• 1000+ professional templates & layouts
• Changes isolated from global theme styling

Page builders provide unmatched creative freedom when designing landing pages and sales funnels.

The only downside is most paid page builders have a monthly cost. But the design capabilities easily justify the investment for improved conversions.

Best Practices for Choosing Text Colors

When selecting what text colors to use in WordPress, keep these best practices in mind:

• Review your brand style guide – Use colors that align with branding
• Limit palette – Stick to 2-3 colors max for cohesion
• Ensure sufficient contrast – WCAG recommends 4.5:1 ratio for body text
• Be mindful of surrounding colors – Don‘t clash with background
• Use bold colors sparingly – Avoid overwhelming the user
• Consider emotion and mood – Warm tones excite, cool tones reassure
• Check accessibility – Test color contrast tools like Stark
• Use color variable names – Helps remember intended usage, like --cta-color

With the right approach, you can utilize text color to create beautiful, conversion-focused page designs!

Key Takeaways

Adjusting default text color in WordPress is easier than you think. To recap:

• The visual editor allows quick changes per block or text selection. Perfect for minor tweaks.

• The Theme Customizer provides global sitewide changes in one click. Great for overall site appearance.

• Custom CSS grants advanced control to color any text element. The most flexible method.

• Page builder plugins like SeedProd customize text on a per-block basis. Ideal for landing pages.

No matter your needs, one of these 4 methods can help transform text hues on your WordPress site.

Strategically chosen colors not only make your site more visually appealing, but also guide visitors‘ eyes, strengthen branding, improve readability, convey emotion, and boost conversions.

So try out these easy text color adjustment tips, and watch your site take on an entirely new dimension!