WordPress table plugins: 6 solutions for your website

With WordPress tables plugins you can add tables on WordPress sites. Examples of these plugins include Table­Press, Ninja Tables Pro, wp­Data­Tables, WP Table Builder, Visu­al­izer, and the Data Tables Generator, some of which are free and some of which are fee-based. Simple tables can be included on a WordPress site without using a plugin thanks to the Gutenberg editor.

Using a WordPress plugin to create tables makes sense as soon as you have content that you want to display in a sorted or jux­ta­posed way. Although it is also possible to insert tables on WordPress without a plugin, this endeavour is very limited in terms of design. With the help of a table plugin, you can create visually appealing tables and can also make use of ad­di­tion­al features, such as add-ons, filters, and import/export functions.

The table plugin Table­Press is an in­ter­na­tion­ally popular tool that enables the user to add and edit tables on a WordPress website. The table can be inserted via shortcode, while the editing takes place on a separate interface. This means that no pro­gram­ming knowledge is required.

If you decide to use Table­Press, you will need at least WordPress version 5.6. The plugin is free and has the following ad­di­tion­al features, among others:

• Content such as text, images, numbers, links, and formulas can be inserted
• JavaS­cript library meaning users can search, filter, sort etc. content — Table­Press example table for il­lus­tra­tion purposes
• (Bulk) import and (bulk) export of tables
• Design changes e.g. colour and size are possible via CSS code
• Preview of table available

The WordPress tables plugin Ninja Tables Pro is one of the most popular products from the provider WP­Mana­geN­inja. Advanced cus­tom­isa­tion features, filtering options, and a user-friendly layout are just a few of the things that make the plugin stand out. Woo­Com­merce and Google Sheets can be linked to Ninja Tables Pro. This way, for example, products can be clearly presented in your own online shop.

Besides the Pro version of Ninja Tables, there is also a free version that you can download on WordPress. However, this plugin has sig­ni­fic­antly fewer features. In contrast, Ninja Tables Pro’s single-site offer costs around £40 per year, but offers numerous ad­di­tion­al features like these:

• Media files (photos and videos) at­tach­ment
• Cell con­nec­tion
• Extensive table design, including colour cus­tom­isa­tion — for com­par­is­on, see the sample tables from Ninja Tables
• Import and export (also in the free version)
• Custom CSS & SQL

wp­Data­Tables is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create tables and charts. The showcase page on the official website shows the various options available to you in terms of design. From schedules to price tables, everything is possible. Other plus points of the plugin are, for example, its re­spons­ive design and the trans­form­a­tion of data from Excel, CSV, etc. into table format.

The basic version of wp­Data­Tables costs around £45 per year and £150 for lifetime use. There’s a free plugin variant, but it is only suitable for simple tables. Ad­di­tion­al functions that wp­Data­Tables offers, for example, include:

• Advanced filter functions
• For­mid­able and Gravity form add-ons
• In­teg­ra­tion with Elementor, Gutenberg, and more
• Various column types can be con­figured
• Inline table editing
• Create and edit charts

The WordPress table plugin WP Table Builder provides you with a tool to create tables and place them on the website using drag-and-drop. As with other plugins of this kind, no manual pro­gram­ming is required. The creation process is simple and is explained in detail on the website in a how-to video. Simply click on the ‘Watch it in action’ button.

WP Table Builder has a free version that has the most important features like inserting images as well as cell design. If that is not enough, you can use the starter offer for one website. This costs around £30 per year and boasts the following ad­di­tion­al functions, for example:

• Arrange/organise with drag-and-drop
• Pre­defined templates
• Duplicate/split columns and rows
• Various frame colours
• Priority support

If you use the plugin Visu­al­izer from the software developer ThemeIsle, you can construct not only in­di­vidu­al tables, but also re­l­at­ively diverse charts. A great advantage is the fact that you can auto­mat­ic­ally syn­chron­ise with online files (e.g. from Google Sheets), which ensures that your content stays in the same state. You can choose how often this process should take place.

The free variant of Visu­al­izer has a clear selection of table and chart options. If you want access to a wider range — es­pe­cially in terms of graphics — you will have to purchase the paid version, as is the case with other plugins. The private offer for website owners and bloggers costs around £85 per year and includes the following:

• Design various diagram types — for com­par­is­on see the Visu­al­izer demo page
• Live editor and option to preview tables
• Cross-browser com­pat­ib­il­ity
• Data import and syn­chron­isa­tion
• (Email) support and updates for one year

The Data Tables Generator by Supsystic is a WordPress table plugin that enables you to create data tables. The provider also has a ‘Pricing Table Builder’ plugin on offer, which is spe­cific­ally for pricing tables. Create unlimited table rows and columns, add content like texts, images, etc., use the CSS editor and much more. You can get a good first im­pres­sion from the plugin’s in­tro­duc­tion page by looking at the sample table and video tutorial.

The free version of Data Tables Generator comes with a wide range of features, including those already mentioned above. If that is not enough, you can take advantage of the package that costs around £35 per year and benefit from the following ad­di­tion­al features, among others:

• Import and export tables
• Create diagrams
• Print button
• Edit and save fields
• Specify who can edit tables, for example

To create WordPress tables using a plugin, follow these steps:

1. Log into WordPress to access the dashboard of your WordPress website. In the left sidebar, first click ‘Plugins’ and then ‘Install’.
2. You will now be shown a list of various plugins. Enter the tool you are looking for — e.g. Table­Press — in the search bar at the top right.
3. Select ‘Install’ and then ‘Activate’ to add the plugin to your website tools. It can be found in the left column of the next page.
4. When it comes to Table­Press, the option ‘New table’ will be available. The table can be titled and captioned as well as cus­tom­ised in terms of columns and rows.
5. Click on ‘Add table’. Your table will now be displayed under ‘Table contents’ and can be filled with the desired contents. Under ‘Edit functions’ and ‘Table settings’, you can make any further ad­just­ments.
6. Save your result at the very bottom with ‘Save changes’. Then copy the shortcode of your table named at the very top: [table id=1 /]
7. Next, go to the WordPress page where you want to place your table. In the ap­pro­pri­ate place, type /shortcode and in the new search bar, enter your pre­vi­ously copied table shortcode.
8. Last but not least, click on ‘Publish’ and ‘View post’. Your created table is now visible online.

It is also possible to insert tables on a WordPress site without using a plugin. The solution is: WordPress Gutenberg. With this editor (which replaced the former standard editor TinyMCE as of WordPress version 5.0), you can insert tables in the form of content blocks. To do this, proceed as follows:

1. Open your WordPress site and click on the area where you want to place the table.
2. Select the black icon with the plus sign. A new window will open where you can search for the table block. Al­tern­at­ively, it is possible to enter the following shortcode in a new block directly on the page: /table
3. Now set the number of rows and columns that you want your table to have. There are also various cus­tom­isa­tion options available in the toolbar and the right editor sidebar.
4. While creating the table, you can fill it with the desired content, or al­tern­at­ively wait until it’s fully completed. Click on ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ to put your table online.