How to Use Tailwind CSS Inside WordPress (Beginner-Friendly Guide)

How to Use Tailwind CSS Inside WordPress (Beginner-Friendly Guide) – Tailwind CSS is a popular utility-first CSS framework that makes designing beautiful, responsive websites much faster. But many WordPress beginners wonder: How do I actually use Tailwind CSS inside my WordPress theme?

Don’t worry — this guide explains it step by step.

How to use Tailwind CSS inside Wordpress Beginner Guide

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Why Use Tailwind CSS in WordPress?

Rapid design: Build clean, modern layouts without writing tons of custom CSS.
Utility-first: Add styles directly to your HTML with easy class names.
Responsive: Tailwind makes it simple to build mobile-friendly designs.

How to Use Tailwind CSS in WordPress

There are 2 common ways to use Tailwind with WordPress:

Use Tailwind’s CDN (Quick & Easy for Beginners)

If you just want to experiment or build a small project, you can load Tailwind from a CDN (Content Delivery Network).

👉 How:

Open your WordPress theme folder (e.g., wp-content/themes/mytheme/).
In your header.php file, inside the <head> tag, add:

<!-- Tailwind CSS CDN -->
<script src="https://cdn.tailwindcss.com"></script>

That’s it! Now you can use Tailwind classes in your theme’s template files.

Use Tailwind Locally with a Build Process (Best for Production)

For production sites, the best practice is to install Tailwind using npm and compile your CSS using a build tool like PostCSS, Webpack, or Vite.

This allows you to:
Remove unused CSS (tree-shaking)
Customize your Tailwind config
Keep your site fast & optimized

Best Way to Use Tailwind in WordPress

If you’re a beginner, start with the CDN to learn and test Tailwind.
Once you’re comfortable, switch to a local build so your CSS stays small and fast.

Small HTML Example Using Tailwind

Here’s a simple WordPress page snippet using Tailwind:

<!-- Example: A simple hero section -->
<section class="bg-blue-500 text-white p-8 text-center">
  <h1 class="text-4xl font-bold mb-4">Welcome to My WordPress Site</h1>
  <p class="text-lg">Tailwind CSS makes styling easy!</p>
  <a href="#" class="mt-4 inline-block bg-white text-blue-500 px-4 py-2 rounded">Get Started</a>
</section>

You can paste this in your page.php or a custom template.
The utility classes (bg-blue-500, text-white, p-8, etc.) come from Tailwind.

Get Free Elementor Templates here

How to Load Tailwind with `functions.php`

If you don’t want to add the <script> directly in header.php, you can enqueue Tailwind’s CDN link using your functions.php file instead.
Here’s how:

<?php
// functions.php

function mytheme_enqueue_tailwind() {
  wp_enqueue_script(
    'tailwind-cdn',
    'https://cdn.tailwindcss.com',
    array(),
    null,
    false // load in header
  );
}

add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'mytheme_enqueue_tailwind');

Ready to Build!

Now you’re ready to use Tailwind CSS inside your WordPress theme — beginner-friendly style! Start with the CDN for quick experiments, then move to a local build for real-world projects.

Key Takeaway

✔️ Use CDN → Fast to try
✔️ Use Local Build → Best for production
✔️ Write utility classes in your HTML → Clean, modern, fast!