WordPress line breaks issue
August 12, 2025 · AI Conversations
It seems to that a regular line break is not possible anymore?
what does mean ?
– **Enter** creates a new **paragraph** (adds `…`).
– **Shift+Enter** creates a **soft line break** inside the same paragraph (adds “).
If that’s suddenly not working, it’s usually one of these:
1) **Theme/CSS is blocking breaks**
– Some themes accidentally set `white-space: nowrap;` (or `pre`) on paragraphs.
– Fix (add to Customizer → Additional CSS or child theme CSS):
.entry-content p { white-space: normal; } /* default behavior */
If you want to preserve manual line breaks from plain text fields, use:
.entry-content { white-space: pre-line; } /* keeps n as breaks, collapses extra spaces */
2) **`wpautop` got disabled**
– WordPress auto-inserts “/“ via the `wpautop` filter. If a theme/plugin removed it, paragraphs won’t appear.
– Fix (in your child theme’s `functions.php`):
add_filter('the_content', 'wpautop');
add_filter('the_excerpt', 'wpautop');
3) **You’re in a block that doesn’t support breaks**
– Blocks like **Heading**, **Buttons**, or some **theme blocks** ignore line breaks. Use a **Paragraph** block or add multiple blocks.
4) **ACF or custom fields**
– For ACF text fields, enable **“Automatically add paragraphs”** (or apply `wpautop()` to the value on output).
Quick test to pinpoint it:
– View page source. If you **see “/“** but no visual breaks → it’s **CSS**.
– If you **don’t see “/“** → it’s **`wpautop`/block type**.
If you share a URL or the block/type you’re using, I can tell you exactly which of the above it is and the minimal fix.