How to edit the HTML of a page directly

Created by Margie Wylie-Petruzziello, Modified on Wed, 08 Jan 2020 at 01:15 PM by Margie Wylie-Petruzziello

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

Please do not insert new CSS styles or other hacks to circumvent the CMS styling. These can break the site and will cause a lot of grief in a redesign. If you ever have any questions about allowed HTML edits, please open a ticket. We will be happy to consult with you.

In the content window, select the tiny HTML button that appears in the editing tools (see below).
A separate, text-only editing window will appear with the HTML. You can edit the HTML here, or you can cut-and-paste it into a text editor (such as BBedit or Atom) where you can make edits that you cut and paste back into the HTML window. If there is a lot of text, this is often the best way to deal with it. (Don't use the "notes" app in Mac or Windows. These are rich text editors that will insert extra markup.)
Select the "Insert" button to inject your changes into the rich-text editing window.
Select "Save" to save your changes to the DRAFT site.
When you are happy with your work select "Save & Publish" to save the changes to both the draft and live sites.

IMPORTANT

Some edits that you can successfully insert into the editing window may be stripped from the page when you save. Some are forbidden (such as inserting scripts), but most of the time, the editor has deleted or attempted to modify the HTML because it's unexecutable. So double-check your HTML for missing brackets or closing tags or other common issues if this happens. Need help with HTML syntax? W3Cschools.com offers an authoritative and easy to use tutorial.