Do you want to add colorful emojis to your WordPress posts and pages? Using emojis can help humanize your brand and content to better connect with your audience.
Over 92% of online consumers use emojis in digital communications. The global emoji market is projected to grow to over $5 billion by 2028 as per Statista.
Thankfully adding emoji support in WordPress is really simple since it‘s built right into the core platform.
In this beginner‘s guide, we‘ll explain everything you need to know about effortlessly inserting emojis in WordPress across different operating systems and devices.
A Brief History of Emojis
Emojis have become a cultural phenomenon over the last decade, but did you know that they originated from emotive text-based symbols used online in the early days of the internet?
These text-based emotions symbols were being used as early as 1982 on bulletin board systems. They allowed users to express emotions graphically before emojis became popular.
The first set of 176 emojis was created in 1999 by a Japanese designer named Shigetaka Kurita. The word emoji itself comes from the Japanese words for picture (e) and character (moji).
Apple first introduced emojis on iPhones in 2011 with their iOS 5 update. Since then, they‘ve exploded in popularity on mobile and desktop through major technology platforms adopting emoji support into their standards.
Now emojis are a cultural phenomenon used by 92% of the online population as visual language to communicate emotion and ideas graphically.
So naturally there is significant demand from users to be able to include emojis in WordPress sites and content as well.
WordPress Has Built-In Emoji Support
The WordPress platform has included full native emoji support since version 4.2 released in 2015.
So luckily there is no need to install any additional emoji plugins to use emojis in your WordPress posts and pages.
Over 67.7% of websites now run on WordPress, which translates to a considerable portion of internet users wanting emoji functionality.
Let‘s go over how you can easily start adding emojis in your WordPress content:
Using Emojis on Windows
To insert emojis on Windows 10 or Windows 11 WordPress:
- Click on a text field while editing content in WordPress
- Press the Windows key + Period key together
- This will launch the Windows emoji picker overlay
- Click to select your desired emoji to add to the content
- You can search or scroll through categories
Using this method allows seamless emoji insertion on any Windows device.
Pro Tip: You can quickly insert multiple emojis by adding one and clicking back in the text field for the next without closing the picker.
Using Emojis on MacOS
Adding emojis on Mac is just as easy:
- Ensure a text field is selected while editing in WordPress
- Press Command + Control + Spacebar keys together
- This launches the Mac emoji picker
- Double click on an emoji from the panel to add it
- Search or browse all available emojis
Benefits: Enables emoji usage directly within WordPress without needing a separate emoji keyboard app.
Using Emojis on iPhone & iPad
Thanks to Apple‘s leadership in adopting emojis early on, iOS devices have deep system-level integration:
- Tap a text field in WordPress to launch the iOS keyboard
- Click the emoji icon to switch to the emoji keyboard
- Tap to select the emojis you want out of all categories
- Tap the return key to insert into the content area
This makes adding emojis on iPhones & iPads frictionless.
Using Emojis on Android
The process is very similar on Android phones and tablets:
- Tap inside a text field within the WordPress editor
- Expand to launch the Android keyboard
- Click the emoji icon to open the emoji keyboard
- Scroll and select the emojis you need for the content
- Click the arrow icon to return to the regular keyboard
- The emojis will be embedded automatically
So Android WordPress users can also utilize emojis conveniently.
Built-In Emojis | Plugins |
---|---|
No extra downloads needed | Requires installing plugins |
Fully integrated experience | Potential compatibility issues |
Automatic updates | Extra configurations needed |
Better performance | Recurring updates & maintenance |
Generally using the built-in emoji support is easier and safer compared to installing emoji plugins in WordPress.
Troubleshooting Help
Sometimes excessive emoji usage can slow down a site. So moderation is key for performance.
If emojis don‘t appear properly on your WordPress site, try these troubleshooting tips:
✅ Verify you‘re running WordPress 4.2+
✅ Force refresh site cache and CDNs
✅ Check site plugins for conflicts
✅ Confirm your theme has emoji support
✅ Ask hosting to install updated libraries
Best Practices for Using Emojis
When adding emojis to your WordPress content, keep these expert tips in mind:
☑️ Use emojis sparingly as accents when appropriate
☑️ Ensure emojis display and render properly across platforms
☑️ Test emojis on mobile devices & different browsers
☑️ Use relevant emojis connected to content
☑️ Mix both words and emojis for clarity
☑️ Avoid overusing emojis which can be unprofessional
Implementing these emoji best practices will allow you to use them effectively.
Key Takeaways
- Emojis are globally popular with 92% usage rate by consumers
- WordPress has full native emoji support since version 4.2
- No plugins needed to use emojis in WordPress
- Inserting emojis works easily across Windows, Mac, iOS & Android
- Disable emoji functionality via plugin if needed
- Use emojis in moderation following WordPress best practices
We covered everything from the history of emojis to step-by-step instructions on adding emojis within your WordPress site across all major platforms and devices.
Let us know if you have any other questions!