How to Add a Line Break with a Shortcode in WordPress

Wondering how to add a line break into the editor? By default, WordPress doesn’t allow you to add a blank line just by hitting return a couple of times. While you can easily insert a blank line / line break into your editor with HTML, that can be a nightmare for non-techie users.

What if you could insert a blank line by simply adding a shortcode? This snippet exactly does that.

Instructions:

All you have to do is add this code to your theme’s functions.php file or in a site-specific plugin:

<?php
/* shortcode for blank line */
function blankline() {
    return '&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;';
}
add_shortcode('blank', 'blankline');
?>

Use shortcode on a single row in posts and pages:

[ code ][blank][ /code ]

Note: If this is your first time adding code snippets in WordPress, then please refer to our guide on how to properly copy / paste code snippets in WordPress, so you don’t accidentally break your site.

If you liked this code snippet, please consider checking out our other articles on the site like: Best WordPress Page Builders (Compared).