How to Display Code Snippet in WordPress without a Plugin

Do you want to display code snippet in posts without a plugin? If you run a blog that focuses on programming, you probably want to to do that. Here’s how to do it.

Instructions:

First off, add this code to your theme’s functions.php file or in a site-specific plugin:

<?php
function bbcode( $attr, $content = null ) {
        $content = clean_pre($content); // Clean pre-tags
        return '<pre"><code>' .
                str_replace('<', '<', $content) . // Escape < chars
                '</code></pre>';
    }
add_shortcode('code', 'bbcode');
?>

Then, in your post, you can use the shortcode [code] to remove WordPress auto-formatting.

[ code]<?php echo 'Hello World!' ?>[/ 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: 62 best free WordPress blog themes or 7 best WordPress contact form plugins.