Quick Answer

To install the free version, go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress dashboard, search for “WP Table Builder,” click Install Now, then Activate. To add Pro features, keep the free version active and install the Pro extension alongside it by uploading the zip file from your purchase email. The whole process takes about 2 minutes.

Requirements

Method 1: Install WP Table Builder Free (from WordPress.org)

This is the fastest way to get started. The free version is available directly from the WordPress plugin directory. It’s also required as the base plugin if you plan to use WP Table Builder Pro.

Step 1: Open the plugin installer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New Plugin.

Step 2: Search for WP Table Builder

Type “WP Table Builder” in the search box in the top right. The plugin will appear in the search results.

Step 3: Install the plugin

Click the Install Now button on the WP Table Builder card. WordPress will download and install the plugin automatically. This usually takes a few seconds.

Step 4: Activate the plugin

After installation completes, the button will change to Activate. Click it.

You’ll now see a new WP Table Builder menu in the left admin sidebar. You’re ready to create your first table.

Method 2: Install WP Table Builder Pro (extension)

WP Table Builder Pro works as an extension on top of the free base plugin. You need both plugins installed and active for Pro features to work.

Before you start: Make sure WP Table Builder (free) is already installed and activated using Method 1 above.

Step 1: Download the Pro plugin zip file

After purchasing, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a download link, your license key, and account details. Click the download link to save the .zip file to your computer.

Step 2: Open the plugin uploader

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins (1) → Add New Plugin (2), then click Upload Plugin (3) at the top.

Step 3: Upload and install

Click Choose File, select the Pro .zip file you downloaded, then click Install Now.

Step 4: Activate the Pro extension

Once the installation finishes, click Activate Plugin.

You should now see two plugins in your Plugins list: WP Table Builder (free base) and WP Table Builder Pro (extension). Both must stay active.

Step 5: Activate your license key

After activation, go to WP Table Builder in the sidebar. You’ll see a banner prompting you to complete activation. Click Complete “WP Table Builder Pro” Activation Now.

Paste the license key from your purchase confirmation email (1) and click Activate License (2).

After successful activation, you’ll be redirected to the Account page showing your license details.

For more details on license management, see How to Insert & Activate Your License Key.

Upgrading from Free to Pro

Already using WP Table Builder Free? Upgrading is simple — you don’t need to remove anything:

1. Keep the free version active. Do not deactivate or delete it. The free plugin is the base that Pro extends.
2. Purchase a Pro license at wptablebuilder.com/pricing.
3. Download the Pro zip from your confirmation email.
4. Install and activate Pro following Method 2 above (Steps 2–5).

Your existing tables, settings, and shortcodes are untouched. Pro elements and features will appear in the editor immediately after activation.

Troubleshooting

The plugin won’t install — I see “Installation failed: Could not create directory.”

Your server’s file permissions may be too restrictive. Contact your hosting provider and ask them to check that the wp-content/plugins/ directory is writable.

I see “An error occurred while activating Freemius” after activation.

This is a known issue related to the Freemius SDK. See Fix: “An error occurred while activating Freemius” for the solution.

My license key isn’t working.

Make sure you’re pasting the key exactly as it appears in your email — no extra spaces before or after. If it still doesn’t work, check that your license hasn’t exceeded its site limit. See How to Insert & Activate Your License Key for details.

I installed Pro but I don’t see Pro elements.

Check two things: first, confirm that the free base plugin is also installed and active — Pro won’t work without it. Second, verify that you activated the license key (Step 5 in Method 2). If both are active and the license is valid but Pro elements still don’t appear, deactivate both plugins, reactivate the free version first, then reactivate Pro.

The plugin doesn’t appear in search results on WordPress.org.

Search for the exact name: WP Table Builder. If your WordPress installation can’t connect to WordPress.org (common on localhost or restricted servers), download the free version zip from wordpress.org/plugins/wp-table-builder/ and upload it manually using the same process as Method 2.

Frequently asked questions

What’s next?

You’ve installed WP Table Builder — now put it to use:

• How to Create Your First Table in WP Table Builder — build your first table in 5 minutes
• How to Use WP Table Builder within WordPress Dashboard — learn the interface
• How to Insert & Activate Your License Key — manage your Pro license
• How to Make a Table Responsive — make sure tables work on mobile
• How to Add Custom CSS in WP Table Builder — customize the look

If you’ve missed that step, no worries. Here’s how you can activate your license key.

Just go to WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Plugins (1) > Installed Plugins (2), and click on ‘Activate License‘ (3) under ‘WP Table Builder Pro’.

Enter your license key (1) and cilck on the “Agree & Activate License” (2).

Once the license has been activated, you will be redirected to your Account page where you can see your license details.

That’s it. Enjoy your plugin!

When you create a table using the WP Table Builder, you will notice that the WP Table Builder will run separately from the Dashboard and will run in full-screen.

How to Use WP Table Builder within WordPress Dashboard?

If you wish not to use the WP Table Builder in fullscreen and run it within the dashboard, you can do that easily.

Navigate to WP Table Builder (1) > Settings (2). Turn off the option “Take over the entire screen in builder” (3). Now, hit the Save button (4). And that’s it.

To Check if it worked, create a new table and see it yourself.

So, that’s how you do it. Hope this tutorial was helpful.

Quick Answer

Go to WP Table Builder → Add New, set rows and columns, drag elements into cells, save the table, then click Embed to copy a shortcode you can paste into any WordPress post or page.

Requirements

What you’ll build

In this tutorial, you’ll build a simple product table with five element types: a text heading, a product image, a feature list, a star rating, and a call-to-action button. By the end, you’ll know how to add any element to any cell and how to embed the finished table anywhere on your WordPress site.

Step 1: Open the table builder

Once WP Table Builder is installed and activated, open your WordPress dashboard. You’ll see a new WP Table Builder menu item in the left admin sidebar.

Hover over the WP Table Builder menu, then click Add New in the flyout.

Alternatively, click the WP Table Builder menu item (1) and then Add New (2) from the secondary sidebar.

Step 2: Set rows and columns

On the setup screen, enter the number of rows (1) and columns (2) your table needs, then click Create New (3).

You can add or remove rows and columns later, so don’t worry about getting this exact.

Step 3: Name your table

You’ll now see the WP Table Builder editor. Type a name for your table in the title field at the top (1). A clear name makes tables easier to find later when you have many of them.

Step 4: Understand elements (Free vs Pro)

WP Table Builder has two types of elements:

• Basic elements (Free and Pro): Text, Image, List, Star Rating, Button, Custom HTML, Shortcode
• Pro elements: Icon, Text Icon, Styled List, Circle Rating, Ribbon, Badge, Progress Bar

Basic elements are available in both the Free and Pro versions. Pro elements require a WP Table Builder Pro license.

To add any element, drag it from the left sidebar and drop it into a table cell.

Step 5: Add text

Text is the most common element. There are two ways to add it:

• Drag and drop: Drag the Text element from the sidebar into a cell.
• Click to type: Click directly inside any empty cell and start typing.

Once a text element is selected, the left sidebar shows styling options:

1. Font color — color of the text
2. Link font color — color of any hyperlinks inside the text
3. Font size — text size in pixels
4. Padding — inner spacing
5. Margin — outer spacing

A floating toolbar also appears above the selected text with bold, italic, strikethrough, link, and alignment controls.

Step 6: Add an image

Drag the Image element into a cell, then click Upload to choose an image from your WordPress media library or upload a new one.

After selecting the image, use the left sidebar to configure it:

• General tab — set image alignment (1) and add alt text (2) for SEO and accessibility
• Size tab — change image width and height
• Link tab — make the image clickable by adding a URL, and optionally set the link to open in a new tab via Link Target → Blank

Tip: Always add alt text to table images. It improves accessibility and helps search engines understand your content.

Step 7: Add a list

Drag the List element into a cell and edit the items inline.

Configure the list from three tabs in the left sidebar:

• General tab — change list type (bulleted/numbered), margin, and padding
• Font tab — adjust font color and size for list items
• Layout tab — control item spacing and list alignment

Step 8: Add a star rating

Drag the Star Rating element into a cell and click on the stars to set the rating.

From the left sidebar you can configure:

1. Max rating — maximum number of stars (default is 5)
2. Rating value — the current rating to display
3. Size — star size
4. Alignment — left, center, or right
5. Color — star color
6. Show rating count — toggle to display the numeric value beside the stars

Step 9: Add a button

Drag the Button element into a cell, then click it to edit the button text and link.

The left sidebar lets you customize size, border radius, background color, hover color, text color, text hover color, font size, button alignment, content alignment, and button ID.

Your finished table should now look something like this:

Step 10: Save your table

Important: You must save your table before you can preview it, embed it, or come back to it later. Click the Save Table button at the top right of the editor.

If you close the editor without saving, your changes will be lost.

Step 11: Embed the table in a post or page

Once saved, click the Embed button in the top toolbar. This copies the table’s shortcode to your clipboard automatically.

Now open any WordPress post or page where you want the table to appear, and paste the shortcode. It will look like [wptb id=123].

• Block editor (Gutenberg): Add a Shortcode block and paste the shortcode inside. (Full Gutenberg guide →)
• Classic editor: Paste the shortcode directly into the content area.
• Elementor: Use the Shortcode widget. (Full Elementor guide →)
• Divi: Use the Text module and paste the shortcode. (Full Divi guide →)

Publish or update the post, and your table will appear on the frontend.

Troubleshooting

My table isn’t showing up on the frontend.

Make sure you clicked Save Table before copying the shortcode, and that the shortcode ID matches your saved table. If the shortcode still shows as plain text, see Tables Not Showing in WP Table Builder Dashboard.

Elements won’t drop into cells.

Check that you’re dragging into an empty cell, not onto the cell border. Refreshing the browser usually resolves stuck drag states.

My table looks broken on mobile.

WP Table Builder tables are responsive, but you may need to enable the responsive mode. See How to Make a Table Responsive.

The styling in my table looks different from the editor preview. Your theme may be overriding WP Table Builder’s styles. See How to Disable Theme Styles for Table.

Frequently asked questions

Related docs

• How to Install and Activate the WP Table Builder Plugin
• How to Make a Table Responsive
• How to Use WP Table Builder with Block Editor (Gutenberg)
• How to Add a Table in Elementor
• How to Add Custom CSS in WP Table Builder

But some of you might like the new UI, and some might like to stick to the old UI. That’s why this guide is important. We will show you how to switch between the Old and New UI.

First, we will show you how to switch to the new User Interface below.

How to Switch to the New UI?

First, log in to your website’s dashboard. Now, click on the WP Table Builder. (1)

Now, select “Settings” (1) and click on the “Switch to New Builder” button (2).

That’s how your new interface is enabled. Upon successful switching, you will see that the “Switch to New Builder” button will be changed to the “Switch to Legacy Builder” (Old Builder).

Here’s what the new builder looks like.

How Do You Switch to the Old User Interface?

Want to switch to the old user interface? You are also eligible to do that.

Login to your Dashboard. Navigate to WP Table Builder (1) > Settings (2). Click on the “Switch to Legacy Builder” button (3).

Now, click “Yes” when the reminder opens, and it will switch back to the old UI.

So that’s how you switch between the Old and New WP Table Builder User Interface.

Hope that tutorial is easy to follow.