Hello @csdsubscriber,
theoretically, adding the CSS code to the editor and saving it should be enough.
Would you open any page on the frontend, hit “Ctrl + U” to view the page’s HTML and then search for any word from your CSS code to see if the CSS was added to the page or not?
If it isn’t added, then it could be that the theme is missing the wp_head hook in the header.php file. If you’re building a new theme from scratch, then this might be the case.
If it was added, then it could be that the specificity of the CSS selectors is lower than some other CSS code (from the theme or another plugin) and it is overridden. The Customizer adds the CSS code right at the end of the <head>. Any other plugin or theme, including the Simple Custom CSS & JS plugin, adds the CSS code a bit earlier, therefore the CSS rule can be overridden by another plugin or theme CSS code.
The parent theme has the following line in its header.php file:
<?php wp_head(); ?>
Searching the page source I did not find any of my CSS present.
Any other thoughts?
Does the child theme also have a header.php file? If so, then having the same <?php wp_head(); ?> line in the child theme’s header.php file is a must.
What theme are you using? What other plugins are installed on the website?
I’m using the Neve theme. The child theme does not have a header.php file.
Could you share the website’s URL and a screenshot of the Edit Custom CSS page (the editor and all the options around it) with me?
The site is https://strategicbecoming.com. Not I don’t currently have any code in the SimpleCSS “file.”
Is there a way to attach the image here I’m missing?
Will you add your CSS to the editor and click the “Save” button, then make a screenshot of it? The empty editor doesn’t provide me any information. Also, make sure the custom code is active (see the link next to the “Save” or “Update” button).
If you add the CSS code to the Simple Custom CSS & JS plugin and remove it from the Customizer, will you make sure to clear the caches generated by the Site Optimizer plugin?
Apologies. I didn’t think through what you were really aiming for. Thought you just wanted to see my settings around the input area.
Here you go:
https://strategicbecoming.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CSS-Sample.jpg
Once you’ve shared the website’s URL, it was clear that the issue wasn’t caused by the missing wp_head() function call or with CSS specificity. That is easy to see in the page’s HTML.
My other questions had to do with trying to find out the level at which the issue shows up:
- It could be that the custom CSS code is simply not activated. Therefore I was asking for the screenshots. I still don’t have a clear answer to this point.
- It could be that there are some caches along the way. For example, caches generated by the Site Optimizer plugin, or caches generated by a reverse proxy like CloudFlare, or simply browser caches. You’ve chosen to ignore my previous question related to the Site Optimizer caches.
- It could be that there is a conflict with another plugin. I wanted a list of plugins installed on your website so I could install each one of them on my test website and see I could replicate the issue, but that request also remained ignored. You could also test for a possible conflict by deactivating all the other plugins one by one and see if that lets the Simple Custom CSS & JS plugin output the CSS to the frontend.
- It could be a conflict with the theme or with a specific theme’s option. On my test website the Simple Custom CSS & JS plugin works alright with the Neve theme. You can try switching to the parent theme, just to check if the child theme doesn’t create a conflict or intentionally block somehow the outputting of the CSS to the frontend.
Apologies for the cache issue. At first I didn’t notice that request, then when I did I didn’t know how to do it. I figured how to clear it today, and that did not solve the problem.
I’ll work through some of the other things you suggested and get back to you when I can.
I appreciate the effort you’re making to sleuth this. The WordPress plugin game is far from as straight forward as it can appear to the uninitiated.
I have another plugin that has worked for years on one of my sites and has now become partially malfunctional. Ugh!
Endless things to chase when all I want to be doing is have things run, so I can go about my business lol!
Back to you when I can… 🙂
Also here is the list of installed plugins. Had to figure out how to generate that. Finally realized I could just copy down the page lol.
Accept Stripe Payments
Activate | Delete
Easily accept credit card payments via Stripe payment gateway in WordPress.
Version 2.0.93 | By Tips and Tricks HQ, wptipsntricks | View details
Enable auto-updates
Select Blank Slate
Blank Slate
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Provides a blank page template for use with WordPress page builders.
Version 1.2.1 | By Aaron Reimann & Micah Wood | View details
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Select Block Visibility
Block Visibility
Settings | Deactivate
Provides visibility controls and scheduling functionality to all WordPress blocks.
Version 3.7.1 | By Nick Diego | View details | Getting Started | Leave a Review
Enable auto-updates
Select Duplicate Page
Duplicate Page
Settings | Donate | Deactivate
Duplicate Posts, Pages and Custom Posts using single click.
Version 4.5.5 | By mndpsingh287 | View details
Enable auto-updates
Select Enable Media Replace
Enable Media Replace
Deactivate
Enable replacing media files by uploading a new file in the "Edit Media" section of the WordPress Media Library.
Version 4.1.6 | By ShortPixel | View details
Enable auto-updates
Select Font Awesome
Font Awesome
Deactivate | Settings
The official way to use Font Awesome Free or Pro icons on your site, brought to you by the Font Awesome team.
Version 5.1.0 | By Font Awesome | View details
Enable auto-updates
Select Hustle
Hustle
Dashboard | Docs | Upgrade For 80% Off! | Deactivate
Start collecting email addresses and quickly grow your mailing list with big bold pop-ups, slide-ins, widgets, or in post opt-in forms.
Version 7.8.7 | By WPMU DEV | View details | Rate Hustle | Support | Roadmap
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Select Otter – Page Builder Blocks & Extensions for Gutenberg
Otter – Page Builder Blocks & Extensions for Gutenberg
Settings | Deactivate | Rollback to v3.0.12 | Get Otter Pro
Create beautiful and attracting posts, pages, and landing pages with Otter – Page Builder Blocks & Extensions for Gutenberg. Otter comes with dozens of Gutenberg blocks that are all you need to build beautiful pages.
Version 3.1.0 | By ThemeIsle | View details
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Select Security Optimizer
Security Optimizer
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Security Optimizer by SiteGround is the all-in-one security solution for your WordPress website. With the carefully selected and easy to configure functions the plugin provides everything you need to secure your website and prevent a number of threats such as brute-force attacks, compromised login, data leaks and more.
Version 1.5.7 | By SiteGround | View details
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Select Simple Custom CSS and JS
Simple Custom CSS and JS
Settings | Deactivate
Easily add Custom CSS or JS to your website with an awesome editor.
Version 3.50 | By SilkyPress.com | View details
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Select SiteGround Central
SiteGround Central
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This plugin is designed to provide you with an easy start of your next WordPress project!
Version 3.3.2 | By SiteGround | View details | Check for updates
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Select Speed Optimizer
Speed Optimizer
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This plugin will link your WordPress application with all the performance optimizations provided by SiteGround
Version 7.7.2 | By SiteGround | View details
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Select SSL Insecure Content Fixer
SSL Insecure Content Fixer
Settings | Deactivate
Clean up WordPress website HTTPS insecure content
Version 2.7.2 | By WebAware | View details | SSL Tests | Instructions | Get help | Rating | Translate | Donate
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Select Starter Sites & Templates by Neve
Starter Sites & Templates by Neve
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This plugin gives you access to 100+ templates and ready-to-use starter sites. Neve theme is used for all the designs.
Version 1.2.23 | By Themeisle | View details
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Select Ultimate Blocks
Ultimate Blocks
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Custom Blocks for Bloggers and Marketers. Create Better Content With Gutenberg.
Version 3.3.6 | By Ultimate Blocks | View details
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Select WordPress Importer
WordPress Importer
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Import posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, tags and more from a WordPress export file.
Version 0.8.4 | By wordpressdotorg | View details
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WPConsent
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Improve your WordPress website privacy compliance. Custom cookie banner, website scanner, automatic script blocking, and easy cookie configuration.
Version 1.0.9 | By WPConsent | View details
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Select WPForms Lite
WPForms Lite
Get WPForms Pro | Settings | Docs | Deactivate
Okay I also just perform a test. I switched to the parent theme and pasted my css code using the Custom CSS window and clicked publish. When I checked the desired effect was absent indicating the CSS code was not present.
Then I switched to the All Pages view and when I came back and looked the the Custom CSS window the code I had pasted was not there. So it looks like for some reason it just isn’t saving it. The result of this test was the same in both parent and child themes.
Hope this helps you in solving “the mystery.” 🙂
I’m sorry, I don’t know what is causing the custom CSS to not show up on the frontend, or to not get saved.
