{"id":40493,"date":"2014-05-23T13:11:06","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T07:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=40493"},"modified":"2026-10-15T13:50:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T08:20:18","slug":"barley-inline-editing-live-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/","title":{"rendered":"WordPress Front End Editing: Barley Plugin and Better Options Today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>WordPress front end editing<\/strong> means changing a post while you look at it on the live site, instead of jumping back and forth to the admin edit screen. In 2014 I used a paid plugin called Barley for exactly this. This article covers how Barley worked, what I learned using it, and the best ways to edit WordPress posts from the front end today.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-67121\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress-front-end-editing-2026-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"WordPress front end editing options\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress-front-end-editing-2026-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress-front-end-editing-2026-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress-front-end-editing-2026-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress-front-end-editing-2026-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress-front-end-editing-2026.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Barley for WordPress was a paid inline editor that let you edit post text, images, tags and featured images directly on the live page. It is no longer sold, and its old website now shows unrelated content, so don&#8217;t install old copies. Today, use the built-in block editor&#8217;s preview, a visual page builder such as Elementor or Beaver Builder, or the Site Editor in block themes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ae20081c87da\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ae20081c87da\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#Why_I_wanted_WordPress_front_end_editing\" >Why I wanted WordPress front end editing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#How_Barley_for_WordPress_worked\" >How Barley for WordPress worked<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#Problems_I_found_with_inline_editing\" >Problems I found with inline editing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#WordPress_front_end_editing_options_today\" >WordPress front end editing options today<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#Is_Barley_for_WordPress_still_available\" >Is Barley for WordPress still available?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#Can_I_edit_WordPress_posts_from_the_front_end_without_a_plugin\" >Can I edit WordPress posts from the front end without a plugin?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#Are_page_builders_safe_for_SEO\" >Are page builders safe for SEO?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/05\/barley-inline-editing-live-posts\/#What_should_I_watch_for_with_any_inline_editor\" >What should I watch for with any inline editor?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_I_wanted_WordPress_front_end_editing\"><\/span>Why I wanted WordPress front end editing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I needed a faster way to fix older posts in our archive after Google Panda penalties. Opening the edit screen of every post, saving, then checking the live result was very slow. I wanted to stay on the post in the browser and edit the text, add a featured image, change tags and fix links without leaving the page.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Barley_for_WordPress_worked\"><\/span>How Barley for WordPress worked<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Barley added editing options to the admin bar and inline tools on the page itself. You can still see a demo of the plugin in this video:<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"entry-content-asset videofit\"><iframe title=\"Wordpress Inline Editing Plugin Barley\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/d1NGwhxekgo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>With Barley active, you could:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Create and delete posts<\/li>\n<li>Edit post content and titles<\/li>\n<li>Format text with bold, italics and bullets<\/li>\n<li>Add images and media<\/li>\n<li>Add or change featured images<\/li>\n<li>Add or change tags and categories<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40902\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/inline-editor.png\" alt=\"Barley inline editor toolbar on a live WordPress post\" width=\"285\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/inline-editor.png 285w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/inline-editor-150x92.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 285px) 100vw, 285px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It was not free. I paid $12 a year, and later the price went up when it moved to CodeCanyon. For my archive clean-up it was good value.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Problems_I_found_with_inline_editing\"><\/span>Problems I found with inline editing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>These lessons apply to any front-end editor, not just Barley:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>No save button:<\/strong> Barley saved every change instantly. Watching the edit screen at the same time, I saw it add extra paragraph, div and span tags. After heavy copy and paste, always check the code view, because changes may be hard to undo.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Injected code gets saved:<\/strong> we inserted AdSense in the middle of posts, and Barley saved that ad code into the post content. Turn off plugins that inject code into posts (ads, related posts) before editing, so it is not hard-coded.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Theme support:<\/strong> it worked well with default themes, but custom themes could miss the classes it needed to find post elements.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Manual updates:<\/strong> it was not in the WordPress plugin directory, so updates meant downloading new versions from the vendor&#8217;s site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"WordPress_front_end_editing_options_today\"><\/span>WordPress front end editing options today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Block editor preview:<\/strong> the built-in block editor already shows content close to how it looks on the site, and the admin bar&#8217;s Edit Post link takes you straight from a live post to its editor.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Elementor<\/strong><\/a>: a popular visual page builder that edits pages on a live-style canvas.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbeaverbuilder.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Beaver Builder<\/strong><\/a>: a front-end page builder known for clean output.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Site Editor:<\/strong> with a block theme, you can edit headers, footers and templates visually from Appearance, then Editor.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Quick Edit:<\/strong> for titles, tags, categories and status, the Quick Edit link in the Posts list is fast and needs no page loads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For bulk content clean-ups like mine, it also helps to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/03\/how-to-view-word-counts-of-all-wordpress-posts\/\">view word counts of all posts<\/a> to find thin pages first, and to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/02\/add-custom-css-wordpress-post-editor\/\">add custom CSS to the WordPress editor<\/a> so the editor matches your live design. For more on fixing thin content, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/06\/separate-wordpress-comments-to-fix-google-panda-penalty\/\">WordPress comments and SEO<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Barley_for_WordPress_still_available\"><\/span>Is Barley for WordPress still available?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. It is no longer sold, and its old website now shows unrelated content. Don&#8217;t download copies from unofficial sites.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_edit_WordPress_posts_from_the_front_end_without_a_plugin\"><\/span>Can I edit WordPress posts from the front end without a plugin?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not fully inline, but the admin bar&#8217;s Edit Post link and the block editor&#8217;s live-style preview make the round trip quick. Block themes also let you edit templates visually in the Site Editor.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_page_builders_safe_for_SEO\"><\/span>Are page builders safe for SEO?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, popular builders work fine with SEO plugins, but they can add extra code, so check page speed after switching.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_should_I_watch_for_with_any_inline_editor\"><\/span>What should I watch for with any inline editor?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Check that it doesn&#8217;t save ad or plugin code into your posts, and review the code view after big edits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WordPress front end editing means changing a post while you look at it on the live site, instead of jumping&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":67121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-40493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67125,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40493\/revisions\/67125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}