How to Enable WordPress Theme File Editor if Your Site is Hosted on SiteGround

Theme File Editor is a WordPress feature to make it easier for users to edit the files of a theme via the WordPress dashboard. With the feature, you can edit the files of your theme without needing to login to your hosting panel to access its file manager. Theme File Editor can be accessed by going to Appearance -> Theme File Editor on the WordPress dashboard. The feature is only accessible by users with an administration role — unless you created a custom role on your site. Can’t access the Theme File Editor? This article will show you, especially if you use SiteGround.

SiteGround itself is one of the most popular managed WordPress hosting services. The services include the following plugins:

• SiteGround Optimizer
• SiteGround Security

When installing WordPress on SiteGround, you are asked whether you want to include the above plugins on your WordPress installation. If you select the SiteGround Security plugin to included, your WordPress would be installed without Theme File Editor by default. To change the default setting, go to SG Security -> Site Security on your WordPress dashboard.

Seek for the Disable Themes & Plugins Editor option and slide the toggle to enable it.

When you disable the above option, you will also have access to the Plugin File Editor. To re-disable the Theme File Editor, you can simply revert the toggle to its default position.

Please note that while editing the theme files from the WordPress dashboard offers an easiness, it might not the best option when it comes to security. Especially if you have multiple users with an administrator role on your website.

If you don’t use SiteGround Security, you can disable Theme File Editor manually by editing the wp-config.php file of your WordPress site. You can add the following line to the content of the file.

define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true);

You can place the above line right after the last line of the file content. Make sure to update the file after adding the line.