1 Check what version you're actually running
Before you do anything, find out if TinyMCE is even the problem. In WordPress, go to Tools > Site Health > Info and look under the Active Plugins section. If you're on TinyMCE 4.x, that's the old version and it's the source of most formatting glitches. TinyMCE 6 ships with WordPress 6.2 and newer. Knowing your version takes about 90 seconds and saves you from fixing the wrong thing.
2 Restore the classic editor if Gutenberg is driving you crazy
Gutenberg — the block editor — replaced TinyMCE as the WordPress default in 2018. A lot of older sites and older users (no offense) prefer the simple single text box that TinyMCE gives you. The Classic Editor plugin by WordPress.org gives that back, and it works with TinyMCE exactly the way it did before the change. WordPress.org has committed to supporting it through at least 2025, probably longer.
3 Fix the formatting buttons that disappeared from your toolbar
If you paste text from Word or Google Docs into TinyMCE and your toolbar looks stripped down, that's intentional — WordPress hides half the buttons by default. Click the 'Toolbar Toggle' button (it looks like a square with horizontal lines) to show row two of the toolbar. If that button is missing entirely, the Advanced TinyMCE Editor plugin above puts it back. This is the single most common TinyMCE complaint and the fix takes ten seconds.
4 Handle the TinyMCE Self-Hosted license if you're not using WordPress
If you're running TinyMCE on a custom-built site — not WordPress — Tiny Technologies changed the licensing model in 2022. The free open-source version (TinyMCE 6 Community) is still available on GitHub under the MIT license with no API key required. The cloud-hosted version requires a free API key after a trial period, and if you forget to add it, the editor shows a warning banner your visitors can see. I'd just use the self-hosted community build and be done with it.
5 Set up a local dev environment so you can test changes safely
If you're maintaining a website in North Port — maybe a rental property listing, a small business, or a homeowners association page — you need a place to test changes without breaking the live site. Local by Flywheel is a free Mac and Windows app that runs WordPress on your laptop. You can test TinyMCE plugin changes, switch editors, and break things as many times as you want before pushing anything live. I tested three different editor configurations in one afternoon before picking the one that actually worked.
6 Upgrade to a premium editor if TinyMCE keeps hitting its limits
TinyMCE is fine for basic content. If you're managing a site with complex layouts, a lot of tables, or custom content types, it starts to feel like using a butter knife to cut lumber. WPBakery Page Builder is a one-time purchase that gives you a full visual editor without abandoning the back-end text editor you already know. It's used on over 4.3 million sites and most professional WordPress themes in Florida's real estate and contractor market already support it.
TinyMCE is just a text box — the right free plugin puts it back the way it was, and if it never feels right, $69 fixes that permanently.
isnotbadforyou.com/tinymce · A North Port neighbor's honest take
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