Display a MySQL Table on a WordPress Page (No Custom PHP)

You have data in a MySQL table and you want to display it on a WordPress page. Sounds simple. In practice, most table plugins don’t support this — they only display data you enter manually through their own interface, not data that already exists in your database.

This tutorial shows how to connect any MySQL table to a WordPress page using the NMR jsGrid plugin — with filtering, sorting, and AJAX pagination included.

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Why Most Plugins Don’t Work Here

Plugins like TablePress and Ninja Tables are designed for manually-managed tables. You enter data in their admin interface, and they display it. To show data from a custom MySQL table, you’d need to:

1. Export your data to CSV
2. Import into the plugin
3. Repeat every time data changes

That’s not a display solution. That’s a data sync problem you didn’t need to have.

NMR jsGrid reads directly from your MySQL table at request time. No sync, no export, no stale data.

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Prerequisites

• WordPress site with database access
• A MySQL table you want to display (WordPress table or custom table)
• NMR jsGrid plugin installed and activated

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Step 1: Know Your Table Structure

Before configuring the grid, know the name and columns of your table. If you’re unsure, you can check in phpMyAdmin or run:

DESCRIBE your_table_name;

Write down the column names exactly — you’ll need to match them in the grid configuration.

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Step 2: Create a New Grid

WordPress Admin → NMR jsGrid → Add New Grid.

Set a grid ID. This will be used in the shortcode — keep it short and lowercase, no spaces. Example: products, members, orders.

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Step 3: Set Data Source to SQL

In Data Source, select SQL. Enter a SELECT query:

SELECT id, name, email, status, created_at
FROM wp_members
ORDER BY created_at DESC

You can use any valid SELECT query — including JOINs, WHERE clauses, aliases, and subqueries. The plugin executes this as-is (with LIMIT/OFFSET added for pagination).

Tip: Use column aliases in your SELECT if you want friendlier names for filtering. For example: first_name AS "First Name". Then set the column Name in the grid config to match the alias.

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Step 4: Define Columns

Add one column per field in your SELECT. For each:

• Name: exact field name from your query (or alias)
• Title: column header text shown to users
• Type: text / number / date / checkbox / textarea
• Width: optional, in pixels
• Filtering: on or off per column
• Sorting: on or off per column

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Step 5: Set Pagination Options

In Grid Options:

• Page Size: rows per page (10, 25, 50, 100)
• Paging: enable/disable pagination
• Autoload: load data automatically on page open (recommended: on)

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Step 6: Save and Embed

Save the grid. Open any WordPress page or post. Add a Shortcode block:

Publish. Your MySQL table is now displayed with filtering and pagination.

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Works With

• WordPress core tables (wp_posts, wp_users, wp_usermeta, wp_comments)
• WooCommerce tables (wp_wc_orders, wp_woocommerce_order_items)
• Custom plugin tables
• Legacy application tables in the same MySQL database
• Any table accessible by the WordPress DB user