How to Let Users Edit Database Rows from a WordPress Page (No Coding)

You have a MySQL table — inventory, a client list, employee records — and you want staff to update it from a WordPress page. Not from the WordPress admin. Not from phpMyAdmin. From a clean, simple interface on your site, accessible to anyone with the right role or page password.

This is a surprisingly common need, and a surprisingly annoying thing to find a plugin for. Most table plugins are read-only. The ones that support editing either require expensive subscriptions or complex configuration. This post shows how to do it with NMR jsGrid in about 10 minutes.

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What You’ll Build

A WordPress page containing an interactive grid. Rows show data from your MySQL table. Users can:

• Click a row to edit field values inline
• Add new rows via an insert form at the top of the grid
• Delete rows with a confirm action
• Filter and sort without page reload

All changes go directly to your database via AJAX. No PHP custom development required.

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Step 1: Install NMR jsGrid

Go to WordPress Admin → Plugins → Add New. Search for “NMR jsGrid”. Install and activate.

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Step 2: Create a New Grid

In the WordPress sidebar, click NMR jsGrid → Add New Grid.

Give it a short ID — this becomes the shortcode parameter. Example: inventory.

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Step 3: Configure the Data Source

Set Data Source to SQL. In the query field, enter a SELECT statement that reads from your table. Example for an inventory table:

SELECT id, product_name, sku, quantity, location, last_updated
FROM my_inventory

In the Write Table field, enter the table name that INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations will target. In most cases, this is the same table: my_inventory.

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Step 4: Add Columns

Add a column entry for each field in your SELECT. For each column, set:

• Name — must match the field name in your query exactly
• Title — label shown in the column header
• Type — text, number, date, checkbox, textarea
• Editable — whether this field can be changed in the edit form

For the primary key field (e.g. id): set Type to “number”, leave Editable off. This field identifies which row to update/delete.

Add a Control column at the end — this renders the Edit and Delete buttons on each row.

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Step 5: Enable Editing, Inserting, Deleting

In the Grid Options section, toggle on:

• Editing — lets users click Edit on a row and save changes
• Inserting — shows an insert row at the top for adding new records
• Deleting — shows a Delete button on each row

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Step 6: Embed on a Page

Create or edit a WordPress page. Add the shortcode block and enter:

Publish the page. The grid is live.

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Access Control

To restrict who can edit, use WordPress’s built-in page access tools:

• Set the page to “Password protected” for simple team access
• Use a membership plugin to restrict by user role
• Use a plugin like Members or User Role Editor to control who sees the page

The grid itself doesn’t manage access — WordPress page/post visibility handles that.

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Result

Your team gets a clean, spreadsheet-style interface on a WordPress page. No admin credentials needed. No custom PHP. Data lives in your database and updates immediately on save.