Add Class to Specific Paragraph of the_content()

Question

Let's say I want to give the first paragraph bold text by adding a body class to the first paragraph. Is there a way to filter the output of

the_content();

or any other paragraph? First paragraph? Last paragraph?

I know I can do this using Javascript or CSS (:firstchild), but is there a native WordPress way?

Thanks.

J

Answer 1

The following bit of code adds a class to the first paragraph output by the_content:

function first_paragraph($content){
    return preg_replace('/<p([^>]+)?>/', '<p$1 class="intro">', $content, 1);
}
add_filter('the_content', 'first_paragraph');

Add the above to your theme's functions.php file.

Then in your CSS add something like:

p.intro { font-weight:bold; }

I can't claim credit for this solution (see this thread in the WP forums) but I tested it and it worked great for me in WordPress 3.3.2. You should be able to modify it as needed to target whichever paragraph your heart desires.