Intro to WordPress: How to Use the Block Editor. A guide to the features by Jenna Breunig at EpiBuild

Intro to WordPress: How to Use the Block Editor

WordPress can feel a little intimidating to beginners. But don’t worry: you can get the hang of it. Here’s how to use the block editor to create beautiful posts and pages.

Blocks

WordPress’ “Block Editor” allows you to edit the page using “blocks” of text, images, headings, or other content.

Anytime you hit the ENTER key, it’ll create a new block. By default, it’ll make a new paragraph. But you can use the + button on the left to choose what type of block you’d like. It may also suggest a few of your recent favorite blocks on the right.

the block editor with an option to choose the type of block

Types of blocks

WordPress offers dozens of blocks. Here are a few that you’re likely to use often:

Text

  • Paragraph—Put in normal text.
  • Heading—Organize your text with H2-H6.
    • Best practice: Your most general headings should be H2. Use H3 for subheadings. Use H4 if you need sub-subheadings. Try not to go beyond that.
  • List—Use bulleted or ordered lists.
  • Quote—Make a pullout quote.

Layout

  • Columns—Organize content into columns. You can drag other blocks into the columns.
  • Spacer—Add some blank space.

Image/Media

  • Image—Put in an image. It includes options for links, captions, and alt text.
  • Cover—Put in a background image. Insert blocks (usually text) on top of it.
  • Gallery and Tiled Gallery—Display multiple images.

Other blocks include custom HTML, YouTube/Twitter/etc. embeds, and blocks offered by your plugins.

Tools

Once you’ve clicked inside an existing block, a menu will pop up above and to the side. This editor helps you customize your block.

the block editor menu with options for the block
  1. Change the type of block. The block in this example is a paragraph. You can click there to change it to a heading, quote, or another type of formatted block.
  2. Move the block up or down. Click the little dots in the middle to drag it around.
  3. Change the text alignment.
  4. Change specific properties. For paragraphs, we have bold, italic, links, and more.
    • You can highlight some of the text to only apply the customization to part of it. For example, you can have one bold phrase or a small link.
  5. See more options.
    • Hide Block Settings will hide the menu.
    • Duplicate makes a copy of the block.
    • Insert Before/After puts a new block before or after this one.
    • Edit as HTML lets you change the HTML.
    • Add to Reusable Blocks means that you can put copies of this block in different places around your site. When you edit one of them, the others change too.
    • Remove Block deletes the block.

Reusable Blocks

Reusable blocks allow you to create blocks that you can use on the same pages. When you edit a reusable block, the changes appear on every copy of it.

These blocks are perfect for social links or sneaking in menus where your theme doesn’t typically allow them.

clicking the edit button on a reusable block
Click that edit button if you want to change things. It’s temperamental like that.

Clicking on the block usually doesn’t let you edit it. Instead, click the “Edit” button on the top right. It’ll offer the option to rename your block. Now you can click on the block’s content and change things.

Sidebar tools

document menu in the block editor
The Y is for the Yoast plugin, which we talk about in another blog post.

If the sidebar doesn’t already show up on the right, then click the gear button in the upper right corner.

There are two sections at the top of the sidebar: “Document” and “Block.” “Document” controls the general properties of the page or post. “Block” controls the properties of the block (such as paragraph, header, image, etc.) that your cursor is on.

“Block” settings vary based on block type. Usually, they’re pretty intuitive. Next, we’re going to examine the options in “Document.”

Status & Visibility

You won’t use this often because the default settings are usually fine.

Make sure to check who it credits under “Author.” The default is whoever created the post. But if someone else did most of the writing, make sure to change it to their name.

Revisions

This allows you to restore old versions of your content.

Permalink

Once you save your first draft with a title, a “URL slug” will show up here. The auto-generated one will just be a copy of your title.

If your title is long, shorten the URL slug. This will make your post’s URL shorter and more convenient (especially if you hope people will share it on Twitter). For example, our auto-generated slug was “intro-to-wordpress-how-to-use-the-block-editor.” That’s way too long, so we changed it to “wordpress-block-editor.”

Choose your permalink wisely, using the main keywords your article covers. This can boost your SEO.

Categories and Tags (blog posts only)

Blog posts include categories and tags. (Regular pages don’t.)

These features help viewers navigate your blog and find posts on topics that interest them. Good categories and tags make a difference in your readers’ experience.

CategoriesTags
Organized in a hierarchyNo hierarchy
Cover broad, general topicsCan go into more specific details
Pick just 1 or 2 per postPick as many relevant ones as you want

Featured Image

Featured images are optional for pages and a must-have for blogs. Blog posts with featured images get more clicks. After all, images help draw our attention.

If you don’t have an image, then find a public domain photo that you can use. Pexels and Public Domain Pictures are two handy sites where every image is completely free to use (no attribution needed).

If you want to use something that isn’t public domain, then make absolutely sure that it’s OK to use. Using someone’s work without permission is unkind to them. It also reflects badly on you. When in doubt, find something in the public domain or make your own.

Excerpt

Your excerpt should be a short summary or teaser that lets readers know what’s on the page. Try about two sentences.

Discussion

Checking “Allow Comments” means that users can leave comments. This is usually a good idea for blog posts.

Checking “Allow pingbacks & trackbacks” means that when someone links back to your blog post, a link to their post can appear in the comments section.

Do You Like the Block Editor?

What do you think of the block editor? Do you find it intuitive, or is it a struggle getting used to it?

Remember, you can always reach out to us with questions! Our experienced WordPress developers are happy to help you get the hang of your site.

by Jenna Breunig

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