The WordPress Block Editor is an innovative new way to create posts and pages on your WordPress website. This user-friendly tool makes creating beautiful, engaging content more accessible by using simple drag-and-drop blocks.
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned website developer, the intuitive dashboard and easy-to-follow instructions will help.
This guide covers the WordPress Block Editor’s basics and provides detailed tips and tricks on how to use WordPress block editor.
We’ll explain everything from setting up your blocks to customizing them and adding features such as galleries, buttons, and columns.
We’ll also discuss why using the Gutenberg Block Editor can benefit your website and how it makes creating content more manageable.
Let’s first start with:
What Is the Gutenberg Block Editor?
The Gutenberg Block Editor is a new editing tool released by WordPress. It’s designed to help website owners create content quickly, easily, and in an organized manner.
The Block Editor comprises “blocks” that can be dragged and dropped into place on your page to add text, images, galleries, columns, and more. It allows you to create beautiful, responsive designs with a few mouse clicks.
Shall we move to the following fantastic chapter?
Gutenberg’s Block Workspace:
With the WordPress block editor, creating posts and pages is just a few clicks away. Regardless of your expertise, this tutorial will help you create content quickly and easily.
There are three key sections in the WordPress block editor workspace:
- The toolbar at the top,
- The sidebar has multiple options, from ‘Dashboard’ to ‘Collapse Menu.’
Creating a Post or Page with the Block Editor
1. The Title Block
The block addition functionality in Gutenberg is the plus sign that appears when you hover over the top left corner of a block. You can add more blocks and customize your page by clicking on them.
You can also use it to create columns, move blocks around, and even rearrange whole sections of content. The title appears in the first block of each post or page.
You can move the pointer below the title using the mouse or pressing the tab key on your keyboard to advance it and begin writing.
2. The Paragraph Block
The paragraph block is customizable, and Gutenberg WordPress Editor uses the default block to create posts and pages. You can easily add text to your post or page with the paragraph block.
This block is always the next after the title block by default.
It supports various features, such as basic formatting options like colour, which encompasses text, background, and link. Typography options are also available, allowing you to change the font size, style, and line height of your text.
You can also customize the size of your block and the padding and margin around it. You can adjust dimensions and advanced options such as the block’s visibility on different device types, animation effects, and custom CSS.
To access the paragraph block settings, click the settings icon in the toolbar when editing your post or page. From there, you can customize all of these features and more.
The paragraph block makes it easy to add formatted text quickly and accurately to any post or page. Use it to spruce your content with basic formatting options, typography styles, and various customizations.
No more struggles because, like for the paragraph block, you have basic formatting buttons like text alignment, bold, italic, insert a link, and more.
You can access these buttons by left-clicking anywhere in the paragraph block.
The next thing you must be curious about is:
Customizing and Adding Features to Your Post or Page
Now that you know how to use the WordPress Gutenberg editor interface, let’s look at some of the standard blocks available.
1. Adding a link in the block editor:
The initial step to adding a link is to select the text you want to link. Then, click on the “Link” icon in the block editor toolbar.
You will get a prompt to enter the URL of your desired destination and any additional information, such as the title or target window. Once complete, click “Apply” to confirm the link.
2. Adding an image:
Click on the (+) sign and select the “Image” block from the available options. Then, click on the “Upload” option to choose an image from your computer or use the media library.
Once you have added an image, you can customize it further using the toolbar above the block containing all editing options like changing alignment, size, etc.
3. Adding a video:
Similar to how you upload images, you can add videos by clicking the (+) sign and selecting the “Video” option. Then select the upload option from the prompt and choose a video or paste the URL of an external video. You can customize your videos using editing options like autoplay, loop, etc.
4. Adding YouTube, Twitter, Vimeo, and other embeds
Thanks to the block editor, it is simpler to incorporate external information into your WordPress text. For many well-known third-party services, there are blocks.
However, if you click on the (+) at the top left of the toolbar, you can search for ‘Embeds’ to find the Embed block. Enter the name of the service (e.g., YouTube) and select it from the list that appears.
You will then have to fill in a field where you can paste a link or embed code, depending on what kind of embed source you are using. Once done, click “Add,” and you’ll be good to go.
5. Publishing Your Post or Page
Once you’ve finished creating your post or page with the Gutenberg Block Editor, you can quickly and easily publish it directly from the dashboard. But before then, you want to ensure everything looks how you want it.
You can preview your post or page directly from the dashboard and use the Block Editor’s live preview function to view how your content will look on different types of devices.
If you’re happy with what you see, hit “Publish,” Your post or page will be live for all to see.
The WordPress Block Editor also allows you to save drafts of your work so you can return to them later. This is great for working on multiple projects at once or needing to take a break and return later.
How to Use the Block Editor Like a Pro
Are you looking for ways how to use Gutenberg block editor more efficiently and productively? If yes, then you’ve come to the right place!
The following tips will help you use the block editor like a pro:
1. Navigation Tips:
You need to know how to navigate before using the block editor. Familiarize yourself with each block’s various menus and options.
For example, if you click on the three lines on the top-left of the toolbar, it will give you a list view, which will greatly help you.
The more familiar you are with these menus and options, the faster and easier it will be for you to edit your posts or pages.
2. Organize Your Content with Blocks
The block editor allows you to organize your content into blocks of text, images, videos, and other types of media.
Arranging your content into blocks makes it easier for readers to scan through your content quickly and identify critical points.
Blocks also help keep your content organized, so working on multiple sections at once is easier.
3. Use Keyboard Shortcuts
The block editor has plenty of helpful keyboard shortcuts that can save you time when writing or editing posts.
For example, pressing the “Ctrl + Alt + I” combination will open up the “Insert Image” window, where you can quickly insert an image into your post.
You can find all the available keyboard shortcuts in the Help menu or online.
4. Get Familiar With Blocks
The most important aspect of using the WordPress Block Editor effectively is understanding what “blocks” are and how they work.
Blocks are pieces of content that are added to your page or post. Each block type has its unique set of settings and tools that allow you to customize them for your needs.
For example, there are blocks for adding images, videos, quotes, and more.
5. Start with Templates
If you’re starting with the block editor, starting with pre-made templates already designed for you can be helpful.
It will hint at what kind of content works best in each block type and how different blocks fit together on a page or post.
You can then take these templates and customize them to make them unique to your site.
The WordPress Block Editor offers users an incredibly powerful toolset for creating beautiful pages and posts quickly and easily.
6. Use Advanced Formatting Options
In addition to adding blocks and setting up your page layout, you can apply advanced formatting options easily.
For example, if you want to highlight specific words or phrases within a paragraph block, select the text and click on one of the styling buttons at the top of the editor window.
You can quickly bold text, italicize words, or add links within seconds.
If you often use specific formatting options (such as bulleted lists or quotes), consider creating a shortcut for them in Settings > Writing > Shortcuts tab. Hence, they are always only a few clicks away when editing your pages.
Here are some of Gutenberg’s New Content Blocks
By introducing certain new blocks, the Gutenberg editor aims to address some persistent usability problems in WordPress.
The items listed below are some of our favorites, which users will find very useful.
1. Including lovely cover photos in blog posts and landing pages.
The “Cover” block, which enables you to add cover photos or colored backgrounds to your articles and pages, is another intriguing feature you might want to check out.
A cover image is a larger image frequently used to signify the start of a new section on a page or the beginning of a story. You may make interesting content arrangements with them, and they have lovely looks.
You only need to upload the desired image after adding a cover block. You can make the cover a fixed background image or an overlay color to create a parallax effect as people scroll down the page.
2. Incorporating an image with some text in WordPress
Many users needed help inserting a picture next to the text using the previous editor. The Media & Text block now allows you to do this.
This straightforward block has two blocks side-by-side, so you can quickly add a picture with some text next to it.
3. Page and post buttons in WordPress
The button block is another excellent addition to the Gutenberg editor. This block can make your post or page stand out or encourage visitors to perform some action.
This block has useful options, allowing you to customize and style the button. You can also insert external and internal links, decide on the font size, pick colors for the background and text separately, etc.
4. Creating multi-column content layouts
The columns block allows you to create multi-column layouts in your content. This feature was missing from the classic editor, and it’s now possible with the new Gutenberg editor.
You can pick from several column types, each of which has different sizing options so that you can make exciting layouts for your post or page. You can also customize the background and spacing of each column and add dividers between columns.
5. Inserting a table in WordPress posts and pages
It’s now possible to insert a table in your content with the Table block. You can choose from several pre-defined tables or just manually.
The traditional editor didn’t have a button to insert tables into your WordPress posts. You had to write custom CSS and HTML to construct a table or utilize a plugin.
Including tables in your posts and pages with the Gutenberg editor’s built-in Table block is quite simple. Choose the number of columns and rows you wish to insert after adding the block.
The process of adding data to table rows can now begin. If necessary, you can always add extra rows and columns. Additionally, there are two standard style choices.
Wrap-Up
Here, you have a few tips and tricks on using the WordPress Block Editor like an expert. There has been progress in the block editor since its introduction in 2018, and with each update, it’s becoming even more robust in terms of features and functionalities.
It is clear from above that the Gutenberg editor has made the WordPress content creation experience much more straightforward and more intuitive. Our pointers help you use all its features effectively to create engaging posts and pages faster.
The Gutenberg block editor is a great way to customize and add features to your posts and pages without writing code. Once you get the hang of it, using the block editor will become second nature. Have fun exploring its potential!
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