-as of [10 OCTOBER 2024]–
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*INSTRUCTIONS*
*OFFICIAL LINK*
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*HOW TO USE THE ‘WORDPRESS GUTENBERG EDITOR’*
(*WPBEGINNER LINK*)
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*TOP LEFT CORNER* –>
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*CLICK TO NAVIGATE TO YOUR ‘WP DASHBOARD’*
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*TOP RIGHT CORNER* –>
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When WordPress 5.0 was released in 2019, it replaced the old classic editor with a brand new block editor nicknamed “Gutenberg”.
The block editor introduced a different way of creating content in WordPress.
In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to use the WordPress block editor and master it to create visually stunning blog posts and pages
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Using the WordPress block editor
What’s The Difference Between Block Editor (Gutenberg) and Classic Editor?
Before we dive into the block editor, let’s first compare and understand the differences between Gutenberg Block Editor and the Older Classic Editor.
Here is what the classic editor in WordPress looked like:
Old WordPress editor
And this is how the modern WordPress block editor looks like:
Default WordPress block editor
As you can see, they are two completely different editors for creating content in WordPress.
The old classic editor was a text editor with formatting buttons very similar to Microsoft Word.
The new editor uses a totally different approach, called ‘Blocks’
(hence, the name Block Editor).
Blocks are content elements that you add to the edit screen to create content layouts.
Each item you add to your post or page is a block.
You can add blocks for each paragraph, images, videos, galleries, audio, lists, and more.
There are blocks for all common content elements, and more can be added by WordPress plugins
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How is the WordPress block editor better than the classic editor?
The WordPress block editor offers a simple way to add different types of content to your posts and pages.
For example, previously if you wanted to add a table in your content, then you needed a separate table plugin.
With the block editor, you can simply add a table block, select your columns and rows, and start adding content
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Table block in WordPress editor
You can move content elements up and down, edit them as individual blocks, and easily create media-rich content.
Most importantly, the WordPress block editor is easy to use and learn.
This gives an immense advantage to all WordPress beginners who are just starting their first blog or building a DIY business website.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to use the WordPress block editor like a pro to create great content.
Here is what we will cover in this Gutenberg tutorial:
Using Gutenberg – The WordPress block editor
Creating a new blog post or page
How to add a block in Gutenberg
Working with blocks in the new editor
Saving and reusing blocks in Gutenberg
Publishing and post settings in Gutenberg
Plugin settings in new editor
Adding some common blocks in Gutenberg
Exploring some new content blocks in Gutenberg
Bonus tips on using Gutenberg like a pro
Adding more blocks to Gutenberg Block Editor
FAQs about Gutenberg
Ready? Let’s dive in.
Video Tutorial
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If you’d prefer written instructions, then just keep reading
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Using Gutenberg – The WordPress Block Editor
The block editor is designed to be intuitive and flexible.
While it looks different than the old WordPress editor, it still does all the things that you were able to do in the classic editor.
Let’s start with covering the basic things that you did in the classic editor, and how they are done in the ‘block editor’
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Creating a New Blog Post or Page Using The Block Editor
You will start creating a new blog post or page like you normally would.
Simply click on the Posts » Add New menu in your WordPress admin.
If you are creating a page, then go to Pages » Add New menu.
Adding a new post
This will launch the block editor
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‘How to Add a Block in Gutenberg’
The first block of every post or page is the title.
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You can use the mouse to move below the title
or press the tab key on your keyboard
to move the cursor down and start writing
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Adding a post title in WordPress block editor
By default, the next block is a paragraph block.
This allows users to start writing right away.
However, if you want to add something different, then you can click on the add new block button (+) on
the top left corner of the editor,
below an existing block,
or on the right side of a block
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Addding a new block button in WordPress
Clicking on the button will show the add block menu with a search bar on top and commonly used blocks below.
You can click on tabs to browse block categories or type in a keyword to quickly search for a block
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Finding and adding blocks in WordPress
If you don’t want to use a mouse to click on the button,
then you can use a keyboard shortcut by typing / to search and add a block
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Select and add a block while writing
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Working with Blocks in The New Editor
Each block comes with its own toolbar which appears on top of the block.
The buttons in the toolbar would change depending on the block you are editing.
For example, in this screenshot, we are working in a paragraph block that shows basic formatting buttons like text alignment, bold, italic, insert link, and more.
Each block comes with its own toolbar
Apart from the toolbar, each block can also have its own block settings which would appear in the right column of your edit screen
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Block settings
You can move blocks up and down by simply dragging them or by clicking the up and down buttons next to each block
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Moving a block up and down
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Organizing Blocks in Groups and Columns
The block editor comes with handy tools to manage and organize your content layouts.
You can select multiple blocks by clicking on them while pressing the SHIFT key on your keyboard.
Organize blocks with groups and columns
After that, click on the block type button in the toolbar to transform the selected blocks into Groups or Columns.
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Group block settings
You can then apply styles to the entire group block such as changing their alignment or spacing.
The block editor also allows you to add an empty Group or Columns block.
After that, you can fill them with other blocks.
Add columns
You can then fill in each column with any type of block to create beautiful layouts.
Columns block example
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Saving and Reusing Blocks in Gutenberg
One of the best things about blocks is that they can be saved and reused.
This is particularly helpful for website owners and bloggers who frequently need to add specific content snippets to their articles or pages.
Simply click on the menu button located at the right corner of each block’s toolbar. From the menu, select the ‘Add to reusable blocks’ option
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Add reusable block
You’ll need to provide a name for your reusable block so that you can identify and reuse it later
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Name reusable block
The block editor will now save the block as a reusable block
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Now that you have saved a block, let’s see how to add the reusable block into other WordPress posts and pages on your site
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Simply edit the post or page where you want to add the reusable block.
From the post edit screen, click on the add block button.
You will find your saved block under the ‘Reusable’ tab.
You can also find it by typing its name in the search bar
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Add reusable block
You can take your mouse over it to see a quick preview of the block.
Simply click on the block to insert it into your post or page
All reusable blocks are stored in your WordPress database, and you can manage them by clicking on the ‘manage all reusable blocks’ link.
This will bring you to the block manager page.
From here, you can edit or delete any of your reusable blocks.
You can also export reusable blocks and use them on any other WordPress website.
Manage reusable blocks
Note:
You can use entire groups and columns as reusable blocks too
This allows you to save entire sections and use them whenever needed
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Publishing and Managing Options in Gutenberg Block Editor
Each WordPress post contains a lot of metadata.
This includes information like publish date, categories and tags, featured images, and more.
All these options are neatly placed in the right column on the editor screen.
Document settings in the editor
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Plugin Options in Gutenberg
WordPress plugins are able to take advantage of the block editor’s API to integrate their own settings within the edit screen.
Some popular plugins come with their own blocks.
For example, WPForms, the best WordPress form builder plugin allows you to add forms into your content using a block.
“if they do say so themselves…”
🤔”hmm…” says arv”🤔
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WPForms block in WordPress editor
Here is how All in One SEO for WordPress allows you to edit your SEO settings in the block editor:
All in One SEO settings in block editor
WooCommerce also comes with blocks that you can easily add to any of your WordPress posts and pages.
WooCommerce blocks in block editor
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Adding Some Common Blocks in New Editor
Basically, the block editor can do everything the classic editor did.
However, you will be doing things more quickly and elegantly than before
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Adding an image in the WordPress block editor
There is a ready-to-use image block in the WordPress block editor.
Simply add the block and then upload an image file
or select from the media library
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Adding an image block in WordPress
You can also drag and drop images from your computer,
and the editor will automatically create an image block for it.
Once you have added an image, you will be able to see the block settings where you can add metadata for the image like alt text, size, and add a link to the image
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Image block settings
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Adding a link in the block editor
The block editor comes with several blocks where you can add text. The most commonly used one is the paragraph block which comes with an insert link button in the toolbar.
All other commonly used text blocks also include a link button in the toolbar.
Adding links in the list block
You can also insert a link using the keyboard shortcut, which is Command + K for Mac and CTRL + K on Windows computers.
Adding an image gallery in Gutenberg
The gallery block works like the image block. You add it and then upload or select image files
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Adding image gallery block
Adding shortcodes in WordPress posts using Gutenberg
All your shortcodes will work just like they did in the classic editor.
You can simply add them to a paragraph block, or you can use the shortcode block
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Shortcode block
Exploring Some New Content Blocks in Gutenberg
The Gutenberg editor promises to solve some long-standing usability issues in WordPress by introducing some new blocks.
Following are some of the favorites that we believe users will find immensely helpful.
- Adding an image next to some text in WordPress
Using the old editor, many of our users were unable to place an image next to the text. You can do this now with the Media & Text block.
Media and text block
This simple block comes with two blocks placed side-by-side allowing you to easily add an image with some text next to it.
- Adding a button in WordPress posts and pages
Adding a button to your blog posts or pages was another annoyance in the old editor. You either had to use a plugin that created a shortcode for the button, or you had to switch to HTML mode and write code.
Gutenberg comes with a button block that allows you to quickly add a button to any post or page.
Adding buttons block
You can add a link for your button, change colors, and more. For details, see our article on how to easily add buttons in WordPress.
- Adding beautiful cover images in blog posts and landing pages
Another cool feature that you may want to try is the ‘Cover’ block, which allows you to add cover images or color background cover to your posts and pages.
A cover image is a wider image often used as a cover for a new section in a page or the beginning of a story. They look beautiful and allow you to create engaging content layouts.
Simply add a cover block and then upload the image you want to use.
You can choose an overlay color for the cover or make it a fixed background image to create ‘parallax effect’ when users scroll down the page.
Cover block
For more details, see our article on the difference between cover images and features image in WordPress.
- Creating tables inside articles
The classic editor didn’t have a button to add tables into your WordPress posts. You had to use a plugin or create a table writing custom CSS and HTML.
The Gutenberg editor comes with a default Table block, which makes it super easy to add tables into your posts and pages. Simply add the block and then select the number of columns and rows you want to insert.
Table block in WordPress editor
You can now go ahead and start adding data to table rows. You can always add more rows and columns if needed. There are also two basic style options available.
- Creating multi-column content
Creating multi-column content was another issue that the classic editor didn’t handle at all. The block editor allows you to add a Columns block, which basically adds two columns of paragraph blocks.
Multi column content
This columns block is quite flexible. You can add up to 6 columns in a row and even use other blocks inside each column.
Bonus Tips to Use Gutenberg like a Pro
Looking at the block editor, you may be wondering whether you will be spending more time adding and adjusting blocks than creating actual content?
Well, the block editor is incredibly fast and even very basic usage for a few minutes will allow you to instantly add blocks without even thinking.
Pretty soon you will realize how much faster your workflow will become with this approach.
For power users, here are some bonus tips to help you work even faster with the WordPress block editor.
- Move the block toolbar to the top.
You may have noticed in the screenshots above that there is a toolbar that appears on top of every block. You can move this toolbar to the top of the editor.
Simply click on the three-dot button at the top right corner of the screen and then select the Top Toolbar option.
top toolbar in block editor
- Use keyboard shortcuts
Gutenberg comes with several handy shortcuts that will make your workflow even better. The first one you should start using right away is the /.
Simply enter / and then start typing, and it will show you matching blocks that you can instantly add.
For more shortcuts, click on the three-dot menu on the top-right corner of your screen and then select ‘Keyboard Shortcuts’.
Launch keyboard shortcuts menu
This will bring up a popup with the list of all the keyboard shortcuts that you can use. The list will have different shortcuts for Windows and Mac users.
- Drag and drop media to automatically create media blocks
Gutenberg allows you to just drag and drop files anywhere on the screen and it will automatically create a block for you.
You can drop a single image or video file, and it will create the block for you. You can also drop multiple image files to create a gallery block.
Drag and drop media
- Adding YouTube, Twitter, Vimeo, and other embeds
The block editor makes it easier to embed third-party content into your WordPress content. There are blocks for all popular third-party services.
Embed blocks
However, you can just copy and paste the embed URL at any point, and it will automatically create a block for you.
For example, if you added a YouTube video URL, then it will automatically create a YouTube embed block and display the video.
YouTube embed
For Facebook and Instagram embeds, see our article on how to embed Facebook and Instagram posts in WordPress.
Adding More Blocks to Gutenberg Block Editor in WordPress
The block editor in WordPress allows developers to create their own blocks. There are some awesome WordPress plugins offering block bundles for the new editor.
Here are a few of them:
- Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg
Ultimate addons for Gutenberg
Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg is a block library that comes with many advanced blocks that help you add more design elements to your content.
Created by the folks behind the popular Astra WordPress theme, Ultimate Addons help you create beautiful designs without writing any code.
- PublishPress Blocks
PublishPress blocks
PublishPress Blocks is another powerful block library that comes with additional blocks to extend Gutenberg block editor.
It includes beautiful layout options, sliders, buttons, icons, image galleries, maps, tabs, testimonials, accordions, and more.
- Stackable – Gutenberg Blocks
Stackable – Gutenberg Blocks
Stackable – Gutenberg Blocks is a collection of beautifully designed Gutenberg blocks that you can use on your website. It includes blocks for the container, posts, feature grid, accordion, image box, icon list, call to action, and more.
FAQs about Gutenberg – The Block Editor in WordPress
Since Gutenberg became the default WordPress editor, we have been getting a lot of questions. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Gutenberg.
- What happens to my older posts and pages? Can I still edit them?
Your old posts and pages are completely safe and unaffected by the block editor. You can still edit them, and the editor will automatically open them in a block containing the classic editor.
Convert to blocks
You can edit them inside the old editor, or you can convert older articles into blocks and use the block editor.
- Can I still keep using the old editor?
Yes, you can still keep using the old editor. Simply install and activate the Classic Editor plugin.
Upon activation, it will disable the block editor, and you will be able to continue using the classic editor.
Please note that the Classic Editor will be supported until 2022. It would be better to start using the block editor so that you get familiar with it.
- What to do if the block editor doesn’t work with a plugin or theme I am using?
Project Gutenberg was under development for a long time. This gave plugin and theme authors plenty of time to test their code for compatibility.
However, there is still a chance that some plugins and themes may not work well with the block editor. In that case, you can install the classic editor plugin, request the developer to add Gutenberg support, or simply find an alternative plugin or theme.
- How to learn more Gutenberg tips and tricks?
WPBeginner is the best place to learn about the block editor in WordPress. We are the largest WordPress resource site on the internet.
We will be publishing new articles and updating our old resources to help you master the block editor.
Meanwhile, if you have any questions, then feel free to reach out to us by leaving a comment or by using the contact form on our website.
We hope this Gutenberg tutorial helped you learn how to use the WordPress block editor.
You may also want to see our complete WordPress performance guide for improving your website speed, or check out our comparison of the best email marketing services for small business.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials.
You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
www.wpbeginner.com /beginners-guide/how-to-use-the-new-wordpress-block-editor/
How to Use the WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg Tutorial)
Editorial Staff17-21 minutes 12/26/2018
Do you want to learn how to use the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg)?
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“wordpress 5.0”
(released ‘6 december 2018’)
(“bebo”)
(named for cuban pianist ‘bebo valdés’)
(1918 – 2013)
(why?)
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“gutenberg editor”
(named for ‘johannes gutenberg’)
(german inventor of the ‘printing press’)
(‘1400’ – ‘1468’)
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It’s a whole new way to use WordPress. Try it right here!
We call the new editor Gutenberg.
The entire editing experience has been rebuilt for media rich pages and posts.
Experience the flexibility that blocks will bring, whether you are building your first site, or write code for a living.
Meet your new best friends, Blocks
Blocks are a great new tool for building engaging content.
With blocks, you can insert, rearrange, and style multimedia content with very little technical knowledge.
Instead of using custom code, you can add a block and focus on your content
Without being an expert developer, you can build your own custom posts and pages. Here’s a selection of the default blocks included with Gutenberg:
Be your own builder
A single block is nice—reliable, clear, distinct. Discover the flexibility to use media and content, side by side, driven by your vision.
Gutenberg ❤️ Developers
Built with modern technology.
Gutenberg was developed on GitHub using the WordPress REST API, JavaScript, and React.
Designed for compatibility.
We recommend migrating features to blocks, but support for existing WordPress functionality remains. There will be transition paths for shortcodes, meta-boxes, and Custom Post Types.
The editor is just the beginning
Gutenberg is more than an editor. It’s also the foundation that’ll revolutionize customization and site building in WordPress.
“This will make running your own blog a viable alternative again.”
— Adrian Zumbrunnen
“The web up until this point has been confined to some sort of rectangular screen. But that is not how it’s going to be. Gutenberg has the potential of moving us into the next time.”
— Morten Rand-Hendriksen
“The Gutenberg editor has some great assets that could genuinely help people to write better texts.”
— Marieke van de Rakt
Dig in deeper
Gutenberg Editor Technical Overview
Gutenberg Design Principles
Development updates on make.wordpress.org
WordPress.tv Talks about Gutenberg
FAQs
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💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥