The WordPress Block Editor, also known as Gutenberg, has revolutionized content creation for millions of users. Its intuitive block-based system provides a dynamic and flexible environment for designing web pages. To make the most of this powerful tool, it’s imperative to understand the dos and don’ts. Let’s explore some best practices to enhance your WordPress editing experience.
Dos of WordPress Block Editor
1. Experiment with Blocks
Embrace the variety of blocks available, from text and images to advanced elements like tables and galleries. Experimenting with Blocks in the WordPress Block Editor is an invitation to explore the diverse range of content blocks available to users. Rather than sticking to traditional text and gallery blocks, users should venture into the vast array of possibilities that can enhance the visual appeal and functionality of their content. This involves trying out different block types, such as:
- Embed Blocks: Incorporate multimedia elements like videos, social media posts, or maps directly into your content.
- Advanced Layout Blocks: Utilize blocks like Columns and groups to create sophisticated and well-organized page structures.
- Reusable Blocks: Explore the efficiency of saving frequently used elements as reusable blocks, promoting consistency and efficiency.
Experimentation encourages users to think creatively and find innovative ways to present information. It’s a process of trial and error where users can discover the full potential of the WordPress Block Editor. By embracing this mindset, users can create engaging and dynamic content that goes beyond the conventional, elevating the overall quality and user experience of their WordPress site
2. Organize with Sections
Sections make it hassle-free for readers to navigate and understand your content. Sections” emphasizes the importance of using Group and Columns blocks in the WordPress Block Editor to structure content effectively. By incorporating these organizational elements, users can enhance the readability and visual appeal of their pages.
- Group Block: The Group block allows you to enclose multiple blocks within a container. This is particularly useful for creating distinct sections or grouping related content together. It helps in keeping a clean and organized layout, especially when dealing with various types of content on a single page.
- Columns Block: The Columns block enables users to divide their content into multiple columns, providing a balanced and aesthetically pleasing design. This is beneficial for displaying content side by side, such as text alongside images, or creating a newspaper-style layout.
Organizing content into sections using WordPress Block Editor improves the overall structure of your webpage. Readers can seamlessly navigate through different parts of your content, enhancing the user experience. This approach is particularly effective for long-form articles, landing pages, or any content where a clear visual hierarchy is crucial.
3. Utilize Block Patterns
Take advantage of block patterns to quickly add pre-designed sections with just a few clicks. The List View feature in WordPress Block Editor is a lifesaver, offering a clear overview of each block on your page, including nested ones. Its convenience goes a step further – effortlessly rearrange blocks by clicking and dragging them directly within List View. Whether you’re adjusting a single block or moving multiple ones, it’s a seamless process. The block patterns offer numerous advantages:
- Time-Saving: Block Patterns save time by providing ready-made designs for various content elements like headers, call-to-action sections, or testimonials. Users can avoid the need to build these sections from scratch, speeding up the overall content creation process.
- Consistent Design: Block Patterns in WordPress Block Editor contribute to a consistent design across your website by ensuring that similar elements have a unified look and feel. This is essential for establishing a cohesive brand identity and user experience.
- Easy Implementation: Implementing Block Patterns is user-friendly, often requiring just a few clicks to add a well-designed section to your content. This simplicity allows users, regardless of their design expertise, to create visually appealing and professional-looking pages.
- Versatility: Block Patterns come in various styles and purposes, providing versatility in catering to different content needs. Whether you’re creating a blog post, landing page, or portfolio, there’s likely a Block Pattern that suits your requirements.
By incorporating Block Patterns into your workflow, you not only save time but also ensure a polished and visually coherent design for your WordPress site. It’s an excellent way to maintain a professional look while enjoying the flexibility and customization options offered by the WordPress Block Editor.
4. Customize Styles
Explore the block settings in WordPress Block Editor to customize styles such as font size, color, and spacing to match your website’s aesthetic. Consistent styling creates a professional and polished look for your content. Here’s a closer look at why customizing styles is crucial:
- Brand Consistency: Adjusting font sizes, colors, and spacing allows you to maintain consistency with your brand’s visual identity. A cohesive style across your website reinforces brand recognition and trust among your audience.
- Visual Appeal: Customizing styles enhances the overall visual aesthetic of your content, making it more engaging for your readers. Attention to detail, such as cherry-picking complementary colors and legible fonts, contributes to a positive user experience.
- Highlight Important Elements: Use customization in WordPress Block Editor to highlight specific elements, such as headings or call-to-action buttons, making them stand out and guiding the reader’s attention. This helps convey hierarchy and importance within your content.
- Adapt to Your Audience: Consider the preferences and expectations of your target audience when customizing styles. Adapting styles to resonate with your audience can improve user engagement and make your web content more relatable.
- Responsive Design: Ensure that your customized styles are responsive to different screen sizes and devices. A well-designed, responsive layout ensures a seamless experience for users accessing your content on various platforms.
Customizing styles in the WordPress Block Editor empowers you to go beyond the default settings, giving your website a unique and professional appearance. It’s a way to express your brand personality visually and make a lasting impression on your visitors.
5. Save Reusable Blocks
When using this feature of WordPress Block Editor, users can essentially capture entire blocks or sections of content that they find themselves using repeatedly. This could range from complex layouts like call-to-action sections or testimonial blocks to simpler elements that maintain consistency across various parts of the website.
The process involves saving a block as reusable, creating a sort of template that can be easily inserted into different posts or pages. Not only does this save time by avoiding the need to recreate the same content from scratch each time, but it also ensures a uniform appearance and design throughout the website.
For instance, if you have a standardized call-to-action block that you want to include in multiple posts, saving it as a reusable block allows you to add it to new posts with just a few clicks. Any updates or changes made to the reusable block will automatically reflect across all instances where it’s used, streamlining the editing process and minimizing the risk of inconsistencies.
In collaborative environments where multiple contributors are working on the same website, this feature of WordPress Block Editor becomes especially valuable. It ensures that everyone is utilizing the same predefined blocks, contributing to a cohesive and unified design across the entire website.
Also Read: How to Create a Reusable Block in WordPress
6. Consider Future Maintenance
Page layouts have a lifespan and need adjustments as content requirements evolve. The WordPress Block Editor might pose challenges in such scenarios.
Take, for instance, a company’s staff listing. Initially, using the Columns block creates a visually appealing and responsive layout for displaying names, titles, and photos. The page looks flawless. However, what happens when changes are needed?
Staff turnover is inevitable. Simply replacing departed members with new ones doesn’t align with the client’s desire for alphabetical order. Now what?
The available options are less than ideal. Editing the block’s code to rearrange columns or reconstructing the layout from scratch both come with challenges. While it may sound a bit dramatic, it’s far from enjoyable.
A more practical solution could be a custom block. Leveraging Advanced Custom Fields PRO, you can create an interface facilitating easier maintenance. The ability to add, delete, and rearrange the list becomes integral to the block. No need to navigate the complexities of code or rebuild the layout when changes are necessary – a smoother and more efficient solution.
Don’ts of WordPress Block Editor
1. Switch Between Block and Classic Editors
The WordPress Classic Editor continues to thrive, with millions of websites relying on its familiar interface. This is perfectly acceptable – sticking to a tool you’re comfortable with is a valid choice.
However, toggling between the WordPress Block Editor and Classic editors can be challenging. While the Classic Editor plugin allows users to switch between these two modes, it’s advisable to exercise caution with this feature.
Consider a scenario where you’ve crafted a sophisticated layout using the WordPress Block Editor. Unfortunately, your client prefers the Classic Editor or is more accustomed to it. They decide to make edits using the Classic Editor, leading to unexpected challenges.
Upon switching back to the WordPress Block Editor, you might encounter numerous errors indicating that blocks contain invalid content. The “Attempt Block Recovery” feature might not suffice, leaving you with a potentially messy situation to address. To avoid such complications, it may be prudent to keep the user-switching feature disabled.
2. Edit Blocks Using HTML
In the Classic Editor, seamlessly toggling between visual and code editing was a breeze. This flexibility allowed users to incorporate HTML or a CSS class despite encountering occasional hiccups.
The WordPress Block Editor offers a parallel feature: the ability to edit blocks using HTML. Accessible through each block’s options menu, the “Edit as HTML” interface is designed to provide users with a coding perspective.
However, the practicality of this feature may be questionable. While attempting to add a CSS class, for example, I often encountered errors upon switching back to the Visual editor. A warning stating “This block contains unexpected or invalid content” necessitated revisiting the HTML and removing the class.
Given these challenges, one might consider the “Edit as HTML” option as a potential risk with limited rewards. A more reliable alternative is the Custom HTML block, purpose-built for handling HTML, CSS, or even JavaScript without the risk of breaking the content.
It’s noteworthy that adding CSS classes to blocks can be achieved through the Advanced tab in the settings panel, providing a safer and more structured approach to customization.
3. Rely Solely on Default Styles
Default styles in WordPress Block Editor often align with the chosen theme, promoting a cohesive look. This can be beneficial for web designers who frequently switch themes, as the default styles adapt accordingly.
However, there are potential downsides to exclusively using default styles in WordPress Block Editor:
- Lack of Brand Identity: Default styles may not fully represent your brand identity. Customizing styles allows you to tailor the visual elements to match your brand, creating a unique and memorable user experience.
- Limited Creativity: Depending solely on default styles might limit your creative expression. Customization opens up opportunities to experiment with different color schemes, fonts, and layouts, allowing for a more personalized and visually engaging website.
- Stand Out from the Crowd: In a sea of websites, relying on default styles might make your site blend in. Customizing styles enables you to stand out and leave a lasting impression on your audience.
4. Neglect Regular Updates
Updates often introduce new block types and patterns, expanding the creative possibilities within the Block Editor. Neglecting updates means missing out on the latest tools for designing engaging and dynamic content.
The Block Editor interacts closely with themes and plugins. Routine updates help ensure compatibility with the latest versions of these essential elements in the WordPress ecosystem. Neglecting updates might lead to conflicts or issues with third-party tools.
Conclusion
While the Block Editor isn’t flawless and, like all editors, comes with its quirks and annoyances, it’s still worth pushing its limits. The best way to familiarize yourself is through experimentation.
Consider creating a local website as a testing ground to explore what works and what doesn’t. Don’t confine yourself to a single test; the user experience is continually evolving. Techniques that may not have worked in the past might now be viable. Installing the Gutenberg plugin can provide a glimpse into future releases, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve.
This proactive approach will prove beneficial, enabling you to develop layouts that withstand the test of time. You might be pleasantly surprised by the creative possibilities the Block Editor offers when you dive into experimentation and exploration.
Also Read: How to Update Old Gutenberg Posts with New Gutenberg Block Editor in 2024
FAQs
Why is it essential to preview content before publishing?
Previewing content helps you catch any formatting issues or unexpected layouts before making your post live.
Is it recommended to switch between the Block and Classic Editors?
While possible, it’s advised to carefully consider switching between editors to avoid potential complications in content formatting.
What’s the purpose of editing blocks as HTML in the Block Editor?
Editing blocks as HTML allows for advanced customization but should be approached cautiously to avoid potential errors and issues with content display.
