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WPBeginner» Blog» Beginners Guide» How to Use the New WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg Tutorial)

How to Use the New WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg Tutorial)

Last updated on January 2nd, 2020 by Editorial Staff
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How to Use the New WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg Tutorial)

In WordPress 5.0, the classic content editor was replaced with a brand new block editor, known as Gutenberg. Since then, several of our readers have asked us to create a comprehensive tutorial on how to use the Gutenberg block editor in WordPress.

WordPress block editor is a totally new and different way of creating content in WordPress. In this tutorial, we will show you how to use the new WordPress block editor and master it to create visually stunning blog posts and pages.

Using the new WordPress block editor aka Gutenberg

What’s The Difference Between Block Editor (Gutenberg) and Classic Editor?

Before we dive into the new editor, let’s first compare and understand the differences between Gutenberg Block Editor and the Classic Editor.

Here is what the classic editor in WordPress looked like:

Old WordPress editor

If you upgrade to WordPress 5.0, then this is what the new block editor looks like:

New WordPress Block Editor also known as Gutenberg

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.

How is the new WordPress block editor better than the classic editor?

The new 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 new editor, you can simply add a table block, select your columns and rows, and start adding content.

Table block

You can move content elements up and down, edit them as individual blocks, and easily create media-rich content.

Most importantly, the new 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 new WordPress block editor like a pro to create great content.

Here is what we will cover in this Gutenberg tutorial:

  1. Using Gutenberg – The new WordPress block editor
  2. Creating a new blog post or page
  3. How to add a block in Gutenberg
  4. Working with blocks in the new editor
  5. Saving and reusing blocks in Gutenberg
  6. Publishing and post settings in Gutenberg
  7. Plugin settings in new editor
  8. Adding some common blocks in Gutenberg
  9. Exploring some new content blocks in Gutenberg
  10. Bonus tips on using Gutenberg like a pro
  11. Adding more blocks to Gutenberg Block Editor
  12. FAQs about Gutenberg

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Using Gutenberg – The New 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.

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 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 new block editor.

How to Add a Block in Gutenberg

The first block of every post or page is the title.

After that, you can use the mouse to move below the title or press the tab key on your keyboard to move down and start writing.

Adding a post title in Gutenberg

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 left side of a block.

Add new block button

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 the keyword to quickly search for a block.

Finding and adding blocks in Gutenberg

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.

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 which shows basic formatting buttons like: text alignment, bold, italic, insert-link, and strikethrough buttons.

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.

Block settings

You can move blocks up and down by simple drag and drop or by clicking the up and down buttons next to each block.

Moving a block up and down

Saving and Reusing Blocks in Gutenberg

One of the best things about blocks is that they can be saved and reused individually. This is particularly helpful for bloggers who frequently need to add specific content snippets to their articles.

Simply click on the menu button located at the right corner of each block’s toolbar. From the menu, select ‘Add to reusable blocks’ option.

Saving a block to reuse later

You will be asked to provide a name for this reusable block. Enter a name for your block and then click on the save button.

Giving a name to reusable block

The block editor will now save the block as a reusable block.

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.

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.

Insert a 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.

Manage your reusable blocks

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.

Import export reusable blocks in WordPress

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 Gutenberg the new WordPress editor

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 are already available as blocks. For example, WPForms, the best WordPress form builder plugin allows you to add forms into your content using a widget block.

WPForms block in new Gutenberg editor

Here is how Yoast SEO allows you to edit your SEO settings in the new editor:

Yoast SEO settings in new Gutenberg editor

WooCommerce also comes with widget blocks that you can easily add to any of your WordPress posts and pages.

WooCommerce products block

Adding Some Common Blocks in New Editor

Basically, the new editor can do everything the classic editor did. However, you will be doing things way quicker and elegantly than before.

1. Adding an image in new WordPress editor

There is a ready to use image block in the new WordPress editor. Simply add the block and then upload an image file or select from the media library.

Image block in new WordPress editor

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.

Image block settings

2. Adding a link in new block Editor

The block editor comes with several blocks where you can add text. 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.

Link button 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.

3. Adding an image gallery in Gutenberg

The gallery block works like the image block. You add it and then upload or select image files.

Adding image gallery in new WordPress editor

4. 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.

Adding a 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.

1. 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 and add some text next to it.

2. Adding a button in WordPress posts and pages

Adding a button to your blog posts or pages was another annoyance in the classic 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 a button block in Gutenberg

You can add a link for your button, change colors, and choose from three button styles.

3. 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 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.

The cover image block in Gutenberg editor

4. 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.

New 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

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.

5. 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 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 new block editor, you may be wondering whether you will be spending more time adding and adjusting blocks than creating actual content?

Well, the new 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 new approach.

For power users, here are some bonus tips to help you work even faster with the new WordPress editor.

1. Move the block toolbar to the top.

As you may have noticed in the screenshots 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.

Move the block toolbar to the top of the editor

2. 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

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.

3. 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 gallery block in new WordPress editor

4. Adding YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, and other embeds

Gutenberg introduces new embed blocks to the block editor. There is a block for all supported embed types including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and more.

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, it will automatically create a YouTube embed block and display the video.

YouTube embed

Adding More Blocks to Gutenberg Block Editor in WordPress

The new 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:

1. Advanced Gutenberg

Advanced Gutenberg

Advanced Gutenberg comes with several blocks for popular content elements like WooCommerce product slider, testimonials, maps, counter, tabs, accordions, and more.

It also gives you advanced control on which users can access blocks based on their user roles. You can create user profiles and select which blocks they can add.

2. 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.

3. Editor Blocks

Editor blocks for Gutenberg

Editor Blocks is another neat collection of Gutenberg blocks that you can use. It comes with useful blocks like author profile, hero image, pricing table, brands, features, and more.

FAQs about Gutenberg – The New Block Editor in WordPress

Since Gutenberg became the new WordPress editor, we have been getting a lot of questions. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Gutenberg.

1. 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 Gutenberg. You can still edit them, and Gutenberg will automatically open them in a block containing the classic editor.

Editing older articles in new WordPress editor

You can edit them inside the old editor, or you can convert older articles into blocks and use the new block editor.

2. 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 Classic Editor will be supported until 2022.

3. What to do if the new 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 new 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.

4. How to learn more Gutenberg tips and tricks?

WPBeginner is the best place to learn about the new 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 new block editor.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions, 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 new WordPress block editor. You may also want to see our complete WordPress performance guide for improving your website speed.

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.

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Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi. Trusted by over 1.3 million readers worldwide.

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189 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. Lisa Richardson says:
    Jan 3, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    Finally decided to learn the block editor. Wow! Why did I wait so long? I read this article, then started a new draft page using block editor. So easy. Once I get used to it and learn more writing new pages and post will be so easy and fun! To those still using classic editor, you really need to start learning and using block editor.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jan 4, 2021 at 11:24 am

      Glad you’re liking the block editor and we hope our guide can make the transition a little easier :)

      Reply
  2. Carla says:
    Dec 13, 2020 at 7:49 am

    I was wondering if there is a way to edit a block that has been used in multiple posts so that the changes would appear simultaneously?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Dec 14, 2020 at 11:32 am

      You would want to use a reusable block for what you’re wanting to do. You can see our guide on it below:

      https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-create-a-reusable-block-in-wordpress/

      Reply
  3. Marcel says:
    Dec 6, 2020 at 3:00 am

    why Gutenberg appears in the list of modules so that it can be installed if when you install WordPress the block editor is the default?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Dec 7, 2020 at 11:37 am

      There was a Gutenberg plugin for the block editor from before it was the default editor. You do not need to install the Gutenberg plugin to use the block editor anymore.

      Reply
  4. Naureen Amjad says:
    Nov 16, 2020 at 6:40 am

    Hi,

    Thanks for the detailed article.

    Some time ago, I deleted the block editor. How do I re-install it? there are so many Gutenberg plugins, can’t figure out which one is the default editor.

    Thanks for your help.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Nov 17, 2020 at 11:53 am

      You would want to disable the Classic editor plugin to use the Block editor on your site normally unless you are using a different plugin.

      Reply
  5. Muhmmad Humayoon says:
    Oct 11, 2020 at 2:29 am

    Sir, I have to format my text spacing like margin and padding. Which block I should Use?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Oct 12, 2020 at 11:12 am

      That would be CSS rather than a specific block, for a starting point you would want to take a look at our guide on inspect element below:

      https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/basics-of-inspect-element-with-your-wordpress-site/

      Reply
  6. James says:
    Sep 14, 2020 at 1:51 pm

    Awesome. Very detailed and helpful.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 15, 2020 at 1:21 pm

      Glad our guide was helpful :)

      Reply
  7. Steve says:
    Sep 2, 2020 at 12:10 am

    What is the best way to copy content from MS Word into the Block Editor?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 2, 2020 at 11:11 am

      You would want to take a look at our article covering this below:

      https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-import-docx-documents-in-wordpress/

      Reply
  8. Ayoola Efunkoya says:
    Aug 23, 2020 at 9:49 am

    Nice and helpful post. However, I am seriously looking for resources on how to use the new editor with screen readers. Please can you help?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Aug 25, 2020 at 10:22 am

      We do not have a recommendation at the moment but we will keep a look out.

      Reply
  9. Russ says:
    Aug 12, 2020 at 2:36 am

    When I open my page and go to edit it, it ALWAYS first has the block editor tutorial pop up. How do I make this annoying pop up go away permanently so I can just get to my editing?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Aug 12, 2020 at 10:40 am

      You may want to ensure that your browser is not preventing cookies from being set when you close that popup for one common reason.

      Reply
  10. Sameo says:
    Jul 2, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    From using this block editor, I realised that there is no way to send global font colour and size for the entire blog. It is super time consuming to change each individual blog.

    Is there a way around this ?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jul 7, 2020 at 11:10 am

      For that, you would need to use CSS. We cover CSS in our glossary page below:
      https://www.wpbeginner.com/glossary/css/

      Reply
  11. Joshua says:
    Jun 12, 2020 at 10:54 am

    How do I reduce the visible post by putting ‘read more’ where I want to keep hidden?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 15, 2020 at 11:56 am

      For that, you would use the More block :)

      Reply
  12. Colin Burch says:
    May 29, 2020 at 9:30 am

    Is there a way to index a block? Reduce its width?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 1, 2020 at 8:59 am

      It would depend on the specifics you are looking for when you say index. For the width, you can use CSS or columns as the most common methods for what you’re wanting to do.

      Reply
  13. Colin says:
    May 28, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    I did not see something I have used often. Example is I have paragraph block where I describe a scripture reference. Then I make another paragraph block to contain the scripture. I would like to indent the scripture block. How would I do that?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 29, 2020 at 9:18 am

      For the moment you should be able to use a classic block to add that indent :)

      Reply
      • Colin says:
        Jun 1, 2020 at 11:47 am

        Thanks for reply. Actually, decided to use the ‘quote’ block, though the ‘verse’ block would also work. Both give a little indent. The ‘quote’ puts a vertical bar also.

        Reply
        • WPBeginner Support says:
          Jun 2, 2020 at 9:09 am

          Glad you found a solution that works for you :)

  14. Nancy says:
    May 25, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    I’m just starting out on Word Press. Maybe this was the “right” time because I haven’t used the older version or gotten used to it. I’ll start right up w/ the new block editor. This guide was helpful. Thanks.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 27, 2020 at 9:08 am

      You’re welcome, glad our guide could be helpful :)

      Reply
  15. Ted Owen says:
    May 20, 2020 at 6:24 pm

    Thannks for such a wonderful article. And thanks for your patience. I tried Gutenberg for a brief period, but had difficulty with one important issue: images surrounded by text were right up against each other, no space at all. Tried to find a way to add padding, but couldn’t find it. So went back to Classic.

    But now your article shows how much more there is good about Gutenberg, that I’ll just ask you–how do you add padding (space) between an image and abutting text? If there is a current resolution, will return to Gutenberg in a short minute!

    Best, Ted

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 21, 2020 at 9:00 am

      You could use the media and text block for one method, you may also want to check with your theme’s support to ensure your theme’s styling isn’t part of the reason for this issue.

      Reply
      • Ted Owen says:
        May 21, 2020 at 2:28 pm

        Thank you. Will try it out next post.

        Reply
  16. Vatsalya Agnihotri says:
    May 13, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    Sir your blog is amazing, I want to ask that if I want to mark my post as featured post in the block editor then how can I do that plz sir tell me

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 14, 2020 at 9:07 am

      There should be a checkbox in the post’s settings for sticking the post to the top of the blog for what it sounds like you want

      Reply
  17. macide says:
    May 12, 2020 at 6:37 am

    Hi,,Thank you veyr much for your article.

    I was prejudiced against the new block editor at first but I am pleasantly surprised that it gives you many more option to transform your pages.

    My only problem is that the block editors shows all titles in uppercase at the front end, though the titles on published posts look as they should. Is there any way to fix this so I can see what I’m doing on the editor ?

    Thank you in advace.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 12, 2020 at 11:43 am

      We do not have a recommendation at this time but as the block editor improves it should start to look more like the front end of your site.

      Reply
  18. Kathleen says:
    Apr 8, 2020 at 2:24 pm

    I have WordPress dot com. I’m trying to use the block editor, but I can’t find where to enter tags and categories. It seems to have disappeared. Any tips? Thanks.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Apr 9, 2020 at 9:03 am

      That would be in the document settings, or you could check under the three verticle dots in the top right under options. Our tutorials are for self hosted installations so should the option not be available you would want to reach out to their support.

      Reply
  19. Shannon says:
    Mar 28, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    is there a document that tells me what all these blocks do?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Mar 30, 2020 at 9:14 am

      Not at the moment.

      Reply
  20. Sarah says:
    Mar 18, 2020 at 10:01 am

    I NEED IT OFF AND I NEED IT OFF NOW. I don’t have plugins, I don’t understand. There is no option for classic / a normal editor. How do you go back on the free version? Any time I try to use any plugin even free ones it says I need to upgrade to a paid version of wordpress to use any, even the free plugins, bizarre.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Mar 19, 2020 at 8:36 am

      That would be due to your site being on WordPress.com, you are limited to their options for the classic editor as there are differences in WordPress.com and WordPress.org:
      https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-free-wordpress-com-infograph/

      Reply
  21. Dave Tolbert says:
    Feb 18, 2020 at 1:13 pm

    Thanks for this article, it’s terrific. So far I like the block editor. But when I want to insert an image in a numbered list it seems that there is no control over where the image appears in the list. Is there a way to control where an image appears in a list block?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Feb 19, 2020 at 8:39 am

      If you’re having this issue with multiple blocks then you may want to try using a classic block for creating your list.

      Reply
  22. Neal Umphred says:
    Dec 4, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    Thanks for this easy-to-follow tutorial on Gutenberg.

    I just got to “Saving and Reusing Blocks in Gutenberg” and followed all the steps. I reached the page where I can manage my reusable blocks.

    Now, how do I get back to my editor?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Dec 5, 2019 at 10:49 am

      You would need to manually go back to the page through the posts/page admin area and edit the post again

      Reply
      • Neal Umphred says:
        Dec 5, 2019 at 11:27 am

        Thanks—that is what I did!

        Keep up the good work: This tutorial has helped me immensely in overcoming my fear of change from the Classic editor to the Gutenberg editor (a much more interesting and classy name that “block editor”).

        PS: If you have an in with the Gutenbergers, you might suggest they add a return-to-editor option on that reusable page.

        Reply
        • WPBeginner Support says:
          Dec 6, 2019 at 9:38 am

          GLad our article could help with your confidence in swapping to the new editor

  23. Senchibald says:
    Sep 15, 2019 at 4:41 am

    Dear,
    I have a problem with GUTENBERG block on wordpress. The block has suddenly become narrow, it is not all over the page and I do not have enough space. How to fix this problem?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 16, 2019 at 10:49 am

      To start, if it is not a block added by a plugin, you would want to reach out to your theme’s support to ensure this isn’t a styling error in the theme.

      Reply
  24. Lily Girma says:
    Sep 14, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    My blocks are all jumbled up when I try to create a new post and I can’t even write. Please help? I have everything updated so am not sure why it’s doing this. I am in Chrome.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 16, 2019 at 10:31 am

      There are a few possible reasons, to start with you could try a different browser to see if an addon or similar is causing a problem. If that doesn’t fix the block location you could check for a theme or plugin conflict using our guide here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-to-troubleshooting-wordpress-errors-step-by-step/

      Reply
  25. Steve Smith says:
    Aug 7, 2019 at 3:24 pm

    This new block system is awful.

    I can’t do the basic of having a thumbnail image to the left and a h2 heading text centred inline at the top next to it with a h4 heading below.
    This was the most basic of things to do with the old, superior system.
    I have the illusion of more control but the reality is I have more options that achieve less.

    I hope I can go back to classic style because this means i can’t add to my site anymore.

    Just appalling.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Aug 8, 2019 at 10:30 am

      It is a learning process for the new editor, for what you’re wanting you may want to try the column block to create that.

      Reply
  26. Karen Fontaine says:
    Jul 29, 2019 at 3:20 pm

    After reading the tutorial, and want to uninstall the plugin for classic editor. However, I have a post that was written in both classic and block–the fonts are different and it looks weird. When I switch to block view one of the blocks says “contains unexpected or invalid content”. And then asks to switch to HTML.
    If I uninstall the plugin will I have to recreate this content?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jul 30, 2019 at 9:38 am

      You will likely need to set up the content that was modified to HTML to get your styling back but for the most part, the content should still be there.

      Reply
  27. jill says:
    Jul 18, 2019 at 10:18 pm

    is there a comprehensive list of the block symbols and what each one does?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jul 22, 2019 at 11:38 am

      Not at the moment, as plugins add blocks there will also be more blocks in your list but the blocks should state their name below their symbol to give you an idea on what they’re used for :)

      Reply
  28. Annette Abrahamsen says:
    Jun 25, 2019 at 6:00 am

    This is a great intoduction! I’ve learned a lot.. :)
    However I can’t seem to find a guide on how to make a link block.
    I need to link from my site to another site just using a block with a link.
    The only option I get is to edit my permalink
    Any ideas, you guys??

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 26, 2019 at 10:36 am

      When you edit text in a paragraph block by highlighting it, you should be able to use the small new toolbar to add a link.

      Reply
  29. DaveM says:
    Jun 19, 2019 at 11:31 am

    First started using WP V2.6 way back in 2008, and converted my own developed php sites, to use WP as a CMS. It’s certainly come a long way since then. While Gutenberg certainly seems to provide far better work-flow UI, which is packet with goodies, where once you either had to code yourself, or adopt a plugin, I must admit, even as seasoned WP user, the new interface has me stumped more often than not. It’s just another learning curve. So thanks for introduction, tips and guidance. I’ll use this inform to get handle on it! Cheers.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 20, 2019 at 9:51 am

      Thanks for sharing how you feel about Gutenberg, as it improves hopefully it should get easier to use :)

      Reply
  30. Michael Lowing says:
    Jun 18, 2019 at 6:32 am

    I was pleased to find I could insert a table using the block editor. I populated the cells with codes each of which I wanted to link to media content. However, I could not see any easy way to do this. I could have linked to the URL in each case but this is long-winded. Obviously it would be better to be able to add media content directly from the block editor – have I been stupid and missed something?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 18, 2019 at 10:55 am

      For the moment that is a limitation with the table block, the closest would be creating a column block to insert media blocks as another option.

      Reply
  31. Jonathan says:
    Jun 15, 2019 at 5:00 pm

    Since I updated WordPress,I was alerted that “Connection lost” I disabled classic editor plugin before it was resolved. Please is there any way I can use the classic editor and disable the Block editor. Since the block came, my WordPress app always notify me of Generic error when I publish. what is the problem of the app too?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 17, 2019 at 11:42 am

      You would want to reach out to the app’s support and let them know about that issue for them to take a look into what could be the issue.

      Reply
  32. Curt Byers says:
    Jun 10, 2019 at 3:44 pm

    This was an incredibly helpful tutorial.

    But I don’t think I saw a solution to my inability to center title text. Which is ridiculous.

    But the side bar format options you get with Headings, which have a CENTER option disappears with Title and the overhead format bar, which with Images has a CENTER option too. also disappears. This is the most important and visible feature on a page and WordPress has seemed to go out of its way to prevent a very common formatting choice. Any help? Thanks again for your service to the WordPress community.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 11, 2019 at 10:10 am

      If you do not see the option to center the text then you should be able to click the three dots in the top right to enable the top toolbar. With that enabled, you should have the option to center the text in the paragraph block while the block is selected.

      Reply
  33. stephen hart says:
    Jun 5, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    Is there an easy way to navigate between blocks on a page. For example if I am reading something in the first block on the page and next want to go to a block further down the page is there an easy way to jump to a different block or do you just have to scroll down the page?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 6, 2019 at 10:28 am

      For the moment you would want to scroll down the page

      Reply
  34. Jeffrey Christian says:
    May 31, 2019 at 8:12 pm

    I loathe the new formatting of WP, so much that I am changing my blog host. This is not more user friendly. I used to be able to post easily, then add a video from my library. Now, it defaults to the new block format, which is dreadful, and which I can’t change, and when I frustratingly finish the blog post, I can’t add my video media. WP is always updating to make blogging a more infuriating experience. What a shame.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Jun 3, 2019 at 11:22 am

      If you would like to stay on WordPress there is the option to revert to the classic editor using the method in our article here:
      https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-disable-gutenberg-and-keep-the-classic-editor-in-wordpress/

      Reply
    • Nesdon says:
      Jun 16, 2019 at 7:24 pm

      Although this infuriating problem is universal to all software UIs. It often feels like as soon as you get up on to the flat part of the learning curve, they update the UI and throw another climb in your face.

      I guess knowing how long to wait and how far to push design changes is the key to acceptance of progress among the user base. Indeed, Gutenberg is a tall step that some folks will not want to climb. But there were so many inscrutable legacy elements that they put off addressing for so long, it may have been unavoidable.

      I’m struggling as well, especially dealing with older sites using lots of shortcodes, but hoping once I get over the hump, there will be a beautiful wide meadow on the other side.

      Reply
  35. Larry Dean says:
    May 30, 2019 at 1:51 pm

    I think it would be useful to have the ability to save a group of blocks as one and not just the individual blocks. That way, once you have your post page like you want it, it can be reused. This would be particularly useful for those of us who don’t really change the structure of each post and don’t really need that degree of flexibility.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 31, 2019 at 10:11 am

      That could certainly be something to look into for the future as Gutenberg improves :)

      Reply
  36. A O'Brien says:
    May 29, 2019 at 7:36 pm

    Hi! Is there a way to change the size of a cover block? I want it to be a half page width so I can have two next to each other but can’t find anything to support this.

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 30, 2019 at 10:22 am

      You may want to use the column block for what it sounds like you’re wanting.

      Reply
  37. RK says:
    May 27, 2019 at 6:54 am

    Is there an option to disable blocks and revert back to the old editor format?

    Gutenberg Block sucks, and I don’t want to compromise the quality and speed of my work while they spend the next couple of years improving it.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 28, 2019 at 2:09 pm

      You can revert to the classic editor using one of the plugins in our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-disable-gutenberg-and-keep-the-classic-editor-in-wordpress/

      Reply
  38. BOSS says:
    May 23, 2019 at 3:44 pm

    The block is actually still rubbish. how to change block height??????

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 24, 2019 at 9:56 am

      The block editor is slowly trying to improve, your block should change its height based on the content added in the block

      Reply
  39. Danielle says:
    May 18, 2019 at 11:44 pm

    I’m a total newb to WP and I am currently using the 2019 theme. All I’m trying to do is add an excerpt so that the full posts don’t show up on the home page. For the life of me I can’t figure out how to do this. I tried using the “excerpt” text box found in the right nav of the document editor. Any help here would be great. Thanks!

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 20, 2019 at 1:43 pm

      The theme may not support excerpts, you could try adding the more block or the read more depending on if you’re using the classic or block editor to see if that solved the issue

      Reply
    • David Brittan says:
      Jul 3, 2019 at 3:36 pm

      Danielle, maybe you want the “More” tool, listed under Layout Elements. It lets you add a “Continue reading” link after the first (or whichever) paragraph of a post.

      Reply
  40. nick says:
    May 15, 2019 at 7:11 am

    Is there a way to reduce space between two blocks?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 15, 2019 at 11:13 am

      If you mean on the front end of your site, you would normally need to edit that using CSS

      Reply
  41. Lori | Choosing Wisdom says:
    May 13, 2019 at 1:21 pm

    When I look at my paragraph block I don’t see the same options as you’ve shown here. I can’t change the color of a font and there are preset colors in the color settings under custom styles for background colors. Is there something I need to turn on to access this option in the paragraph block?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 13, 2019 at 2:29 pm

      You shouldn’t need to enable anything, you may want to ensure a plugin or your theme isn’t removing these options

      Reply
  42. jeff says:
    May 8, 2019 at 5:11 pm

    I inserted a hyperlink on a phrase and I want to change the font color for that phrase. how do I do that? please help

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 9, 2019 at 11:36 am

      If only for that specific phrase, you would need to edit the text as HMTL to add styling to that phrase at the moment

      Reply
  43. Anne says:
    May 7, 2019 at 7:28 am

    Hello!
    I created a column block with 3 columns. Added content and everything was distributed across the page width equally. Then I added a 4th column and now the column block no longer distributes across the entire page width. It’s seems like it has “squooshed” (sorry, can’t think of a better word right now), all 4 columns and shrunk the info as well. I tried various alignments for each individual column and it still would not spread the entire block back out. Hope this makes sense and hope you can help. Thanks!!

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 7, 2019 at 10:38 am

      It sounds like what you added to your largest column has a minimum width that is not allowing the content to adjust which would be the root of your problem.

      Reply
  44. Mark Watts says:
    May 6, 2019 at 2:03 pm

    I’m struggling with the Gutenberg block editor. Heres a couple of questions but there will surely be many more to come.

    How do I add a pdf document so it opens when I click a link? Used to create and highlight the link text then select “add media” and all worked fine.

    When I try to add a link from within the paragraph block I no longer see a list of possible pages and posts so that I can chose. How do I get this list.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 6, 2019 at 2:54 pm

      You would manually need to take the link from the document in your media library unless you wanted to embed it. In the paragraph block, there is the link button which is third from the right, as you type into it the dropdown should appear

      Reply
  45. Tuan says:
    May 2, 2019 at 4:21 am

    This upgrade so stupid. I spent more time to write. Haiz

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 2, 2019 at 10:52 am

      Learning a new interface can certainly be troublesome but as the interface improves it should slowly become better to use :)

      Reply
  46. Jennifer says:
    May 1, 2019 at 1:35 pm

    I’ve searched and can’t find an applicable answer to my issue, so I’m hoping you can help me.

    I upgraded to the new block system for our website this past week. I need to find and copy the url for one of our buttons (it’s a redirect to PayPal), but I can’t find the url anywhere.

    There’s no “edit button” when I hover over the button in the block. I checked the html and couldn’t find it there, either – the only thing I could see were the image files for the button itself.

    Clicking on the button live still redirects correctly, so I know the link is working – I just can’t find it.

    Any advice?

    Thanks!

    Jennifer

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 2, 2019 at 10:35 am

      When you select the block there should be the block settings on the right-hand side where you would find the link settings for where the button links to if it was transferred as an image. If it is a button block then there should be the url beneath the button where you can edit it.

      Reply
  47. Franklyn Fosu says:
    Apr 18, 2019 at 8:11 pm

    Please help me resolve the “Update failed” issue when trying to publish my articles using the Gutenberg.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Apr 19, 2019 at 11:02 am

      To start, you would want to go through the steps in our troubleshooting guide: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-to-troubleshooting-wordpress-errors-step-by-step/
      For a temporary workaround, you could also enable the classic editor plugin and reach out to the support for Gutenberg.

      Reply
  48. Carlos Goncalves says:
    Apr 17, 2019 at 1:41 pm

    How to use the new advanced Css option. I Tried to put some code there, but It´s not run.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Apr 18, 2019 at 11:28 am

      That is for adding a class to the object, you would want to take a look at our explanation of CSS to understand classes better: https://www.wpbeginner.com/glossary/css/ :)

      Reply
  49. Candi Clark says:
    Apr 16, 2019 at 2:35 pm

    On the top right of my block edit page, it doesn’t say publish. The button says update. When I click that button it says page has updated but when I go take a look at it on my website it hasn’t changed. Did something not upgrade correctly to have that button not say publish?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Apr 17, 2019 at 11:18 am

      You may want to check any caching that you have on your site that could be causing the problem.

      Reply
  50. Jim Kielbaso says:
    Apr 13, 2019 at 1:51 pm

    How do I go back to the old version? There was nothing wrong with it, and this version does not add anything. In fact, it makes it MUCH more confusing. It is NOT user-friendly, and it has been very frustrating. Upgrades should only be made to improve something, not just for the sake of changing.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Apr 15, 2019 at 12:44 pm

      The new editor was created to help those new to WordPress have less of a barrier to entry. For those who prefer the old editor, there is the Classic Editor plugin and we explain that plugin in our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-disable-gutenberg-and-keep-the-classic-editor-in-wordpress/

      Reply
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