Enjoy a Smoother Experience with the Updated Block Editor
The block editor keeps getting better, so you can create pages and posts more efficiently (and have more fun doing it!).
Little details make a big difference. The latest block editor improvements incorporate some common feedback you’ve shared with us and make the editing experience even more intuitive than before.
We’ve also updated the categories we use to organize blocks, so you can find exactly what you need, fast. Read on to learn about recent changes you’ll notice next time you open the editor.
Move on quickly after citations and captions
Have you ever felt as if you were stuck inside a block after adding a citation? Now, when you hit Enter or Return at the end of the citation, you’ll be ready to start typing in a new text block.
Quotes, images, embeds, and other blocks now offer this smoother experience. It’s a small change that will save you a little bit of time, but those seconds add up, and less frustration is priceless.
Streamlined heading selection
Another subtle-yet-helpful change we’ve introduced is simplified heading levels. Before, the block toolbar included a few limited options with additional ones in the sidebar. Now, you can find all available heading levels right in the block toolbar, and adjust the heading directly from the block you’re working on. (For even more simplicity, we’ve also removed the dropdown in the sidebar.)
Select a parent block with ease
Working with nested blocks to create advanced page layouts is now considerably smoother. Some users told us it was too difficult to select a parent block, se we’ve added an easier way to find it right from the toolbar. Now it’s a breeze to make picture-perfect layouts!
Filter your latest posts by author
Sites and blogs with multiple authors will love this update: you can now choose a specific author to feature in the Latest Posts block.
To highlight recent articles from a particular writer, just select their name in the block’s settings.
Renamed block categories
Finally, the next time you click the + symbol to add a new block, you’ll notice new, intuitive block categories that make it both easier and faster to find just the block you’re looking for.
What’s new:
- Text
- Media
- Design
What’s gone:
- Common
- Formatting
- Layout
You keep building, we’ll keep improving
Thank you for all your input on how the block editor can be better! We’re listening. If you have more ideas, leave a comment below.
👋 Happy editing!
- June 18, 2020
- Better Blogging, blocks, Editing, Features, WordPress.com
WordPress.com News 
Yes, it is true. The experience with the Updated Block Editor is smoother now. Thank you a lot. WordPress team is superb! We love you…
LikeLiked by 17 people
Hi – Not a suggestion. But to say I’m enjoying getting to know the Block editor. I do love how the toolbar opens with the block, rather than having to highlight & scroll up and down. Has made blogging easier. Thank you. ☺
LikeLiked by 15 people
I love the improvements and I am very appreciative of your responsiveness to user feedback. Your explanations and examples of how to use the updated, improved features are very helpful. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 17 people
Unfortunately, there’s still one BIG disadvantage:
in the old editor I had ALL the necessary buttons (in two lines) on top of the editing page. With the new editor I have to move around all over the place, and still some of the old functions are not available at all!
In addition to that:
I only have a very limited selection of font colours.
I can’t format an indented text or one with bullet points as “italics” plus “coloured” at the same time.
Sorry to say: I’m trying very hard, but for me the new editor is not an improvement at all. To give you guys at WordPress the benefit of doubt, though, I’ll still try to use the new editor.
LikeLiked by 55 people
Thanks for trying to keep an open mind! We’re doing our best to make a better editor for everyone 🙂
There’s a “Top Toolbar” option if you don’t like the floating toolbar in the content area.
It should be possible to have a bullet list with italics and colored text. You can also select “Custom color” to pick any text color you like.
What other functionality do you miss when you use the block editor?
As a last resort, you can use the “Classic” block to have the classic editor experience if you still prefer it. I hope that helps!
LikeLiked by 22 people
Is there any way to save custom colours once used, Jon Surrell? I’m steering away from custom as like to keep things recognisable to folk who visit my blog. And have to agree that I am a little disappointed that the standard colour palette is smaller. But it’s not a big issue for me.
LikeLiked by 16 people
That’s a great idea! I’ve opened a request for that feature. Hopefully I’ll be able to post here soon announcing it 😁
LikeLiked by 11 people
Ooh, thank you so much. That would be brilliant.😃
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hi, as a totally blind screen reader user I find the new block editor hard to use. I like the classic editor better and continue to use it. I like having all the buttons all in a row up and down and I like being able to know just where I am and what I’m doing.
As to being grateful for the listening ability of those making changes to WordPress, well, no. I don’t find them very good listeners at all.
LikeLiked by 30 people
Patty, thanks for your valuable feedback. The WordPress project is committed to being as inclusive and accessible as possible. I’ll reach out to you privately so we can find ways to help you and others facing similar challenges.
LikeLiked by 8 people
With the old editor we had two tabs, Visual and Text. Less is not more. We need three tabs now! Visual, Text, and Block. I don’t care which one you make the default. Newbees and Adventurers will dive into your evolving Blocks, But all of us veterans just want to get our work done without the ever changing new fangled way of doing things with its ever confusing new learning curve!
LikeLiked by 42 people
I’m afraid I’m on the side of those who preferred the original editor. I simply don’t have the time to learn the new block editor and get to grips with it. I’m going to stick to the original as long as it’s possible.
LikeLiked by 54 people
Likewise.
LikeLiked by 12 people
I’m still getting used to the block editor. It would be nice to be able to create and lock in a custom colour. I’m having to input that information every time.
LikeLiked by 20 people
With the block editor I found that my pics had to be a certain size before they could be used as a header pic. That was super annoying! If there was a way to increase my pics to the required size, I couldn’t see it. I don’t know if that has since changed, but I continue to use the old editor because it’s just seems so much simpler all round. For a more sophisticated blog than mine, maybe the extra bells and whistles work well.
LikeLiked by 9 people
I wish there were a larger “basic” font color palette to choose colors from without going to all the trouble of finding a “custom” color and then trying to make sure later in my post when I want a blue or gold font or whatever that I’m actually using the same color. Maybe I am missing something but the palette you have seems very limited unless I switch to the custom color. Once I do that, later in the post when I want to highlight a phrase with the same color choice I have to go back to where I last used that custom color to identify where I landed on the “custom color” coordinates. I am not very good at this stuff, so let me know if I am missing something, or just make a bigger palette, maybe like what pops up on a MS Word or Google document tool bar for font color selection or background shading.
Ok, one more thing. Is there a way to do “call out” quotes — i.e., not in the body of the text but on right or left margin, separate from the body of text or main text flow?
By the way, I really like the media tool that mixes text and image in the same block, with some standard layout options. Very easy to use and nice design option. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 10 people
If we try the new block editor and don’t like it, can we revert back to the classic editor, and if yes, what are the steps to do that?
LikeLiked by 11 people
Absolutely! There’s an option to “Switch to Classic Editor.” You can find it in the “More tools & options” menu– look for three vertical dots in the top right of the block editor. There’s more information about the different editors in this support document.
LikeLiked by 8 people
I’ve been using the Block Editor since April 2019. You did a lot of tweaking the last few months and it seems better now and less buggy, but I do have one question. I switched to Firefox browser and use it exclusively for writing posts – nothing more, just dedicated to writing posts. I understand Firefox is the best browser to use. I often use a lot of photos (I write a blog about walking and the nature I see along the way). Many times I will try to preview the post to ensure the right-hand margin is justified (you can’t tell anymore while in draft) and that I have centered all my photos, and the preview does not work. It says “sorry, not available” – today it happened twice and usually I go to Chrome just to preview and today it did not work there either and I got the same message. I was just doing a draft, so will check later, but want to mention it.
LikeLiked by 5 people
I’m not super interested in learning the new block editor. It’s just a tool. What really counts on my blog is the quality of the writing and photos in blog posts. No mechanical tool replaces writing style and contextual precision in ideas and opinions. The blog platform is an online platform to house my wordsmithing and provide access to others to read if they wish.
LikeLiked by 18 people
re: font colors. I’ve have the opposite reaction to some commenters above. I’m really excited about the wide color range now offered. It’s just a matter of learning how to access the palette. However, I do jot down the color number, as I can’t always get back to the identical color later, should I want to switch back to the default and then use the colored ink again farther down. Typing in the color number works fine.
I wish I could justify a whole doc at once rather than block by block, but that’s a minor point. I do think the Classic editor worked best for straight writing like a longer article.
LikeLiked by 10 people
An option to have blocks outlined when you’re working on them or hover over them would be great. That’s one thing I do miss. Otherwise, keep up the good work.
LikeLiked by 7 people
I tried to get familiar with the new Block Editor and it was quite a frustrating experience. I don´t see any advantages compared to the “old fashion” editor – maybe when, say, you run a company page and build most of your posts in a repeating fashion, I wondered? Idk but I still think if you don´t understand a software within some hours it´s not an improvement. Sorry I´ve to say so.
LikeLiked by 12 people
Thanks Jon. I found that so useful. Being new on wordpress I have been learning, sometimes by trial and error to use the block. It has been quite straight forward, after watching the tutorials, but it does take a little practice. However, I think I am meeting with success! [zerotohero]
LikeLiked by 9 people
Thanks as always for the improvements. Could you clarify, please. Are we talking about the core WP Block Editor or the Gutenberg plugin (v8.3)? As someone else pointed out in the forums, naming conventions, and our use of them, really needs to be more precise.
Since you mentioned the Top Toolbar in your reply to another commenter, I’d absolutely love if that option was sticky rather than me needing to enable it every single time I open the Block Editor.
LikeLiked by 9 people
I like to think about the improvements to the block editor experience, which may come in a variety of ways. These particular features are part of the 8.3 version of the Gutenberg plugin.
When I enable the top toolbar in my editor, it does maintain the setting 🤔
If you reach out with more details, we can figure out why your setup is behaving differently.
LikeLiked by 4 people
The Preformatted block is great for poetry, however the editor displays a monofont while the preview renders in your theme’s chosen font, which does affect the spacing of things if you are intent on lining things up vertically in your text. Any way to have the editor use the theme’s font?
LikeLiked by 9 people
The Preformatted should use a monospace font. It may be an issue with your theme, what theme are you using? You might also like the Verse block, which is similar but intended for usage like poetry 🙂
LikeLiked by 5 people
I envy you guys. You have so much knowledge about this blog thing. I am just getting started. I just posted my 3rd blog. Practice makes perfect.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I’m getting used to the block editor now, but I realise that I may have missed something. Is there a way of having the font size stay at your chosen size for following blocks, rather than it reverting to ‘default’ in new blocks? I’d like to be able to set a font size for the whole post.
LikeLiked by 4 people
i had a little trouble getting to Tags and Categories in the Block editor so i usually go back to Classic editor where it’s easier. Similarly, when there is more than one person working on a post each using different editors (Block and Classic) it can be mighty confusing and time consuming. Accessing the latest edited post and converting it to the editor you are using is where time is consumed.
LikeLiked by 6 people
I still feel a bit apprehensive about it but increased use is making it easier. Find it awkward that you can’t delete a rogue block until you’ve written something in it. Also, more control over font choice in a block heading would be helpful. Despite this, it’s still getting better to use than the previous version.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I’ve been using Classic Editor for 9 years. I tried switch to using Block Editor however it alters the layout of my previous 245 posts. It doesn’t automatically change posts created in Classic to Block style. Instead it seems to scramble paragraphs and overall layout. Visually it’s a mess. I don’t have any interest in recreating all of my older posts in Block Editor. Is there a way for us established bloggers to transition from Classic to Block Editor without messing up the layout of many years worth of blog posts?
LikeLiked by 11 people
I loathe the block editor. It breaks my flow. I want simple and intuitive and the block editor is neither. It feels like using nested tables to format websites back in the ’90s. Clunky and awkward. Just let me type in rich text and add code in HTML. The block editor messes with affiliate links like nothing I’ve ever encountered. Not that I’m using them at the moment, but you know, I would like the option.
Right now I’m on the, “never enable this nonsense” side of the fence.
LikeLiked by 12 people
The handful of times I’ve tried to use the block editor I just became totally frustrated and lost. It does not feel intuitive and I can’t easily identify the same editing tools from the classic format. For what I do, I’m not even sure it really makes any difference. I’ll stick with the old editor, thanks!
LikeLiked by 12 people
In the past the scheduling calendar showed if we had posts scheduled on each day. This is not working now. For those who post in advance it was a most helpful feature. Will it return?
LikeLiked by 7 people
Jon, I have to congratulate WordPress on introducing the block editor to its users. I love using it and would never go back to using the classic editor. For me, you’ve taken blogging to a new level.
One thing I do miss, though, is the colour palettes that were available when wanting to choose a background or text colour in a particular bock. Now, I’m having to spend more time trying to get the right colour. And it’s so difficult to find the exact colour I’ve used in blocks on previous posts so that I can use the precise colour again on a new post. I’d love to see the basic colour palettes back as an option for users? Is there any chance that can be arranged?
LikeLiked by 8 people
Thanks! We really appreciate the positive feedback as well as the suggestion for improvement.
Several folks have mentioned that custom colors are cumbersome so I requested that feature.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Some things are great with the new editor and I am beginning to enjoy using it.
One big issue that needs to be addressed is that we cannot see the scheduled posts on the calendar like in the previous editor. I simply cannot do without it as I schedule many posts in advance and end up putting wrong dates on everything.
Please get this feature into the new editor before the old one goes away!
LikeLiked by 6 people
This is a good idea, it’s really helpful to see those other posts when planning a schedule. This feature has already been requested, so I hope it will come to the block editor soon!
LikeLiked by 4 people
I used the block editor for one of my posts. Used columns and lots of other new blocks and formatting. Quite a few of my readers use a feed reader – which strips out most of that stuff. In the final analysis, the block editor lets you do things that won’t be seen by many of your readers.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Yes I am loving the new Editor!!
LikeLiked by 4 people
Tried it. Got stressed out. Switched back to Classic.
I was worried it’d be difficult to swap back, but took only a couple of clicks, so worth giving this new Block Editor a go if anyone’s curious.
Those who like the new Block Editor, feel free to enjoy.
LikeLiked by 7 people
I wrote my last entry entirely with the block editor. Now that I know how to, I’ll be switching back to the Classic editor. I much prefer it.
LikeLiked by 10 people
I love the upgrades and I am extremely energetic about your responsiveness to client input. Your clarifications and instances of how to utilize the refreshed, improved highlights are extremely useful. Much obliged to you!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Good work.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I’ve had a blog on WordPress since 2012. There have been a few things I didn’t like, but I could make it work. Since the change over I’ve lost posts and it locks up on me. I have to close out and come back in to continue typing. I’ve cried, cussed, and given up on numerous occasions. I’m thinking about changing platforms.
LikeLiked by 7 people
That sounds really frustrating. Keeping your content safe is extremely important to us, and we work on every version of the block editor to make it more stable and faster.
Please reach out right away if you think you’ve lost content! We may be able to help you recover it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi – I have one other suggestion.
In the classic editor the word count is visible on any device. I use android, due to my cognitive function being affected by chronic illness, and have just discovered it’s no longer visible in the Block Editor via android. Can ‘word count’ be put forward for consideration to be reintroduced across devices please? It’s an important detail to have access to. Or it will mean switching between editors for folk in my situation.
Thanks so much.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Word count is missing right now, but I’m happy to say it will be coming soon! It’s planned to be part of the July 13 release of the Android app, so get ready to update 😄
LikeLiked by 6 people