The following guide will cover some of the frequently asked questions regarding changes to your editing experience.
In this guide
Technology is always updating. The Block Editor takes advantage of the latest technology to help you build media-rich, mobile responsive, and unique websites.
It is entirely understandable that after years of using a specific workflow to create your content, a completely different editing experience can be very disruptive. The Block Editor first launched in December 2018, and we have been iterating on feedback from people using it ever since.
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Did you know all of the guides here on this Support site are written and maintained using the Block Editor?
We want to devote our full energy to ensuring the block editor will work well for you and use all the features you need, so we have made the difficult decision to push forward and focus on it.
However, we didn’t want to force an abrupt transition to the Block Editor. You continue to have access to the WordPress Classic Editor experience to allow you more time to adapt your workflows to the WordPress Block Editor.
You can replicate the experience of the Classic Editor inside of the block editor by using the Classic block. Here’s how it looks:
To add a Classic block, click on the + block inserter and search for ‘classic’ like so:
For more, visit our detailed instructions on adding blocks.
Nothing at all will happen to your content. Your existing content will be preserved in Classic blocks.
Classic Block
Change is hard! Especially when you have an established workflow that you’ve never had an issue with.
The Block Editor is designed around the concept that each piece of content is arranged in a dedicated block.
For example, to add a banner image with text and a button, you would add a Cover block with a Paragraph block and a Buttons block.
Here’s an example of the Cover Block:
The WordPress Block Editor
Learn More: https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/
Some important notes:
- Your existing content is preserved in Classic Blocks. A Classic Block is a slimmed-down version of the Classic Editor.
- You can build new pages and posts using the Block Editor, or use the Classic Block in a new page or post.
- You can test out the Block Editor on this site without the stress of trying to create content or edit what you already have – https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/
- Explore a preview of how different blocks look by using the Block Selector in the top ribbon of the Block Editor
- Use Block Patterns to start with a group of blocks already laid out for you.
Select the text you want to justify, and hit the key combination Alt + Shift + J on a PC or CTRL + Option + J on a Mac to justify the text.
Add a Paragraph block and write what you want to justify. Then, select the down arrow in the Block options toolbar above the block to choose the Justify option.
You have a lot of options when it comes to adding and aligning images in your page or post. There’s the standard Image block, for single images, and Media & Text for aligning images next to text, image galleries, and an option to add an inline image to your Paragraph block.
Click the Plus icon to open the block selector and search the word Image to find all the different image blocks you can add.
Looking to wrap text around an image?
Add an Image block and a paragraph block. When you align the image left or right using the change alignment option above the image, the paragraph text below will wrap around the image.
You can also use the blue dot on the side of the image to resize it to fit perfectly with the text wrapping around it.
In the Classic Editor, you just started typing to add your content. You clicked a button above the editor to add media, you highlighted text to left, right, justify, or center align it. It was so simple!
The look may have changed, but that functionality is the same. If you want to add content, you can start typing your text, and that’s automatically a Paragraph block. If you want to add an image, you can click the plus icon above the editor to add an image block. To align your text, highlight the text and click the alignment options above the block.
In addition to that core functionality, you also have features that let you expand your website’s design – but only if you want to! For example, you can add a Columns block so you can create multiple columns of content. You can set blocks to full width to use the entire available space of a theme. You can links to your social media networks with the Social Links block.
Here’s an example of a two column block with a heading in one block and social links in the other.
Follow Me on Social Media
- Click on the List View icon with three horizontal lines in the top left of the editor.
- Click on Outline.
The Outline section shows the title, headings, number of characters, and word count.
The spell checker built into the Classic Editor was removed in favor of the spell checker built into most modern browsers.
Google Chrome
- Type chrome://settings/ in your browser address bar to open Chrome’s settings
- Click Advanced to open the Languages setting section
- Make sure Spell check is on, and click the down arrow to check that the language being used is English
Safari
- Open Safari, then open the Edit menu from the top of the screen.
- Find “Spelling and Grammar” and hover your cursor over it.
- Ensure that “Check Spelling While Typing” is turned on (if it’s turned on, it will have a checkmark). Click the option to turn it on/off.
Firefox or Microsoft
On the right side of the Block Editor is a Settings menu. When you’re editing a specific block, the menu’s focus is on the Block Settings, but there is a tab to switch to the Page/Post settings where Featured Image, Categories, Tags, Post Slug, and more can be found.
If you don’t see the menu on the right side, look for the Settings icon at your editor’s top right. Click the icon to open the Settings menu.
There are a few tricks you can use to optimize your Block Editor workflow.
As you become familiar with the blocks you use most frequently, you can save time by using the forward-slash (/) on your keyboard to bring up the block options. Start typing in a block name and see the list filter to blocks that match. Hit enter to insert the block.
When you create a new page, you can select from a group of premade layouts. Select a design and the blocks will be inserted into the page with example text. Then, all you have to do is replace the text with your own.
Block Patterns are available in both Pages and Posts. They’re groups of blocks that create a unique look. Select a block pattern and replace the content with your own. You can use multiple block patterns on a page or post.
If you’re running into issues publishing or accessing the Block Editor that you didn’t have with the Classic Editor, nine times out of ten, the problem is resolved by clearing your browser’s cookies and cache.
However, we’re here to help! If clearing your browser’s cookies/cache didn’t resolve the problem, contact our Happiness Engineers for assistance.
