What Is a Block in WordPress? The Editor Explained
Every paragraph, image and button is a block with its own settings. Once you understand the block, the list view and patterns, the rest of the editor stops feeling arbitrary.
A block is one piece of content with its own settings. A paragraph is a block. An image is a block. A button, a heading, a table, a video embed — each is a block you can select, move and configure independently.
That is the entire idea. Everything else in the editor is a consequence of it.
The three places settings live
When a block is selected:
- The toolbar above it — the frequent actions: alignment, bold, link, transform into another block type.
- The sidebar on the right — everything else: colour, typography, spacing, and block-specific options. Press the settings icon if it is hidden.
- The options menu (three dots) — duplicate, insert before or after, group, lock, copy, remove.
If you cannot find a setting, it is almost always in the sidebar under a collapsed panel.
Blocks worth knowing
| Block | Use |
|---|---|
| Paragraph | Body text — the default |
| Heading | Section structure, h2 to h6 |
| Image | A single image with caption and link options |
| Gallery | Several images in a grid |
| List | Bulleted or numbered |
| Quote / Pullquote | Quoted text |
| Button | A call to action, styled by the theme |
| Columns | Side-by-side layout |
| Group | Wraps blocks so they share background and spacing |
| Cover | An image or colour background with content over it |
| Table | Tabular data |
| Custom HTML | Raw markup — see how to add code to a page |
| Spacer / Separator | Vertical space and dividers |
| Embed | Video, social posts, maps from a pasted URL |
Group and Columns are the layout tools
Most layout questions are answered by these two.
Group wraps several blocks into one unit. Give the group a background colour and padding, and everything inside inherits the container — the standard way to build a highlighted section.
Columns splits horizontally. Each column is itself a container you can put blocks into. Check the mobile behaviour: columns stack by default, and the stacking order is the source order.
A common structure:
Group (background colour, padding)
└── Columns
├── Column: Heading + Paragraph + Button
└── Column: Image
The list view is the fix for fiddly selection
Click the list view icon in the top toolbar. It shows the block structure as a tree — which is far easier than clicking around trying to select a parent group.
From the list view you can drag blocks to reorder, select a container reliably, and see nesting at a glance. On any page more complex than a few paragraphs, it saves more time than anything else in the interface.
Keyboard and speed
/at the start of an empty paragraph opens a quick block search — type/imageand press enter.- Enter creates a new paragraph; Shift+Enter makes a line break within one.
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Dduplicates the selected block.- Escape selects the block you are editing, so arrow keys move between blocks.
- Paste from a document and WordPress converts headings and lists into the right blocks automatically.
Patterns and synced patterns
A pattern is a pre-built arrangement of blocks — a hero section, a pricing table, a testimonial row. Insert one and edit it freely; the copy is independent.
A synced pattern stays linked to its source. Edit it once and every page using it updates. Right for a call-to-action or a notice that must stay identical; wrong for a section you want to customise per page.
Create either by selecting blocks and choosing Create pattern from the options menu. In a block theme they are managed under Appearance → Editor → Patterns — see what is a WordPress block theme.
How blocks are stored
Block content is plain HTML in the post, annotated with comments:
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Ordinary HTML, with a comment marking the block.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
Two useful consequences. Content stays readable and portable — if a block plugin is removed, the HTML remains rather than leaving a shortcode stub. And a block that shows "this block contains unexpected or invalid content" usually just means the markup was edited by hand and no longer matches what the block expects; Attempt block recovery in the warning normally fixes it.
If the editor is giving you trouble
- Blocks missing from the inserter — the plugin providing them is inactive.
- The editor will not load at all — usually JavaScript or the REST API, per Site Editor not loading.
- You would rather have the old editor — see how to restore the classic editor.
- Changes do not appear on the front end — caching, per WordPress changes not showing.
Frequently asked
- In the post content, as ordinary HTML wrapped in block comments. Nothing is stored in a separate table, which is why block content stays readable if the block is ever removed.
- A pattern inserts a copy you then edit freely. A synced pattern — formerly a reusable block — stays linked, so editing it changes every place it appears.
- No. The classic editor can be restored with a plugin, though core development targets the block editor and new features arrive there first.