the Urban Dater is powered by WordPress. WordPress, since version 5.0, uses an updated editing experience called the block editor. Within the wider WordPress community, this editor is sometimes referred to as Gutenberg, the project name it was given when development began on this editor.

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Blocks and the editor

Everything you see on a page built with the block editor is, well, a block! This text, here, that you're reading? It's a block. If it can exist on a page, WordPress considers it a block.

Top Menu Options

Add Blocks – browse all of the available blocks, block patterns, and reusable blocks.

Modes – Tools offer different interactions for block selection & editing. To select, press Escape, to go back to editing, press Enter.

Undo and Redo – Undo an action, or redo an undone action.

Details – the number of characters, words, headings, paragraphs, and blocks used in the document.

Outline – a list view of all of the blocks used on the page. Useful for navigating to different blocks.

Before you’ve published your page or post, you will see these options:

Save draft – save a draft of your page or post
Preview – see what your page/post looks like with the theme applied.
Publish – publish your page/post.

After you’ve published your page or post, you will see these options:

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Switch to draft – unpublish a page or post and switch it to a draft.
Preview – see what your page/post looks like with the theme applied.
Update – update your published page/post with the newly added content.

Settings – display or hide the Page, Document, and Block Settings sidebar menu.

Global Styles – if you’re using a Theme that supports Global Styles, this option allows you to change font styles for your entire site.

Jetpack – allows you to turn on/off likes and sharing for individual pages and posts, preview your social sharing, and get the Shortlink to your page or post.

Options – opens View options, Editor style, and additional tools.

WordPress Editor Sidebar Menu

The Settings, Global Styles, and Jetpack icons in the top menu open different sidebar menus.

If you don’t see a sidebar menu when you’re in the Block Editor, click one of the three icons in the Top Menu next to the Publish/Update button.

Settings

The Settings sidebar menu includes your Page/Document settings:

• Status & visibility
• Permalink
• Featured Image
• Excerpt
• Discussion options
• Page Attributes

When you click on a specific block, the Settings sidebar menu includes additional Block settings specific to each block type.

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Global Styles

The Global Styles sidebar allows you to change the default fonts used for the Headings and Base fonts throughout your entire site.

Jetpack

The Jetpack sidebar menu allows you to:

• Adjust the Likes and Sharing on individual posts/pages. Click here to learn more about changing Likes and Sharing options across your site.
• Get your page/post short link
• On the WordPress Business and eCommerce plans, preview your social sharing before you publish a post

WordPress Editor Content Area

The third element of the WordPress Editor is where you will spend most of your time. This is the main section of the editor, where you add blocks of content.

The editor brings with it an effortless page- and post building experience. With blocks, you can quickly add and customize multiple media and visual elements that used to require complicated shortcodes, custom HTML code, and embeds.

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You can also start writing right away and think about your page layout later (or, not at all!)

Here’s a great guide for using the WordPress Editor as a Writer or Blogger.

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Add Content through Blocks

In the WordPress Editor, you will use blocks to create content. There is a block for every type of element you could ever wish to add: text, images, video, audio, columns, spaces, page breaks, payment buttons, calendars, and much, much more!

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Add a Block

There are many block types for you to choose from, which you’ll see organized by category. You can edit or move each block independently of other blocks, and individual blocks sometimes come with their own formatting settings for even greater control over layout and function.

There are multiple ways to add a block and choose the block type you need.

The quickest way to add a block is to look for the plus icon on your screen. Anywhere you see the plus icon, you can click it to add a block.

Or, start writing in a blank area, which defaults to a Paragraph block.

1. Click the black + icon at the side of an empty block.
2. Click the + icon at the top left of the editor. This option is great for previewing different block styles.
3. Hit the Enter/Return key from a selected block to create a new block below it.
4. Click on the three dots just above a selected block and choose to add a block above or below the current block.

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Once you become familiar with the names of different blocks, you can add a block by typing a forward slash followed by the block name — for example, /image or /heading.

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See Your Most Used Blocks

To enable the most used blocks category, follow these steps:

1. Click the ellipses icon (the three dots) in the top right corner of the editor screen.
2. Choose Preferences.
3. Check the box next to Show most used blocks.

Once the most used blocks option is selected, you can browse the blocks you use the most through the block library.

Click on the + Plus icon in the Top Menu to access the block library. Your most used will show at the top of the library.

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Move Blocks

You can move blocks around by clicking and dragging the six dots in the block’s toolbar that appears when you click inside a block. You can also use the up and down arrows to shift a block one spot up or down.

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Customize Blocks

Each block has its own settings. To find them, click on a block and this will reveal a toolbar at the top of the block. You’ll also find additional settings in the sidebar to the right of the editor.

If you don’t see the Block settings on the right of your editor, click the ⚙️ settings icon (that looks like a gear or cog) next to the Publish/Update button to expand the sidebar menu.

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Examples of Different Block Toolbars

Block Settings – Toolbar

Click on the three dots to the right of the block toolbar for additional options that are present in most blocks.

1. Hide Block Settings closes the settings menu.
2. Duplicate creates a second block on the same page with the same content.
3. Insert Before/After adds a new block before or after the current block.
4. Edit as HTML switches the block to the HTML version of it so you can edit the HTML directly. When editing as HTML, this option changes to Edit Visually.
5. Add to Reusable Blocks allows you to create a block that can be used on other pages that retains the content and styling of the block. Learn more.
6. Remove Block deletes the block from your page/post.

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Not all code will work when editing as HTML. If your code is well-formed and without error, check to make sure it’s on the approved HTML tags list, and that it’s not a restricted code, like JavaScript.

Some Person on the Job

Block Settings – Sidebar

The Block settings on the right of your editor will provide different options based on what block you’re using.

In the screenshot to the right, the active block is a Paragraph, so the options include changing the font size, font and background color, and advanced options for creating page jumps or adding a CSS Class.

If you don’t see the Block settings on the right of your editor, click the ⚙️ settings icon (that looks like a gear or cog) next to the Publish/Update button to expand the sidebar menu.

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Change Block Type

What if you’d like to change a block type? No problem! You can transform each block to another similar or related block type. For example, change a paragraph to a heading, a list, or a quote.

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Block Navigation (Selecting Blocks)

Some blocks are nested inside of other blocks (called their “parent” block) and you need an easy way to select the parent block. 

For example, if you have a Columns block that you want to make full width, clicking on an individual column will not provide you with that option. Navigating to the parent block (the Columns block) will give you the option to change the layout style of the Columns block.

Clicking inside a block that has a parent block will show a button offset to the left of the block settings toolbar — selecting that button will select the parent block.

This can be useful if you can have some text inside of a Column block and you need to select the Columns block, or if you have multiple buttons inside of a Buttons block and you need to select the overall Buttons block.

Alternatively, you can also use the Outline button to navigate through the blocks you’ve added to your page/post:

The Details Menu is a dropdown list of all the blocks you have inserted into your page or post. It makes it easy to see the structure of your page and select an existing block you wish to work on.

To access the Document Outline, click on the icon that looks like a tiny bulleted list with three horizontal lines. It is located after the content structure (information icon) in the top left corner of the editor.

The Document Outline is especially useful for navigating to hard-to-reach blocks, such as an individual column inside of a Columns block or a block inside of a Group block:

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Remove a Block

To remove a block, select the block and click the three dots in the toolbar right above it. Among the settings there you’ll see the option to remove that block.

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Block Patterns

Block Patterns are a collection of blocks that you can insert into posts and pages. They’re a quick way to add content in visually appealing patterns.

For example, there is a block pattern to insert three images side by side.

To insert a block pattern:

1. Click the + icon in the top menu to add a new block.
2. Click on the Patterns tab.
3. Click on the pattern you wish to insert and the pattern is inserted in the document at the location of your cursor.

For more information, check our guide to Block Patterns.

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Preview the Page or Post

Even though the block editor gives you a visual representation of what the page will look like when it is published, there can be small changes to the look once the theme or theme customization is applied.

The Preview option loads the page you’re working on, along with the theme and saved theme customizations (like custom CSS).

Preview also provides the option to see how your page or post will look on a desktop, tablet, or mobile device. With the WordPress Business plan or higher, you can also preview how your page will look in search and social shares.

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Document Settings

To the right of the Block Editor the Document Settings menu is where you can add tags and categories, choose a featured image, see and change the status of your post, and more — these are options that apply to the page or post as a whole.

Click the down arrow next to each header in Document settings to edit those specific options.

• Status & Visibility
• Document Revisions
• Permalink
• Categories
• Tags
• Featured Image
• Excerpt
• Discussion
• Page Attributes

If you don’t see the Documents Settings to the right of the Block Editor, click the gear/cog settings Icon ⚙️ in the top right to open the Document Settings.

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More Options

Customize your editing experience to suit your needs through the three dots to the right of the Settings icon.

View

Provides options for where the block toolbars appear when you’re editing.

Editor

By default, you’re in the Visual Editor. Switch to the Code Editor to view the entire page in HTML code.

Tools

Manage existing reusable blocks, copy all content to paste to another page, or learn about the keyboard shortcuts.

Options

Choose what document settings show up in the sidebar.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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