In days past, creating content for a website required much more effort than simply putting together a few sentences and adding some images. Depending on what they used to run and design their site, people had to modify code or work with someone who knew how to do it. WordPress blocks changed the way people […]
In days past, creating content for a website required much more effort than simply putting together a few sentences and adding some images. Depending on what they used to run and design their site, people had to modify code or work with someone who knew how to do it.
WordPress blocks changed the way people interact with their content. Instead of viewing the page as a whole, they can be broken up into blocks. Each block serves its own purpose and allows the user to put together the page they want.
This guide will discuss how blocks can make creating and editing easier, even without knowing how to code.
A WordPress block, in its simplest form, is an individual content block. One block contains an individual element that makes up a part of a Page, Post, or other content.
Examples of blocks include, but are not limited to, Paragraphs, Headings, Images, Video, Button, List, Table, Quote, and Column blocks. These are essentially the content types that can be added to a block-based content area. Blocks allow someone to put together a page, similar to how a spreadsheet consists of cells, with rows and columns.
Take, for example, an article. It may contain a number of elements such as
Each of these items can represent a block.
The user can drag and drop blocks and modify them to style.
Perhaps the single feature that makes blocks so valuable is that developers can still code, while others can use blocks to assemble something without having to touch HTML or CSS. Yes, in the modern age of websites, coding is no longer a necessary skill. There are enough tools that allow someone with an average skill set to accomplish something that used to only be done by people who spent years learning web development. But with that said, developers are still needed to create advanced solutions that are outside the scope of any typical end user.
Blocks allow for regular content to be easily created by someone who does not have web development skills.
They do not replace developers, but they change who does content creation.
If you’ve created a page using blocks before, you know that there’s a large collection of them. Each block serves a specific type of purpose. The Paragraph block handles text input, a Heading block formats a title or section heading (H1 – H6), and Image for… well, images and Galleries (for multiple images).
There are also other blocks for:
While there are a number of blocks, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
Remember, it’s best to keep things as simple as possible. This is especially true for visitors going to the site and what they’ll see. It’s important to keep things organized and easy to follow, without relying on too much style or effects. Not every device can support advanced animations or effects, so the person entering or editing information should be focused on content delivery rather than fancy presentation.
There is one other important thing to note about blocks – that they are easily rearranged. Imagine, if you will, someone putting together an article by dragging and dropping blocks to assemble it. That’s right, but the fun doesn’t stop there. Suppose they determine that a particular image should appear higher in the visual hierarchy. Rather than having to move everything below it up, they can select that individual block and place it in a new location. This can be useful if the article is long. Rearranging the order of elements becomes a simple operation. It’s as easy as changing the order of the blocks in the visual editor. The person doesn’t have to guess what or where a certain element resides based on code syntax or HTML hierarchy.
When creating a website that involves a number of web pages, consistency is important. A user may be looking for information related to a specific topic. But rather than trying to navigate menus or look around aimlessly, the site should be designed to allow for finding things quickly and efficiently.
Creating consistent web pages – or even an application interface – is easier when using individual blocks that allow for more organization. Not only that, but it’s much easier to implement and enforce specific style rules. There are even block themes that can provide some default style and visual design to particular block types.
In cases where there is a preferred appearance, developers can write specific code to apply these styles to a block element rather than using standard CSS code. This will allow for the same design element to appear throughout the website, without having to modify each block manually. Using a tool like Pattern Libraries, blocks (or combinations of blocks) can be saved and applied throughout multiple websites. In the case of patterns, these represent a group or sequence of block elements that can be added quickly. This can be useful for repetitive content that appears multiple times or is used throughout a website. It reduces the effort that would be required in creating them individually while making for a uniform appearance.
Websites typically aren’t all written words. This may work for some specific projects, but it’s a rarity in the modern web. Content typically includes text, but also images, videos, buttons, forms, downloadable files, and embedded content. Blocks can be combined to create something that resembles a physical document with text, images, lists, and other graphical elements.
Another example could be instructions or directions that consist of an introductory paragraph and explanation, an explanation image, a bulleted list of steps, and a button that leads to another website. Rather than trying to use code to create and position each element, they can each represent a block. This will allow for easier creation and updates to the website or online tool.
Website and application content typically isn’t created by one person. Web designers and developers will work with writers and content creators to develop something that meets everyone’s expectations and requirements. Block-based tools can enable easier collaboration because anyone with a role in the project can easily work on individual elements. An editor can select an aspect and modify it without having to deal with the rest of the content. This does not replace developers, but it can reduce reliance on them for every minor change. That reduces the learning curve for people who need to update certain areas.
Blocks, while excellent for individual content such as Posts and Pages, aren’t limited to them. Through an appropriate theme, WordPress can use block-based design across the website (known as Full Site Editing). This includes elements that go throughout each web page such as headers, navigation menus and footers. This means the exact same principles – organization, consistency, and design – can be applied throughout the website rather than limiting it to individual sections and pages. This will make website management much easier for the person or organization that owns it. Someone familiar with WordPress blocks can create individual content, then use the same editor (but possibly in a different menu) to make changes to the entire site.
While the focus of this article is WordPress site content creation, it’s important not to forget about the hosting environment. Web hosting companies and services are responsible for making sure that the website remains online and accessible. If there’s an issue at the host level, it can impact every single aspect of the WordPress website, whether it be performance or availability.
Keeping WordPress, themes, and plugins up to date is crucial in this regard.
For web hosting management, a control panel can make certain tasks easier by allowing them to be done through a graphical user interface instead of command-line instructions. The control panel and block-based content creation are two different tools that serve vastly different purposes. They complement each other by allowing someone to create and manage their content as well as the underlying infrastructure that runs it. However, they do not replace each other. The block-based editor handles website content creation, while the web hosting control panel manages the web hosting account and related tasks.
Not entirely. Blocks allow end users to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, but there will always be a need for web developers and designers. They are responsible for the custom aspects of the website or application. Web developers and designers may even create custom blocks for specific projects. The purpose of blocks is to make end-user content creation easier by handling as much of the process as possible. While developers are needed for custom solutions, most people with average computer skills can create and update content without them. Blocks cover the basic requirements, while developers can assist with anything outside of that.
Blocks change the way people create and manage content. By splitting up website pages into individual elements that can be edited, rearranged, reused, and customized, they allow end users (people who aren’t web developers or designers) to take control of content creation. Creating a web page or updating content no longer requires advanced computer skills.
The result? Web developers and designers can focus on what they do best – website and application development and design. End users no longer have to rely on web developers for every minor change to the content that they are responsible for publishing and maintaining.
The key to succeeding at creating website content with WordPress is understanding how blocks can be used to create a structured and consistent page across multiple web pages or posts. It’s not that difficult, really. Once someone understands what each block is capable of, it will come far more naturally.
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