Blocks 101

An introduction to Blocks. You’ve possibly heard that WordPress has “The Block Editor” or heard talk of “Gutenberg Blocks” but what are blocks? And how do you use them?

All Tutorials

Screencast

Overview/Crib Notes

Blocks are distinct, individual, compartmentalized pieces of content that can have their own settings, styles, and rules.
Each singular piece of content – every paragraph, list, image, title, column etc. is a block.
Blocks can be grouped together using containing blocks such as the group block, columns, rows, or more.
There are dozens of types of blocks; using the block inserter (blue plus in the top right) is a good way of seeing an overview of those available to you
Plugins can add additional blocks. Try the Accordions Block to add a way to visually add Accordions to your site.
The List View or Document Overview is a great way to see how the blocks are laid out on your post or page. Access the list view using its icon towards the top left, just to the right of the undo/redo arrows.
Blocks of the same type – i.e. multiple paragraph blocks – can look different, should you wish. Your first paragraph block might have slightly larger font size (called the lede) for example.
A block’s settings are shown in the sidebar on the right. Select a block and ensure the ‘block’ tab is selected in order to see how you can change that particular block you have selected.

Rich Tape (he/him)
Programmer Analyst II at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology