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Worried about the WordPress editor? Can’t make your blog post fully meet your requirements? In this guide, we will introduce the basics of using the Gutenberg WordPress editor so that you can confidently create, edit, and publish content on your website.
Why is the WordPress editor so important
If you want to successfully publish posts on your WordPress site easily, you need to understand how the WordPress editor works-it is part of the dashboard dedicated to helping you publish content. Without it, you will not be able to publish blog content… This means that your SEO ranking will remain the same… This means that customers will not find your website. So mastering the editor is very important!
With the latest Gutenberg editor update for WordPress, you can create feature-rich posts and pages without knowing any code to attract the attention of your audience. Below, we will introduce some basic knowledge to let you start from the right perspective.
Quick tips for improving the WordPress editor now
The Gutenberg editor is great, and it’s a step up from the old WordPress editor. Nevertheless, there are still many post creation style options, called “blocks”, which are not automatically included. This is where it is useful to upload a WordPress plugin, which will provide you with more blocking options to build your posts.
For this, there is Gutenberg Blocks-Gutenberg’s ultimate plug-in. After uploading and activating it, you will have access to an additional list of Gutenberg blocks to help you build posts and pages faster.
These blocks added to the editor help you easily create forms, step-by-step guides, inline notifications, stylized call-to-action sections, insert Google map locations, icons, buttons, pricing tables, recommendations, or even a catalog.
Please note that if you are using the Astra theme, the plugin will also give you access to a large number of pre-built pages that can be customized and published.Thankfully, the plugin is free and you can Download it here.
Understanding basic blocks
One of the more obvious WordPress editor tips we can provide you is to understand the basics of the WordPress editor. We know that this is not entirely groundbreaking. However, if you take the time to learn the basics, it will become much easier to navigate the more complex functions of the editor.
For example, some of the more useful information about your WordPress editor are basic blocks, such as Paragraphs, headings, quotes and lists.
Under the post layout, you can also choose whether you want your content to display a sidebar or no sidebar.
On the right side of the editor, you have several options to choose from when editing content.
This Preview The button allows you to see what the content will look like after publishing. From there, when you customize your content in the editor, you can choose to customize permalinks, categorize them, and the ability to change post status and visibility, just to name a few.
Everyone’s editor will look slightly different, depending on any features that may appear by adding plug-ins. Our WordPress menu on the right looks like this:
As you can see, there are many options here, including the area to modify the visibility of the content, and the Yoast SEO option that can be switched on for editing. If you download and activate the Yoast SEO plugin, this option will appear. The permalink option allows you to edit you URL, the number of changes you have made to the content, your content category and labeling function. There is also a Featured image section, you can switch to open to upload the image of the post, the Excerpt section if you want to write a manual excerpt, and finally there is a discussion section where you can turn on or off comments and pingbacks.
The best way to become familiar with the basics of the WordPress editor is to spend a few minutes revising unpublished drafts and then use Preview feature. This way, once you are satisfied with the editing results, you can start publishing real content to your blog with confidence.
Change opinion
Did you know that you can change the WordPress editor view to HTML?After right-clicking on a block, you can choose Edit as HTML And you will be able to view your content editing in HTML.
How does this help? Well, once you convert the block element into an HTML form, you will be able to see which attributes created which modifications. This is helpful if you want to manually add HTML changes to certain text blocks.
Familiar with HTML short codes
Once you are familiar with short codes, you will love how easy they make your life. A shortcode is a small piece of code in square brackets, which you can place in any post or page to perform a function.
For example, once you add a shortcode to one of the posts through the WordPress editor, you can perform operations such as automatically displaying the picture library, easily adding a registration form, or embedding a playlist in your post or page without knowing any code.
If short codes sound convenient, it is because they are convenient. But only after you learn to use them. The best way to become familiar with and use shortcodes is to use shortcode plugins.This is a place for plugins Shortcode Ultimate Edition Can come in handy.
Once you upload and activate it on the WordPress dashboard, it will give you access to a long list of short codes that you can insert into any part of your post.
Please note that you can insert your own shortcode by finding it Add block By searching the “Shortcode” section. A block will appear in which you can insert code.
But once you download Shortcode Ultimate Edition, You can insert the shortcode by clicking the bracket icon.
Then, you will see a pop-up window with a large list of shortcodes, which you can insert and modify according to your preferences.
Create reusable blocks
The beauty of using the WordPress editor is that you can create reusable blocks for settings that are frequently used in content.
For example, once you style the heading bold with blue letters, you can navigate to three dots and click Add to reusable block. From there, you will be able to access the newly created block through the reusable block section.To rename the blocks and keep them organized, simply navigate to Manage all reusable blocks Rename the block and save the changes.
Learn to create categories
Creating categories is a kind of compliment to the tangent function of the editor. After creating content in the WordPress editor, in the left menu, you can choose which category you want to archive the content in. But unless you learn to create categories first, you cannot do this.
To do this, navigate from your WordPress editor to the categories section on the left menu and click Add a new category.
From there, you can add category name, parent category, and save all changes with a single click Add a new category. After adding the category list, next time you create content through the WordPress editor, you will be able to organize it correctly under the corresponding category.
This feature not only helps to keep your content organized, but it also helps SEO because it can help Google categorize your content more effectively.
Learn some keyboard shortcuts
Another feature that can save you time using the WordPress editor? Keyboard shortcuts. They can save a lot of time when you type content and add images, conduct research, and switch back and forth between tabs.
When you use the editor, some of the easiest shortcuts will come in handy, such as copy and paste, bold text, edit links, select all text, undo or redo.
WordPress does a great job listing some of the most popular keyboard shortcuts in order You can see it here.
However, here I have listed some of the most common ones. For Windows, please make sure to use “Cntrl + designated key”, for Mac, make sure to use “Command + designated key”:
- The copy is the letter “c”
- Paste is the letter “v”
- Select all is the letter “a”
- The edit link is the letter “k”
- Bold is the letter “b”
- Undo is the letter “z”
- Redo is the letter “y”
I suggest you spend a few seconds trying out some keyboard shortcuts so you can understand the effect of using them as you type. You will see how much time and tedious back and forth they save you.
The long-term strategy of the WordPress editor
We introduced some ways you can tame the WordPress editor in minutes. But what can you do to ensure that you get the most benefit from your editor?
Add Yoast SEO plugin
One of the easiest and best ways to improve the WordPress editor is to add Yoast SEO pluginWith it, you can ensure that your posts are optimized for search engines without having to do too much work.
After activating the plugin, it will be inserted into the designated section in the WordPress editor, where you can enter target keywords, edit and add meta descriptions, and check the overall SEO “health score” of your posts.
The WordPress editor does not really come with built-in SEO tools. But using tools like Yoast SEO, whether you use its free version or upgrade to its advanced features, you will ensure your content has the best chance of ranking in search results.
Learn the basics of HTML for free
Learning the basics of HTML can help you understand and navigate the WordPress editor more easily. If you cannot modify your content using Shortcodes Ultimate or Gutenberg Blocks plug-ins, you will need to learn some HTML to be able to modify your content to what you are looking for.
There are many generous free resources out there that can help you do this without having to pay a penny.Sites like this Code Academy, W3 school, Or Udimi A large number of free guides and free courses are provided, which can at least help you master the basics.
Take a coding course
Now, if you really want to learn more about how far your WordPress editor can go, you can always take a coding course to strengthen your understanding of the subject. Fortunately, there are plenty of coding courses to help you learn to code from scratch, even if you don’t know what it means when you hear someone say “CSS”.
Course platforms like Skillshare offer courses for you to choose from at fairly reasonable prices. You can browse each course to see student reviews and even the course outline.
Learning to code is not only a good way to make the WordPress editor more comfortable, it is also a skill worth having. You can use it in many different ways, allowing you to surpass the WordPress editor.
Next step
The editor is just one of the many features that WordPress provides through its user dashboard. After we built a large number of websites with WordPress ourselves, we knew what it was like to go through the initial learning curve. But don’t be afraid, we will always provide the ultimate guide to everything about WordPress to help you achieve your website goals.
For example, you can learn how to Edit your WordPress footer here. If you are still looking for the perfect blog theme, we have compiled a list The best WordPress themes The best after hours of comparison and contrast.
Want to know the actual operation after users log in to your WordPress site?Be sure to check our list The best heat map plugin.
This article was written by Daily Eggspert today.
