Understanding the WordPress blocks editor

Introducing the new “blocks editor” for blog posts

WordPress had an exciting update, the new “blocks editor”, which has been throwing the world of page builders for a spin – but not here at Maple.

For us, this change is exciting. It gives us some improvements in the publishing workflow and doesn’t affect (or compete with) the page builder one bit. More on that below. Plus, when I’m not in the mood for the new editing experience I can just use the classic editor to have everything back to normal. 

Blocks is a radical update to the writing environment, so I understand why people would be a bit shaken. I will only use blocks for blog posts, and knowing I can turn it on and off is also handy.

Regardless of how much I love testing new systems, there are a couple things you should know.

The most important thing is knowing when to use the blocks editor.

There’s a big difference, and investing 5 minutes reading this article will go a long way in your ability to run your site.

From now on, you’ll be editing your blog posts using the block editor, unless you disable it. Despite all the new features, it’s really only helpful for publishing posts. The page builder is always going to be a better option for pages because of the increased detail you need.

Your core pages like your home page, about page, and sales pages are like the branches of your website and have more design elements than your average blog post which is simpler and content focused.

Blocks is great for typography and post structure.

Blocks is perfect for nerding out about typography, but also allows you to move your paragraphs around and really edit your content in ways that even Google docs can’t compare to. There are now settings for each paragraph, and handles to move sections around.

This section has handles and up and down arrows for outline changes (which I’ve done a dozen of while writing this article 🙂

So here’s what you need to know about the new Block Editor.

Now that my eyes have adjusted, I’m really enjoying this minimal approach to to composing a draft.

  • Simpler, minimal editing space
  • Blocks allows images and text to coexist in a blog post without formatting limitations (finally!)
  • A new set of settings now guides you through the publishing process

Here, I’ll show you what I mean.

Watch the 2 minute video : Recent changes to your WordPress site.


Change is challenging, but this one is the perfect opportunity to review best practices for WordPress Publishing.

Creating blog posts with Blocks

  1. Create and finalize content
  2. Add images and styles to your typography
  3. Review settings and meta data (like author, publishing date, etc…)
  4. Preview how your content looks with your theme
  5. Publish

Creating pages with Maple Builder

  1. Create a new page
  2. Turn on Maple Builder
  3. Use one of your custom page layouts
  4. Add your content and styling
  5. Publish

These are the higher level workflows. To get a publishing checklist see the client support center or check out one of the Maple webinars on content publishing workflows.

Learning more about the blocks editor and publishing on your blog

I recommend giving it a spin by creating an ipsum article. By just playing and intentionally making as strange an article as possible you’ll learn a lot more than if you painstakingly format your own work.

Check out the Maple Help Articles using the chat icon in the bottom right or this specific article Getting to Know The Blocks Editor

Have fun playing with blocks!

And remember, this is for blogging. You’ll want to stick with Maple Builder when growing the branches of your website (aka adding pages).

Tags: Beaver Builder, Publishing, WordPress

Ryan Clover

Designer and founder of Maple Creative, providing technical wizardry for activists, educators, and small business owners who are out to change the world.