Using the Editor Last Updated June 2026 Following are tips for using the editor interface for creating and editing content on any Pages or Posts. Because writing for the Web is different you may wish to learn best practices to improve how you write for the Web. Areas of the Screen The editor interface has three main sections: The top toolbar containing administration links. Click to see the Settings Sidebar where you’ll find block settings in one tab and unique settings that are different for Posts or for Pages in the other tab. The content area or workspace. Top Toolbar The top toolbar contains administration links for the page/post. You can hover over each element for a tooltip description. On the left-hand side – View Pages/Posts takes you to the dashboard list of all your Pages or Posts. If there are unsaved changes, it will prompt you to save the changes or leave the post or page. Block Inserter toggles a list of all available blocks, patterns and media. Undo and Redo lets you undo or redo your last action. Document Overview includes a list view of all the blocks on the post/page and an outline view that shows details including the character and word count, estimated time to read, the number of paragraphs and blocks and the page/post headings. On the right-hand side – There are two buttons that only display when you first create a page: Save Draft – after the page or post is published, you can change the status in the Settings panel. Publish – once you’re ready for your page to go live. Other buttons on the right-hand side: View Page/Post lets you view how your post/page looks on the live site. View displays what the page looks like on desktop, tablet or mobile. Genesis lets you edit page or post display settings for breadcrumbs, title, footer and layout. Settings Sidebar displays block settings in one tab and unique settings that are different for Posts or for Pages in the other tab. Save – make sure you save your changes after you’re done. Options opens up more options like displaying the Top Toolbar, visual editor or code editor, managing patterns and a link to support documentation on the WordPress site. Content Area Workspace In the Content Area Workspace you’ll use the Block Editor to insert your content or a Classic Block for a Word Processor like experience. Block Editor As of 2026 our sites are using Block Editor. For sites that were converted from the previous editor interface, pages and posts will be using the Classic Editor block within the Block Editor. It has a similar look and function as the previous rich text editor. Classic Block You can insert the “Classic” block for an experience that has a rich text editor toolbar and works similarly to a word processor with buttons that allow you to format text, change font alignment, insert bulleted and numbered lists, add links and more. Additional tips can be found for Using any Rich Text Editor. You can find out what any toolbar icon means or does by hovering over it with your mouse – a small tooltip will appear describing the icon and its purpose. You may only see one row of icons. By clicking on the icon outlined below (Toolbar Toggle) an additional row of tools is revealed. Clicking the “Toolbar Toggle” icon will reveal an additional row of Editing Tools. Once the “Toolbar Toggle” icon is clicked, another row of tools are revealed. Convert Classic Block Content to Individual Block Types The Content you create in the Classic Block will be made up of many different types of blocks. Paragraphs, headings, and images are all block types. If you want to you can convert them all to individual block types by clicking the “Convert to blocks” button. Then continue editing the page with the Block Editor. Edit as HTML There are many things that the rich text editor can’t do well and you may need to edit the HTML or ask the Web team to assist. Learning a little about HTML is a good idea and may be helpful for troubleshooting issues with content when it doesn’t appear as expected in the Visual Editor. Click the Options button and select Edit as HTML. Proper HTML Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation and it’s common to produce poor quality HTML code that may not work on all browsers or devices. Switching between Visual and HTML view can cause some of your HTML tags to be lost, as WordPress will strip it out if your code is not properly formatted. You are encouraged to use only formatting options provided in the Visual toolbar. If you need special formatting or layout, please contact the Web team. It may be helpful to read about some common issues and errors. Learn More A comprehensive guide to the Classic block is available on the WordPress site.
