How To Use WordPress Blocks (+ How To Create Your Own!)

Would this be a weird place to mention how my wife is holding onto a mint-condition, unopened, limited-edition Lego Star Wars BB-8 kit?
Those things are going for like $500!
Okay. It would be weird. Got it, loud and clear… But this will all make a bit more sense in a second.
In this post, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about WordPress blocks. If you’re an old-school WP user like myself, then you probably still think of blocks as “new” WordPress because you began by using the classic editor.
It’s been over five years since WordPress introduced blocks, but they’re still one of the most misunderstood and underutilized CMS features.
WordPress blocks are sort of like Legos —see, I told you it would tie back in — they allow you to build and customize your website in a way that would’ve required hiring a professional website designer and developer just a few short years ago.
And that’s one of the reasons why people love them so much. Once they understand them, that is.
After I explain how they work, there’s no doubt that you’ll love them too.

Table of Contents

What Are WordPress Blocks?
What Blocks Does WordPress Already Have?
How To Create Custom Blocks With A WordPress Plugin
How To Create Custom WordPress Blocks Without A Plugin
The Sky’s The Limit


What Are WordPress Blocks?

WordPress blocks are, as the name suggests, like stackable building blocks that you can add to pages and posts on your WordPress site.
They were added to WordPress 5.0 along with the inclusion of the Gutenberg editor that most of us are now familiar with. Blocks are now the standard way to customize your WordPress site — and you can use blocks across your entire site, not just within posts.
DreamHost Glossary Gutenberg Gutenberg is the name for the Block Editor project in WordPress. A lot of WordPress developers and enthusiasts use the terms Gutenberg Editor and Block Editor interchangeably. Read More
Think about it sort of like a site or page builder. You can click the “+” button to add a block to a page or post and then select from various block options. The current version of WordPress comes with 90+ options out of the box.
Each block is essentially a widget. They can do various things, like embed content from another site or service, add new functionality like calendars or contact forms to the page, or even add specific content with predefined formatting.
Plus, most blocks have customization options that allow you to adjust how they display or function on your site.
The WordPress block editor is a massive upgrade from the classic editor. In the pre-Gutenberg days, WordPress users could only add text and images to a post before having to dive into custom code.
Nerd note: If for some reason, you don’t have access to blocks from the WordPress editor, it could be for one of two reasons: One is that your WordPress installation could be horribly outdated (like years and years old). Secondly, it’s possible that the block editor has been disabled by the Classic Editor plugin. When active on a WordPress site, this plugin reverts you back to the classic editor experience. Check your plugins page from wp-admin to figure out if that’s the case for you.
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What Blocks Does WordPress Already Have?
By default, the block editor offers a huge number of available blocks . You can use these blocks to customize your WordPress theme, allow writers and bloggers to add rich content to their posts, pull in social media content, and so much more.
Let’s look at some of the most popular and helpful default Gutenberg blocks.
Most Common Blocks
Adding any kind of text or image is done using a block. This means that the most common blocks are generally the different styles and types of text or image elements you might add to a page.
Things like:

Text Block — Each paragraph you write in the block editor resides in its own text block, but text blocks aren’t limited to paragraphs. Write a little or write a lot.
Image Block — For when you want to show as well as tell, throw an image in the mix for some added flair.
List Block — Need to write an outline? What about an ordered list? You can do it all with the list block!
Image Gallery Block — Sharing vacation photos or product shots never looked so good.