WordPress Block Editor Better Practices

Site Design with the Block Editor

Email: steven.krull@swkrullimaging.com

So I’ve done it again, another complete site redesign. Some time ago WordPress replaced their writing tool with the block editor, which I reluctantly began using. I discovered right away that they had conveniently provided a “Classic” block, which functioned similarly to the old writing too. So then the extent of my block editor usage consisted of creating one big Classic block which I typed all my text and supplemental images into.

Well recently in my push to implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO),  I discovered that my my main page was completely unmanageable. I had added table blocks, layout blocks, image galleries and other various and sundry tidbits to the Classic block which introduced a myriad of errors. When I went in to add SEO I discovered that the page was no longer editable. Every time I went to add new text the cursor would jump to another place on the page and start editing there.

I looked searched far and wide online for the answer and found that tons of other people were having similar problems, but there was no satisfactory answer. After a lot of frustration I discovered that blocks that were too long and complex simply developed problems and that the solution was to just not use such long blocks.

Better Use of the Block Editor

So eventually I bit the bullet and started with a blank page with the goal of using the proper blocks for each entry on the page. Header blocks would be used for headers. Classic blocks would be used, one for each section of the page. Layout blocks would be used for images with text and galleries would be used for image galleries. Now I believe I have come up with a simple, yet appealing site that doesn’t blow the block editor out of the water.

Analyzing the Competition

As I analyzed the results of my SEO efforts, it had become painfully apparent that there is way too much competition in the wall art sales business to ever get my site near the top. Huge sites like art.com and etsy have dominated he market with paid advertising that I will never be able to match. It seems that anyone can make a picture these days, in fact you don’t even need a camera anymore. There are AI tools which can create a fantastical image from nothing but an imagination, far beyond what I can come up with using my camera and Photoshop alone.

Restructuring the Page

But I also noticed that for certain search strings, my photography books have climbed to the very top of the google results. As I said before, anyone can make a picture these days, but it appears not everyone can write a book! So that gave me the idea for a simpler main page that emphasizes my book publishing side of the business. And I added a new page with a donation block for those who would like to contribute to the cause but don’t need a book or wall art.

Creating a Reusable Block

Now for the main reason for writing this post! I am going to attempt to create a reusable block that I can use to close out every blog post without having to rewrite it every time… So here goes nothing! Ok, well my big idea of one block didn’t quite work out, but I was able to accomplish what I wanted with two blocks. This is definitely going to save me some time 🙂