Block editor training – Lesson 1.1 

What is the block editor? 

 
Table of contents  
 
Learning objectives 
1. What is the block editor? 
Example: Creating a post in the block editor 
2. Why use the block editor? 
Advanced: 10x content 
Example: Ultimate guides 
Key takeaways 
 
 

Learning objectives 
After this lesson, you’ll be able to: 
● understand what the WordPress block editor is; 
● explain why the block editor was created; 
● understand why you should use the block editor. 
 
 

1. What is the block editor? 

You’ve started this course, so you’ve probably heard of it before:​ the 
WordPress block editor​. But what’s this editor all about? Why was it 
introduced? And what can you do with it? These are the questions we’ll try to 
answer in this chapter.  
 
Let’s start by taking a look at the ‘old’ editor – the ​classic editor –​ and the 
‘new’ editor– the ​block editor​ – so you know what we’re talking about. Image 
1 shows what writing a new post in the classic editor looked like. Image 2 
shows what it looks like in the block editor. Looks neat, right? 
 

 
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Image 1: The classic editor 
 
 

 
Image 2: The block editor 
 

Why was the block editor created? 

Why was the block editor created? The internet ecosystem is constantly 
changing​. So, naturally, the same goes for the WordPress ecosystem. When 
WordPress started, 15 years ago, it was a blogging platform. Gradually, it 
evolved into a content management system. Despite these changes, the 
WordPress editor remained the same for a long time. So, there was a need 
for a new editor that was more​ focused on content management in all its 
facets​. It was time to redesign the WordPress editor completely so it could 
keep up with the changes in the online publishing world. In December 2018, 
WordPress 5.0 brough the new block editor, and with it, a brand new era.  
 
Content is no longer just text 
And there’s another crucial reason behind the need for change. The classic 
WordPress editor belongs to a time when content was all about the quality 
of the text. And of course, text quality is still important, but it’s no longer 
enough. To create engaging texts that people want to read, it’s important to 
add media​, such as: 
 
● images 
● videos 
● audio 
● embeds from other sites (e.g. Instagram posts, YouTube videos, or 
Tweets, see Image 3) 

 
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In most cases, plain text is not enough. And it’s not just about adding media, 
you should also ​consider the structure, layout, design, and flow o
​ f the 
stories you tell. And that is where the block editor comes in. It offers a new 
and improved publishing experience, designed for adding all kinds of media 
and – more importantly – structuring it. 
 

 
Image 3: Example of a Tweet embed in an article by The Guardian 

 
 

Example: Creating a post in the block editor 

Before we go any further, let’s first look at how creating a post in the block 
editor works. Let’s say we want to write a post about potato chips. In that 
post, we want to have an image of some delicious-looking chips with a 
caption. We also want to add a list, so we can sum some tasty flavors. Finally, 
let’s embed an Instagram post at the end. 

 
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In the block editor, each part of the post is its own block: the heading, the 
paragraphs, the image, etc. We can just start typing to add the title and the 
first paragraph of the article (Image 4). 
 

 
Image 4: The title and first paragraph of the article 

 
Now, if we want to add an image, we just click the + button and select the 
image block (Image 5). Then, we just upload the image and – ta-da! – the 
image is added (Image 6). 
 

 
Image 5: Adding an image block 

 
 

 
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Image 6: Image block added to a post 

 
The next step is adding a list to our post. To do that, we simply click the + 
button again and select the List block (Image 7). Now, we can just start 
writing and the words will form a list automatically (Image 8). 

 
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Image 7: Adding a List block to a post 

 
Image 8: List block added to a post 

 
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The final step is to embed an Instagram post to our blog post. How do we do 
that? You guessed it, we click the + button again to add a new block, we 
scroll down to Embeds and select Instagram (Image 9). Then, we just add the 
URL to the Instagram post and the post will automatically be added to our 
blog post (Image 10). Easy as pie (or… chips)!  
 

 
Image 9: Embedding an Instagram post to a post 

 
 

 
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Image 10: Embedding an Instagram post  

 
 

2. Why use the block editor? 

In the previous chapter, we’ve touched on the reasons why you should want 
to use the block editor briefly. Now, let’s dive into this a bit deeper. We 
believe that the greatest argument in favor of using the block editor is that it 
allows you to create high-quality content. To be on the same page, it is 
essential to understand what we mean when we say high-quality content. 
That is what this part of the lesson is about.  
 

 
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We assume you’re serious about publishing online. Perhaps you have a blog 
yourself, and you want to attract more readers. Or you try to sell things on 
your website, which you would like to do a whole lot more.  
 
Whatever your niche or focus is, whatever you are trying to sell or tell, you 
have one thing in common with all other online publishers: ​you want to be 
found​. You want people to read ​your​ content. You want to be discovered, 
and to be chosen. Because if people don’t read the articles you write, why 
bother publishing them? 
 
However, being found is not even enough. In a perfect world, people should 
want to share, retweet, and repost what you publish. The block editor is 
perfectly suited to create this kind of content. In this chapter, we’ll explore 
the hallmarks of high-quality content and the role of the block editor in 
creating such content. 

Publishing resources 
Most of the time, people are looking for articles that a
​ nswer their 
questions and solve their problems​. If you want to be discovered on the 
internet, you need to have the best page out there for helping users to solve 
their particular problem. When a reader doesn’t need to look for anything 
more besides your article, because you’ve explained everything so well, 
that’s when you know you’ve done a great job. 
 
This is much more than just writing. At Yoast, we like to call this: p
​ ublishing 
resources​. The goal of these resources is not to convince people to buy your 
products, sign up for your newsletter, or act in any other way we want them 
to, but to be​ useful​. To be the best page for your users, you have to 
genuinely help them and provide them with the best answers.  
 
Only then, you can play the long game. This doesn’t lead to a few clicks and 
some quick purchases. By doing this, you’re working on an ​ever-growing, 
dedicated league of followers​.  
 
So, the quality of your content should be so high that people want to 
bookmark it, share it, and re-read it whenever they want or need to. But how 
do you create such a good page?  
 

 
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Research your competition 

First of all, it’s important to research your competition. Do they have any 
weak spots? Did they leave any gaps in their content? See if you can find a 
way to fill these gaps. Maybe they left something unexplained, or maybe 
their text is not well-structured. You can use all these shortcomings to build 
something better. 
 
 

Write for your audience 

When you’re writing an article, what do you start with? Most people try to 
write and rank with the ​keyphrases​ in mind. And that’s good – if you’re 
wanting to write just another blog post. However, if you want to create 
resources, you should take things a step further.  
 
Your guiding principle should be to write for your audience. Try to discover 
what q
​ uestions y
​ our audience has. Only then, you can start thinking about 
how to formulate the best answers that will help your audience.  

Focus on all aspects of your text 

When you’ve found what questions you need to answer for your audience, 
you can start writing. But when writing, you need a widening of the horizons. 
Instead of just focusing on the quality of the text, you also need to start 
thinking about other aspects, like: 
 
● the structure of your text 
● the look of your text 
● adding visual elements that make your text easier to read, like: 
○ lists 
○ tables 
○ graphs 
○ images 
○ videos 
○ interactive elements 
 

Two benchmarks of high-quality content 

While writing, you should keep in mind that there are two benchmarks of 
high-quality content: 
 

 
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1. The content should be user-friendly. 

For example, think about the structure of your text. Make sure each 
section of the post is divided with logical headings and subheadings, 
and add white space between paragraphs. When possible, put the 
information in bulleted lists, tables, or use graphs. Make sure to add 
appropriate, high-quality images, videos, and other media to 
illustrate your message. Finally, check that your media loads fast and 
that it works well on all types of devices. 
 
2. The texts and media you use should be of very high quality.  
For example, it’s crucial to have flawless grammar and spelling. Make 
sure the language you use fits the audience, but keep in mind it’s 
preferred to keep your sentences and paragraphs short and clear 
and to avoid jargon. Make sure to provide new, original, complete, 
and trustworthy information.  
 
 

Advanced: 10x content 

So, we’ve seen it’s important to publish resources. A resource is much more 
likely to get links, shares, and engagement, which you need to grow visibility, 
than your day-to-day content.  
 
The best version of this, most likely to transform your visibility, rankings, and 
business, would be a piece of ​10x content​ – a resource at least ten times 
better than the current best result for her target keywords.   
 

 
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Image 11: 10x content (image credit: c​ eralytics.com​) 

 
As you can see in image 11, you should score high on both​ quality and 
effort​. If you want to publish resources, you need to go above-and-beyond 
in making sure that it comprehensively answers all of your audience’s 
questions. Try to create something genuinely good, useful, and helpful. Only 
then, it will stand a chance to earn the links, social amplification, and positive 
user signals that it needs to outperform the competition.  
 
If you want to make sure you understand what we mean by r​ esources​, you 
should check out t​ his list of examples of 10x content​.  
 
 
Example: Ultimate guides 
At Yoast, we also try to publish resources. We create extensive articles on 
important SEO topics, which we call ultimate guides. For example, we have 
‘ultimate guides’ on ​blogging​, ​keyword research​, and ​site structure​.  
 
Let’s take a look at our ultimate guide on ​keyword research​ in more detail. 
What are the things that stand out immediately? 
 

 
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1. Table of contents 
First of all, this article contains a table of contents, to make 
navigation easier for the visitor. The table of contents lists all the 
questions that will be answered in the article. In this way, the reader 
can find what they’re looking for immediately! 
 

 
Image 12: Table of contents in the ultimate guide on keyword research 

 
2. Boxes with additional information 
Second, there are some boxes with additional information at 
appropriate points in the text, like the box in image 13.  
 

 
Image 13: Box with additional information in the ultimate guide on 
keyword research 

 
3. Bullet list 
Some of the information is presented in a list, so the text is easier to 
scan. 

 
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Image 14: Bullet list in the ultimate guide on keyword research 

 
4. Links to other resources 
Furthermore, the article contains plenty of links to other useful 
resources, like the ones shown in image 15.  

 
Image 15: Links to other resources in the ultimate guide on keyword 
research 

 
All these elements combined make the page stand out with its details, 
quality, and usefulness. It really answers the questions a user might have 
about keyword research, and the information is presented in a clear and 
appealing way.  
 

How the block editor makes creating resources easier 

Until recently, crafting resources was something only big, well-resourced 
companies could do. It wasn’t something smaller, independent content 
creators could easily do. But times have changed. With the block editor, 

 
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anyone can publish high-quality content. It doesn’t matter whether you are a 
single person writing from your bedroom or a copywriter in a Fortune 500 
company, it’s easy for both big- and small-budget websites to compete! 
 
With the block editor, you can create the kind of resources we just described. 
The block editor allows you to ​combine media and text t​ o create rich 
content. It’s also easy to create content that’s user-friendly for both mobile 
and desktop. The block editor is the framework that makes the production 
off 10x content cheap enough, fast enough, and easy enough to enable 
everybody to compete on equal footing.  
 
Start thinking differently 
To start creating these resources, you might need to start thinking 
differently. If you want to beat everybody else in the search results, you need 
to do more than just write pages. Instead of just writing, you should 
compose​. You should consider: 
 
 
● the structure; 
● the layout; 
● the design; 
● and the flow of the stories you tell. 
 
The block editor gives you the tools to do this. Ideally, you should start 
writing directly in the editor. The block editor environment will help you 
think about the elements listed above as you are writing, as part of a 
combined, iterative process. If you add the structure or the content of an 
article as an afterthought, it will be hard to produce a resource. Y
​ our words, 
and how you present them, need to be considered in parallel.  
 

Are you ready? 

Now, you know what the block editor is and you understand it can help you 
with creating resources that can boost your traffic. Are you ready to start 
learning how to get the most out of the block editor? In the next module, 
we’ll take a deep dive into all the different functionalities and options the 
block editor offers. You’ll learn how to create a resource yourself, so let’s go! 
 
 

 
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Key takeaways 
● The block editor is the new WordPress editor that is more​ focused 
on content management in all its facets​.  
● The block editor was created so WordPress could k
​ eep up with the 
changes in the online publishing world​. Just writing text is no 
longer enough, you should also add media, and consider the 
structure, layout, design, and flow of the stories you tell.  
● To keep ahead of your competition, you have to p
​ ublish resources​. 
The goal of these resources is to be useful. You should be the best 
page for your users, you have to genuinely help them and provide 
them with the best answers. 
● The block editor ​allows you to create those resources​. It allows 
you to combine media and text to create rich content. 
 
 
  

 
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