In today’s fast-paced world, there’s no doubt that time is of the essence.
As bloggers, we’re all looking for ways to streamline our workflows and get more done in less time. This is where reusable blocks on WordPress come into play.
What is a reusable block on WordPress?
It’s a block of content you can save and reuse in multiple places on your site. This means that you don’t need to recreate the same content over and over again.
They are easy to create and save you lots of time when you need to edit something that can be found all over your blog. Any changes you make to a reusable block occur wherever it appears on your blog.
Let’s say you are an author with a collection of books that you have added to a block on over 500 of your blog posts. You decide to cut the price of all or one of your books for a limited time.
You could advertise the price cut on a new blog post, but what about all those blog posts that now contain the incorrect price of your books?
Turning the current block advertising your books into a reusable block allows you to edit the block, and the changes occur on all the posts where you have inserted it.
If you’ve never created a reusable block, follow the guide below. For this demonstration, I’m using the social media block containing links to all my social media accounts and WordPress’s ‘default’ view in the images and instructions.
How to turn a block into a reusable block.
- Find the block you want to turn into a reusable block.
- Click anywhere in the block and click on the three dots (kebab menu) icon in the block’s toolbar.
- Click ‘Create Reusable block.’
- Give your reusable block a name to quickly locate it the next time you use it.
- That’s it – you’ve just created a reusable block!
- Don’t forget to click the ‘save‘ button to save your reusable block.
Are all the reusable blocks I create stored in one place?
Yes. They are stored under the ‘Reusable’ tab (diamond shape) in the block lists available on the block editor. In the image below, I’ve highlighted the reusable tab and the new reusable block I’ve created.
- To add it to a post, select it from the list and place the block where you want it to appear in your post.
What can reusable blocks be used for?
Anything you like, but here are a few suggestions.
- Links to social media sites.
- Lists of your social media sites.
- An author bio.
- An author photo.
- An author bio and photo.
- Details of your books and where they can be purchased.
- Copyright notices.
- Mailing list subscription links.
- Links to posts on your blog or those of other bloggers.
- Links to other blogs you have or are a part of.
- Links to where customers can purchase your goods/services.
- Link to your blog’s ‘about’ page.
- Links to notices such as ‘How to apply to become a guest blogger on my blog.’
- Writing/photography prompt/challenge blog posts.
- A weekly/monthly feature post.
- A sentence or paragraph that you use a lot.
Can reusable blocks be edited?
Yes. You can edit a block’s title and contents by clicking on ‘Manage all Reusable blocks‘, which can be found at the bottom of the list of the reusable blocks you have created.
- From here, you can edit titles and content. You can also delete blocks.
Warning – if you delete a block you’ve used on previous posts, it will disappear from those posts and display a notice stating that the block is no longer available. So, be careful when deleting reusable blocks.
- To edit a reusable block, click the kebab menu and click ‘edit.’ You can also delete reusable blocks from this menu.
- Remember that any edits or updates you make to a reusable block are applied all over your blog where the block has been used.
How to edit a block.
I want to add a Mastodon button to my social media bar. To do this, I need to click on the ‘+‘ symbol after clicking on the block while in edit mode.
- A Mastodon button is now part of my reusable social media block.
- You can also convert a reusable block into a regular block by clicking on the kebab menu in the block’s toolbar and then on ‘Convert to Regular Block.’
Creating and using reusable blocks has saved me lots of time. They are simple to use and straightforward to make. I highly recommend giving them a try.
Do you use reusable blocks on your WordPress site? If so, what do you use them for? Do you have any questions about reusable blocks? Let us know in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
This is an updated version of a post originally published on Hugh’s Views And News in 2020.
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Hugh's Views & News 
That is great, Hugh. I must incorporate reusable blocks onto my site. Thank you!
Please do. They’re a great asset for bloggers.
Hi Hugh, I wish to feature you on Monday on SSPS blog but am looking for your Instagram handle, do you have one? I know you’re not on FB.
Thank you, Esme. I don’t have an Instagram account. The only social media accounts I have are Twitter, Flipboard and Mastodon.
No worries Hugh. You got an honorable mention on the New post for Monday
Thanks for another fantastic tutorial Hugh. Great informational, and I am certainly creating some reuseable blocks! 🙂
I’d recommend creating one for your books, Debby. Then, when you have a book promotion, you can edit the block and the changes take place on the block wherever it is on your blog. No need being concerned with some of your blog posts having the incorrect information.
Thanks again Hugh. This was very helpful 🙂
I do use reusable blocks on my blog, for ‘Latest News’ and ‘Latest Interviews’.
Unfortunately, when I update them in the blog, they do not update across my site.
I highlighted this to WordPress, but I’m not sure they’ve fixed the problem.
Do you think if I updated the reusable blocks from the master menu it might work better?!
I always seem to manage to find the bugs…
When I update reusable blocks on any of my blog posts, before pressing the update button, I get a notice asking me if I want to save the changes I’ve made to the block, Jacqueline. If I don’t click’ save’ to that question, the block on other posts does not get updated, but it does get updated on the post I’m editing.
However, I think it best updating blocks through the ‘Manage blocks’ link (as in this post). That way, the block will then get updated everywhere. Give it a try and let me know how you get on.
Thanks, Hugh, I think you’ve solved my problem! You’re better than WordPress Help!
Thank you so much. xx
You’re welcome. Jacqueline.
WOW! I did not know this. Thanks! I will definitely be using this in my future posts.
They’ll save you lots of time when blogging.
Although I am self-hosted, I LOVE reuseable blocks, as it’s so awesome! I create it once, use it, use and if I need to make a change, I do it once, and everywhere I used it, will update automatically.
Thank you from your Vroom Vroom Team for sharing your links with us at SSPS. Please check back on Monday to see if your content has been featured.
The best feature of a reusable block is that any updates apply on the block wherever it is on your blog. No more having to edit lots of blog posts.
Another useful post. I love reuseable blocks, but for some reason mine kept getting update and corrupted each time I used them. So I a bit off them. I want to use them again as they are useful and save time. But , I was never able to figure out why it happened.
Reusable blocks should not become corrupt. If your blog is self-hosted, I recommend you contact whoever hosts your blog. If you have a WordPress.com blog, contact the Happiness Engineers at WordPress for advice. They should find out why those blocks are corrupting. It may be related to the theme you are using. If there is a bug on it, they’ll get rid of it so the blocks work correctly.
Okay I will speak to happiness engineers
Thank you so much for your explanation on reusable blocks, Hugh. I’ve yet to use them but will take the time now that I have a better understanding of how it works.
You’re welcome, Eugi. Once you create them and start using them, you’ll see how much time you’ll be saving yourself.
This is a great example of why I enjoy your blog so much. I’m always learning something new when reading your posts Hugh 😁 Thank you 😊
You’re welcome. I’m so pleased these posts are helping many readers learn more about blogging and WordPress and what both offer.
That’s a handy trick Hugh, thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Wayne.
I plan to take some time and study this. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Donna.
No wonder your blog also looks so professionally done! Thanks once again Hugh.
Thank you, JT. It’s all about the learning and ensuring you give your blog the time in keeping it looking good.
I haven’t used this before, I think I have been using a certain plugin to implement the sort of similar idea but going forward, I will be using the reusable block. Am glad you shared this!
I’m glad this post has been helpful, John. Reusable blocks are one of the best features about using the Block editor.
This is a great post, Hugh. I use several reusable blocks. What I love most is the fact that they change everywhere they’re used. One of mine displays the links to my books. I love that when I update that, it’s updated everywhere. So, if people are reading an older post, they see the current information.
It’s like magic when that happens, Dan. Your blog is updated everywhere regardless of how old those posts are. Reusable blocks are one of the best features about the Block editor.
This great. Thanks for sharing all your WordPress information. I haven’t used one yet but now you’ve got me thinking.
Using reusable blocks will save you lots of time, Jennifer. They’re one of the best features about the Block editor.
Your posts are a wealth of information, Hugh. Thank you so much for being our tutor.
You’re welcome. I enjoy sharing this kind of stuff with you all.
Great how-tos and advice on how to use reusable blocks, Hugh! I was happy to learn earlier on my own that they could be edited. I have quite a few I use for Sunday Stills posts and it saves the header size, color, paragraph text size, etc. Super helpful.
One of the best features of the Block editor, Terri. Saves so much time using them. And no more copy, pasting and then having to format everything again.
I love reusable blocks, typically I use it for my copyright block and the footer to my posts. What I love most is when you change or update then it changes them in all the posts you’ve used the same block in… Brilliant!
This is one of the best features of the block editor, Simon., I love that all it takes is one edit and click, and all those blocks are updated no matter where they appear on your blog.
Definitely, it soles a lot of issues. I know a lot of people don’t like the block editor and I can see why but personally once I got over the initial hurdle I couldn’t go back.
That’s good to hear, Simon. It’s not hard to use, it’s just different. And it offers users so much more than the now out-dated Classic editor. Anybody joining WordPress for the last few years has only had the option of using the Block editor, and all of them seem to be doing just great with it.
I would agree with all that!
Thanks for this useful tip.
You’re welcome.
Thanks for the reminder, Hugh. When you created the original post in 2020, I followed your example and created a reusable block for my book, which I now add underneath almost all my posts.
I’d like to create a couple more of these blocks, but forgot how to do it, so your post is very timely. I’ll get on that this week. ¡Gracias, amigo!
Some of the options have moved around since my post from 2020, so this seemed like a timely reminder how to create and use reusable blocks, Liesbet. I’m glad you’re already using them. Go forth and save more time.
I love the option of reusable blocks. It saves so much time!
One of the best features of the block editor, Erika.
I think so too, Hugh!
This is great information! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome.
I use one … to subscribe but I seem to edit it without meaning to. Is it possible to lock in the changes, Hugh?
There are a few things I plan to investigate and explore over the summer, so locking would be useful
Yes, there is a lock feature, Brenda. Just above ‘Convert to Regular block’ (last image on my post) you’ll see a ‘lock’ option.
Thanks Hugh. I’ll have a look later, when I get home
I have used reusable blocks for my subscriber box introduction, and some disclaimers. You’ve given me some ideas on other ways to use them. Thanks Hugh!
I’m glad this post has sparked some more ideas on creating some more reusable blocks, Michelle. I’ve created quite a lot and they’ve all saved me lots of time.
I just created 2 more reusable blocks that will save me a lot of time going forward. More to come! Thanks again Hugh!
Wonderful. Go forth and save more time, Michelle.