Would you like to save some time when drafting your blog posts?
Do you participate in a daily, weekly, monthly or annual blog challenge?
Do you get frustrated with or dislike having to copy and paste from one blog post to another?
Do you have reoccurring blog posts that only need minor changes?
Blogging Tips
If you participate in weekly blog challenges or publish posts that have the same layout every month, the ‘copy post‘ feature on the Block Editor is an excellent tool. It relieves all the stress and frustration of copying and pasting and finding the time to draft blog posts.
How To Copy A Blog Post
Here’s an image that will outline some upcoming vital points.
How To Copy A Blog Post On WordPress
1. Go to your blog’s ‘Posts’ page and find the post you want to copy. In my case, I’m copying a post I wrote for the weekly 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
2. Click the kebab menu (three vertical dots) next to the post.
3. From the dropdown menu that opens select ‘Copy Post.’
Open your draft folder, find the newly created blog post and make changes to it.
Essential changes you’ll need to make to the new post you’ve copied.
In some cases, such as the copied post I’ve used as an example, I didn’t need to add or change the categories or tags, so I saved myself even more time. However, I did need to update the pingbacks and images on the post.
However, overall, I saved myself time by copying an existing post and making amendments to it.
Copied Post
Schedule or publish your post.
That’s it! You’re done and will have saved yourself some precious time and got rid of the experience of frustrations that copying and pasting often bring when drafting blog posts.
Layout, content, settings and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
Have you used the ‘Copy Post’ feature on WordPress? Do you have any more time-saving tips when drafting blog posts? Share them with me in the comments section.
Looking for more blogging tips from Hugh? Check out these posts.
Have you ever wondered if there is an easy way to add a PDF file to a blog post on WordPress?
With the Block editor, it’s as easy as ABC.
Blogging guru Natalie Ducey shows us how to upload a PDF File on WordPress using the Gutenberg Block Editor. Click the following link or image to read her tutorial.
Of all the blogs I follow, I’ve never, as yet, seen them using the block I’m promoting today. I wonder if you’ve used it?
Once I tell you about this block, when it comes to showcasing some of the least visited parts of your blog, you’ll be wanting to use it too. I’ll certainly be using it a lot more to help promote some of the parts of my blog that seldom receive visitors.
Have you discovered the Pages list block?
Do you feel sorry for the ‘pages’ on your blog?
If you’re unsure what I’m talking about, I’m talking about the pages you’ve created that sit behind the scenes of every blog. Blog posts are the performers, whereas blog pages are the behind the scenes folk.
What’s the difference between a blog page and a blog post?
Posts are entries listed on your blog in reverse chronological order. Think of them as articles or updates that you share to offer up new content to your readers. Every time you publish a new post, a notification gets sent to your followers, and, in most cases, it appears on the WordPress Reader.
Pages are static and are not affected by date. Think of them as more permanent fixtures of your site — an About Me page, a Contact Me page, and a Home page are great examples of this. When you publish a page, your followers do not get any notifications that you’ve published it and nor does it appear on the WordPress Reader. Therefore, they rarely get viewed unless visitors to your blog click on links to them or on the menubar of your blog (where links to pages appear).
What happens if the home page of my blog is a page?
It should already be getting lots of views. I have the ‘about Hugh’ page of my blog set as my home page, which means it’s one of the most-visited parts of my blog.
What’s the block I’m referring to in the title of this post?
The ‘Page list‘ block. It’s there to help bloggers promote the behind the scenes pages of their blog. I’ve included one on my ‘about Hugh‘ page. When you add it to a post or page, it automatically pulls through links to all the pages you have on your blog.
Before I add the ‘Page list’ block to this post, please don’t be tempted to click on any of the links in the block until you’ve read the rest of the post. You’ll discover why towards the end of this post.
Contact Hugh – is a secure way for visitors to my blog to contact me without leaving personal information in the comments section of any of my posts or pages. Every blog should have a channel for visitors to contact the owner, other than via leaving a comment. My blog post, How To Create And Add A Contact Me Form To Your WordPress Blog, gives full details.
My Books – details of all my books, what they are about, where they are on sale and some reviews.
Disclaimer & GDPR: This is something every blog should display. Never think or believe it doesn’t apply to you and your blog. It does!
Tales From Under The Rainbow – The first chapter of a work-in-progress I have underway. The blogging community helped by giving me feedback on sections I published on my blog. It’s the final result. Let me know what you think if you give it a read.
The Newlyweds – a flash fiction piece that turned into a short story after participating in the weekly 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. It’s a strange tale led by prompts. If you read it, let me know what you think about it.
Those are the six pages I have on my blog. In turn, all of them appear on the menubar of my blog.
Can the ‘Page list’ block be improved?
Yes. When clicking on any links on the ‘Page list’ block, they don’t open in a new tab on your device. It means you lose the post you’re reading. However, you’re still on the blog you’re reading, although in a different part of it.
You may not want all your pages to appear in the block, so another improvement is to have the choice to select specific pages you want to appear (as happens in the ‘Blog Posts‘ block).
I’m feeding both suggestions back to WordPress.
Where should the ‘Page list’ block be used?
This is why I recommended not clicking on any of the links on the ‘Page list’ block earlier on. I’d recommend inserting the block either towards or at the end of any blog post. Readers will likely have read most of your post before clicking links and taken away from your post.
Therefore, I’m including my ‘Page list’ block again.
If you’re an author of a published book, this is how creating a reusable block for your book will put it in front of hundreds of new visitors to your blog.
One of the best features of the Gutenberg Block Editor is the ability to create reusable blocks.
Once you’ve created a reusable block, any amendments you make to it get implemented wherever you’ve used it. If you’ve used the block on 50 of your blog posts, the changes take place on all of them regardless of when the posts (and pages) were published.
That means there is no need to visit each and every post to make the amendments. Just think how much time that will save you.
Reusable Blocks & Books
For authors, reusable blocks save lots of time when doing book promotions, such as offering a book as a free download or when offering a limited-time price reduction. And once the promotion is over, simply updating the reusable block takes care of all the changes all over your blog.
How Do I Create a Reusable Block For My Book?
Open up a new draft post.
Open up the ‘Media & Text‘ block. You can do this by clicking the ‘+‘ symbol in the top corner of the drafts page and inserting ‘Media & Text’ in the search bar.
Media & Text Block
Select the Media & Text block to insert it on your post, or select one of the options available for it (e.g. text on left/media on the right).
Next, click on ‘Media Area‘ and upload your book cover by clicking the ‘upload‘ button. If your book cover is already in your WordPress media library, click the ‘Select Media‘ button.
Click on the ‘Content…‘ area, and add content about your book in the ‘Content’ box.
While adding content, don’t forget to use the toolbar on the righthand side of the page to create headings, enlarge text, etc.
Top Tip: Create and include a link in the ‘Content’ area to where people can buy your book. In my example, I’ve created a link to Amazon by making ‘Available on Amazon‘ a pingback.
I recommend you also make the whole block a link to where people can buy your book. To do this, click on the block and create a pingback (see next image).
Tip: To stop people from losing your blog when clicking on pingbacks, always ensure you turn on the ‘Open in a new tab‘ button (#4 on the above image).
How Do I Turn The Block Into A Reusable Block?
Click on the block and click the kebab menu (three vertical buttons) in the toolbar that appears. From the menu, select ‘Add To Reusable Blocks‘.
Give the block a name and click the ‘Save‘ button.
Your reusable block is created and is now ready to be used on all your blog posts and pages.
Top Tip: Add the reusable block you’ve created for your book to the top three most viewed posts and pages of your blog. That way, even more visitors to these posts and pages will see details of your book.
How do I make amendments to reusable blocks?
Click the ‘+‘ sign in the top left corner of a drafts page, and select the ‘Reusable‘ tab (see next image).
Click on the ‘Manage Reusable Blocks‘ link at the bottom of the page (see next image).
Select the reusable block you want to edit.
Make the amendments and click the ‘Update‘ button.
Any amendments you have made are saved, even on the posts and pages you previously inserted the block on.
And here is the reusable block I’ve created.
Glimpses
28 short stories and pieces of flash fiction take the reader on a rollercoaster of twists and turns.
Every blogger should be active on at least one other social media platform besides blogging. Why? Because it’s a free way to get you, your blog and your books in front of new audiences.
Looking to promote your blog for free?
Unless you tell your readers what social media platforms you’re on, then they’ll probably only find you by chance. That’s why you should do all you can to promote where your readers can also find you and your books.
WordPress has made the ‘Social Icons’ widget into a block that makes it easy to advertise your social media accounts on your blog posts and pages. And, best of all, once you’ve created it, with a single click, you can add it to every blog post and page.
The ‘Social Icons‘ block takes away the ‘probably’ and does the job perfectly.
Let’s get started. Here’s how to create your ‘Social Icons’ block.
The ‘Social Icons’ block can be added to a new blog post (or one you’ve already published).
Click the ‘add new block button’.
Search for the block by adding ‘social icons’ in the search-bar.
Click the ‘Social Icons’ block to add it to your post.
Where to find the ‘Social Icons’ block
Next, follow the instructions on the following image to start adding social media icons to the block. I’ve also listed the instructions under the image.
Adding your social media accounts to the block
Click the ‘plus’ sign just above the window that shows social icons images.
Use the search-bar to find social icons.
Click on the social icons you want to add to the block.
For a full list of available social icons, click on ‘Browse all.’
In my case, I’ve added social icons for Twitter, WordPress, Amazon, Goodreads and Flipboard.
Social icons on the social icons block
Useful Tip: Use the ‘link‘ icon for any social icons WordPress does not have icons for. I’ve done this for my Flipboard account.
No social media icon? No problem!
Note: Until you’ve linked your social media accounts to the icons, they will be ‘ghosted’ out.
To link your social media accounts to each icon, click on each icon and copy and paste the URL address of the relevant social media account in the bar that appears.
Adding your social media accounts to the social icons
Remember to always click the ‘Apply’ button after adding each account.
As you add each address, the icon will no longer be ‘ghosted’ out.
Now you’ve added and linked your social media accounts to all icons, it’s time to choose a few more features. You’ll find these on the righthand side of the screen when clicking on the ‘Social Icons’ block you’ve created. Here’s a screenshot of what you’ll see and some features I’ve highlighted.
Social icons features
The features include –
The style of each icon. In my case I chose the ‘Pill’ shape for the icons.
The option of wether a new window opens when somebody clicks on one of the icons.
Choice of colours for the icons
I highly recommend that you switch on the ‘Open links in new tab‘ feature so that the page your reader is on when clicking on the icons does not close down. After all, you don’t want anybody leaving your blog when clicking on one of the icons, do you?
Can the size of the social icons be changed?
Yes. Click the ‘Size’ button in the ‘social Icons’ block’s toolbar to change the size of the icons.
Changing the size of your social media icons
You can also change the alignment and the items justification of the icons in the block’s toolbar.
How to turn your ‘Social Icon’ block into a reusable block.
If you want to add your ‘Social Icons’ block with just one click onto all your blog posts (and I recommend you do), you’ll need to make the block reusable. My post How To Add A Reusable Block To A WordPress Blog Using The Gutenberg Editor gives full details on how to do this, but here’s an image that quickly outlines the details.
Creating a reusable block
Any edits or updates you do to a reusable block are applied everywhere you’ve used the block. Therefore, if any of your social media accounts get a new URL address, all you need to do is edit the address in the reusable block. You don’t need to visit and make the changes on every blog post where the block appears. Reusable blocks are excellent for adding details of your books to blog posts especially when doing occasional special deals on them.
Finally, most importantly, make sure the icons in the block work and go to the correct social media accounts before using the block on your posts.
Let’s Wrap It Up
Social media is one of the best ways to promote your blog and books for free.
Use the ‘social icons’ block to promote your social media accounts and let readers know where to find you.
The ‘social icons’ block is easy to set up and use. Follow the guide in this post.
Use the ‘link’ icon to crate a button for social media platforms WordPress does not offer an icon for.
To stop readers leaving your blog when clicking on your ‘social Icons’ block, make sure the ‘open links in new tab’ button is switched on.
Turn your ‘social icons’ block into a reusable block that can be inserted on all posts and pages with just one click.
Any changes you make to your ‘social icons’ reusable block will be implemented wherever the block appears. No need to make the changes on every post!
Are there easy ways to promote your old blog posts, and should you feature them on your blog again?
Can old blog posts bring in more visitors, followers and comments?
Dig out your old blog posts.
The answer to both questions is YES.
If you’ve been regularly publishing blog posts, the archive of your blog will be a treasure trove of opportunities waiting for you to bring alive again.
Rather than leave these old blog posts idle, there are ways you can bring them back in front of your audience.
These old blog posts probably never got anywhere near as many views and comments as your recent blog posts do, but did you know that they could quickly bring you lots more views and comments?
My three quick and easy tips to bring these old blog posts alive again are easy to follow and will deliver results as soon as you implement them.
1. Display ‘related’ posts at the end of all your blog posts.
I’m always surprised by how many WordPress bloggers don’t have this feature switched on.
If you’re using the Classic editor, did you know that there are various settings for the ‘Related posts‘ feature?
Do you have the ‘related’ posts feature switched on?
WordPress automatically chooses which of your posts to display.
If you’re not already showing related blog posts at the end of newly published blog posts, follow this guide.
On the dashboard of your blog, click on Settings and Reading.
Click on ‘Settings’ and ‘Reading’
On the Reading Settings page, look for Related Posts.
Look for ‘Related Posts’.
Switch on ‘Show Related Content After Posts.’
Switch on ‘Show related content after posts’.
Choose which settings options you want to use.
Choose which settings options you want to use.
At the bottom of the screen, click on the Save Changes button.
Future published posts will now display three related posts from your archives.
2. The ‘Blog Posts’ Block
For those using the Gutenberg block editor, there’s a terrific block I use that allows me to choose which of my previous blog posts to promote again on newly published posts. It’s called the ‘Blog Posts‘ block, and it’s easy to use.
Insert the ‘Blog Posts‘ block in the place where you’d like to feature it on your upcoming new post. You’ll find the ‘Blog Posts‘ block under ‘Layout Elements.’
Bring old blog posts alive by using the ‘Blog Post’ block.
It will default to show the last three blog posts you published, but this can be changed.
By default, the ‘Blog Posts ‘block displays your last three published blog posts
You can leave it as it is, or there are several settings you can switch on.
Today, I’m going to show you how to choose the blog posts you want to display.
When you insert the block, on the righthand side of the page, a toolbar will open. Under Display Settings, look for Choose specific posts and slide the button to the ‘on’ position.
Slide the ‘Choose Specific Posts’ button to the ‘on’ position.
In the ‘Posts‘ box, type in the title of a blog post you want to display. As you type, suggestions for blogs posts with the words you are using will appear.
As you type, a list of your blog posts will appear.
Select the blog post you want to feature.
It will show as a tag in the Posts box.
If you’re going to add more blog posts, search for them by typing in more words in the Posts box.
Add more blog posts.
I recommend that you add no more than three posts.
The Blog Posts block has lots of other settings, which you can read about here.
There’s nothing wrong with adding pingbacks and linking back to your previous blog posts.
In fact, I’d recommend that you have at least a couple of pingbacks in all your blog posts. However, you should always ensure that what you’re writing about is connected to the post you’re linking back too.
Did you know that pingbacks can be added to images, pictures and photos in all your blog posts?
Here’s the image I’m going to add to my new post, and which I want to add the pingback too.
Let’s crate a pingback to this image.
After adding the image or photo, click on it to open up a toolbar, and click on the ‘link‘ icon.
To create a pingback, click on the ‘link’ icon
Search for the blog post you want to link too by typing the title of the post in the search bar.
Add the post (by clicking on it).
Search for blog posts by typing in some words in the search bar.
Click on the small arrow to open up more settings, and slide the ‘open in a new tab‘ button to the ‘on‘ position.’ Now, when readers click on the image, the post will open up in a new window on their device.
Always ensure you switch on the ‘Open in new tab’ feature.
Click the ‘apply‘ button.
Click on the ‘apply’ button.
Finally, add a caption informing readers to click on the image to be taken to the post.
You can also create pingbacks in the caption you’ve added.
Conclusion
The archives of your blog is a treasure trove of blog posts that can still bring in new visitors, comments and followers.
Don’t allow old blog posts to remain idle and not work for you.
New followers of your blog may not have read your previous blog posts. Put them in front of your new audience.
People who may have read your older posts are often thankful for the opportunity to read them again, especially if the post includes tips and advice.
Keep old blog posts up to date.
On the Gutenberg block editor, WordPress has made available a number of blocks that help to promote old blog posts. The ‘Blog Posts‘ block is the one featured in this post.
If you’re not already using the ‘Related Posts’ feature, consider switching it on.
Remember that you can create pingbacks to old blog posts from any images or photos included in all your future blog posts.
What about you?
Do you promote your old blog posts? If not, why not?
How do you promote your old blog posts?
What way(s) of promoting old blog posts has worked best for you?
Do you have much success when promoting old blog posts?
Join the discussion by leaving me a comment that I can respond to with more than just a ‘thank you.’
Did you enjoy reading this post? Then you may also like…
Did you known that pingbacks can help drive traffic to your website or blog? Not sure what a pingback is or how to create one?
My blog post answers the questions and shows you how.
The ‘About me’ page of a blog is one of the most visited pages of any blog. This is why every blogger should have one. But what information should it contain?
Are you having problems getting captions under the images on your blog posts to align centre when using the Gutenberg editor?
When previewing the post, although captions looked centred, when a post is published, captions are aligned to the left under images, photos and pictures.
Centring captions
Up until a few weeks ago, I was having the same problem and was having to centre captions by creating a new paragraph block under images, photos and pictures, and centring the text from there.
However, this meant that if I used the same image again, I had to hunt down copyright notices because if I added details in the edit area of an image, the text always aligned to the left.
The result was captioning looked out-of-line, which in-turn spoilt the look of the images, photos and pictures, as well as the whole post. It wasn’t a look I liked.
However, with the help of the friendly folk at WordPress, I found a way of centring all captions when using any of the gallery or image blocks on the Gutenberg editor.
Let’s get started
Click on ‘My Site‘ or ‘My Sites‘ in the top left of your blog.
Click on Design, then on Customise.
Click on ‘Design’ then on ‘Customise’.
In the new menu that opens, click on the CSS Panel.
If you have a specific collection/arrangement of text or images that you need to reuse in multiple blog posts, you can save yourself a lot of time by turning them into reusable blocks. No more cut, copy and pasting or reusing older posts in need of a freshening up.
Not only will you be able to name your reusable block, but you can insert them just like you would a regular block.
To create a reusable block, follow the guide below. For the purpose of this demonstration, I’m creating a reusable block for a link to my ‘Entertaining Stories’ magazine on Flipboard.
How to create a reusable block
Create a new block and add your text or image to it.
Click anywhere in the block you have created and click on the ‘three dots‘ icon in the tool bar that opens.
Click on the three dots
Click on ‘Add to Reusable Blocks‘ in the dropdown menu that opens.
Click on ‘Add to Reusable Blocks
Give your reusable block a name so that you can easily locate it the next time you use it.
Give your block a name
Click the ‘save‘ button to the right of the box where you have just named your block.
Your reusable block is now created.
All the reusable blocks you create are stored under the ‘Reusable’ tab in the list of blocks available on the Gutenberg editor. In the image below, I’ve highlighted the new reusable block I’ve created.
Looking for your new reusable block
To add it to a post, select it from the list and place the block where you want it to appear in your post.
Select your reusable block and place it in your post
As this particular reusable block does not have a lot of text in it, I like to centre the text and give the background of the block a different colour. I think this helps the block to stand out in the post.
Make your block standout
Don’t forget to add any pingbacks to your reusable blocks.
What can I use a reusable block 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 certain posts on your own blog or those of other blogs.
Links to where customers can purchase your goods/services.
Link to your ‘about me’ 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.
Can reusable blocks be edited?
Yes. You can edit both the title and the contents of a block by clicking on ‘Manage all Reusable blocks‘ which can be found at the bottom of the list of the reusable blocks you have created.
Managing reusable blocks
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.
The title of a block can also be edited by clicking on the edit button of a block.
Click the edit button
Any edits or updates you do to a reusable block are applied everywhere the block is used.
You can also convert a reusable block into a regular block by clicking on the three dots in the tool bar of the block and then on ‘Convert to Regular Block.’
Converting back to regular block
I’ve saved myself a lot of time by using reusable blocks on my blog posts. They are simple to use and straightforward to create.
Do you use reusable blocks? If so, what do you use them for? Please tell us by leaving a comment on this post.
If like me, you’re using the Gutenberg editor, you’ll have lots of blog posts in your archives that were written with the Classic editor.
However, fear not! Those blog posts can be converted, so they look like they were written with the Gutenberg editor; thus you’ll be able to use the many benefits Gutenberg brings to the art of blogging to those posts.
I’m still in the process of converting many of my most popular posts to Gutenberg, so I thought I’d share with you the quickest and easiest method to convert those posts.
Let’s get started
First of all, ensure your blog is in Gutenberg mode. To do this, from the draft page of a post, click on the ‘Learn More’ box on the righthand side of your screen.
Click on the ‘Learn More’ button.
Next, click on ‘Try the block editor‘ box.
The ‘Try the block editor’ button
Your blog will now have been switched to the Gutenberg editor.
Now you’re in the Gutenberg editor, what next?
Find a blog post you want to convert to Gutenberg and place it in edit mode. I’m using one of my favourite posts entitled ‘What To Do When One Of Your Blog Posts Is Reblogged.’
In the screenshot below, you’ll see that Gutenberg has placed the whole post into a ‘Classic‘ block.
This is what the post looks like in classic mode.
Let the magic begin
Click anywhere in the classic bar to open the Classic menu.
Open the classic menu
Next, click on the three vertical dots at the end of the bar.
Click on the three dots
Click on ‘Convert to Blocks‘ in the new menu that opens just under the three vertical dots.
Click on Convert To Blocks
Has the magic happened?
It may not seem very obvious, but the post has now been converted into Gutenberg blocks. Instead of the whole post being in one block, in the screenshot below, it’s been turned into six blocks.
The whole post will now be in separate blocks
Anything else?
Yes. Before pressing the update button to confirm you want to make the changes, I’d recommend you preview the post first to make sure you’re happy with its layout.
Preview your post.
Something I always do is to ensure that all images in the post are aligned to the centre. I think the layout of them looks better that way.
But that’s not all you can do, is it?
No. You can also resize images to make them fit into the post better, as well as change the order of the blocks, or delete any blocks that are no longer needed. In my case, I removed an out-of-date block at the end of the post that mentioned a competition I was running at the time I published the post.
Don’t forget that you can also update the tags and categories for the post. It’s worth doing this if you’ve discovered more popular tags and categories since the post was first published.
We’re almost done
Once you’re happy with the final layout and do not need to make any further edits or changes, click on the update button.
Hey-presto! Your post is now live in the Gutenberg editor.
While I’m still experimenting using the new Gutenberg editor on WordPress, I’ve come across the ‘slideshow’ block which many people asked me about in one of my previous posts.
Today, I’m giving it a go and wanted to share with you how to create a slideshow on a blog post. Please note that this is for WordPress.Com users. It may be different for self-hosted bloggers.
On the ‘draft post’ screen, click on the ‘add block’ symbol in the top left of your screen.
Click the ‘+’ symbol
A new menu will open.
Look for the ‘Jetpack’ box and click in it to open it.
When the box opens, look for the ‘slideshow’ block.
Click on the ‘slideshow’ block.
A new block will open.
Either drag and drop the photos and images you want to add to your slideshow to the block, upload new ones, or select them from your WordPress media library.
For the purpose of this post, I’m dragging and dropping the photos I want to add to the slideshow from my own photo library.
Click on the side arrows to view the photos in the slideshow.
If you want to add captions, add the photos to your WordPress media library, click the edit button, and in the caption area of each photo add your caption.
You can also change the size of each photo by clicking the edit button just under the photo.
As you will see, my photos now all have a caption.
The Church Tower
Walking with Austin
Walking Over the Bridge
Cottages in Bidbury
Swans on the river
Deli Van in the Cotswolds
If you watermark your photos and images for copyright purposes, like I do, ensure your captions do not overlap the watermark on any images and photos that are in portrait mode. You may have to place your watermark elsewhere on your photos and images. The watermarks I use are small, so they don’t interfere with my short captions.
Any questions?
Leave them in the comments section and I will get back to you.
Bonus
Check out another tutorial from Nancy Ducey on adding a slideshow to your blog post using Gutenberg. It covers a few more things I’ve not mentioned in my post. Click here for full details.
Click here to follow my blogging tips magazine on FlipBoard.
I’m sharing a really interesting post from Jennifer at Unfold and Begin, about her experience with using the new Gutenberg editor. Click the link below to read it.
Thank you to Donna Connolly, who blogs at Retirement Reflections, for asking me a question about blogging after reading my recent blog post ‘Do You Have A Question About Blogging?’
Have you used the Gutenberg editor?
Here’s Donna’s question in full.
Donna’s question
Yes, I’m using the Gutenberg editor, Donna. I’ve written this post using it.
I’ve read more blog posts complaining about the new Gutenberg Editor than those that give it any praise or credit. I found that to be of great shame, given some of the circumstances surrounding the reviews it’s been getting.
Many of those who complained about Gutenberg hadn’t even attempted using it. They’d ended up getting to it by mistake; many panicking as soon as they saw what was in front of them on the screen.
Others had tried using it but had not given it the time it deserves. Just like learning to ride a bike, or ice-skating for the first time, I think we all have to practice and try new things out before telling the world just how good or bad something is.
You wouldn’t review a book before reading it, would you?
How many times have you read or heard this quote?
“The more you write, the better you will get at it.”
Well, the same goes for Gutenberg. The more you use it, the better you will become at using it.
Why ‘First Impressions’ shouldn’t always count.
When I first used the new Gutenberg Editor, I found myself getting very frustrated with it. It was new and, like most things that are new, I tried using it without reading any instructions or guidelines.
However, with practice, I soon got used to it, and it wasn’t long before I found myself liking it a lot. What I thought as a foe, soon became a friend.
Since the beginning of 2019, all my new blog posts have been written using Gutenberg. I’ve been so impressed with it that I”m now gradually in the process of converting all my most popular posts to it.
I’ve come across a few bugs while using Gutenberg. However, rather than complaining about them and doing nothing about it, I’ve reported the bugs to WordPress. They’ve gone out of their way to get rid of them.
Is the Gutenberg editor better than the Classic editor?
In my opinion, yes it is. And it’s not only me that thinks my blog posts look better when written with Gutenberg. Many of my readers have told me that the layout of my posts are far better to read than what they used to be.
What are the benefits of using Gutenberg?
There are lots but, just for starters, I love the fact that my posts can now have sub-headings that stand out (like the sub-heading above this paragraph). Sub-headings help break up what otherwise can be seen as uninviting blocks of text. I’ve found reading the posts of other bloggers who have used Gutenberg to be smoother and far more comfortable to read.
My reading experience has become even more enjoyable because of Gutenberg.
Sub-headings also come with a choice of five different sizes. That may not sound very interesting or exciting, but it’s something I think gives blog posts, written with the Gutenberg editor, an edge over the Classic editor.
Even colours come into play.
Text can now be easily inserted onto a coloured background, to highlight it (like I’ve done with this paragraph). There are lots of colours available to choose from.
Size can also matter.
You can also change the size of the font in your post, as well as in each paragraph, from normal to medium, large or huge. I’ve changed the size of the font in this paragraph from normal to medium.
And how about starting a paragraph with a large initial letter? You can’t do that with the Classic editor, can you?
Pingbacks are guaranteed to work.
When I was using the Classic editor, a new page would usually open in the same window when a reader clicked on a link in my post. This resulted in my blog being closed down on their screen. That’s not something any blogger wants happening, is it?
This happened even though I had ticked the ‘open page in a new window’ box. I found that I had to go back into the post and tick the box again! It wasn’t happening with all WordPress themes but, with Gutenberg, it isn’t happening at all.
Unlike the Classic editor, you no longer have to worry if the theme you’re using is mobile-friendly or if your ‘mobile friendly’ settings are working.
As more and more readers read content on mobiles and tablets while on the go, you’ll be safe in the knowledge that they will always be able to read your posts. Therefore, you will know that you’ll never lose readers and visitors to your blog because they are not able to read your posts on a mobile or tablet.
Save time by instantly dragging and dropping images and links.
Gutenberg allows users to drag and drop images, links, music and URLs directly into a post. No longer does a user need to add images to their media library before adding them to a post. Gutenberg does this for you when you drop images and videos into a post.
Save time with no more cutting and pasting.
Another time-saving element of Gutenberg is that you can quickly move paragraphs (or blocks, as they are known) and images up and down the document by clicking on the ‘up’ or ‘down’ arrow that appears by the side of a block when editing it. No more copying, pasting and deleting as one had to do when using the Classic editor!
And here’s something else Gutenberg will save you time on. An editing bar appears at the top of each block, so you don’t have to scroll up to the top of the page for the edit buttons. This is especially useful when writing longer blog posts.
WordPress have plans for the Classic editor.
The word on the grapevine is that WordPress will be withdrawing support for the Classic editor at the end of 2020. That may seem like a long way off, but don’t make the mistake of not being ready for it when it happens. Give yourself plenty of time.
Tips and advice for using Gutenberg.
Donna asked me for some tips on how to use Gutenberg. The bests tips and advice I can give you is to give Gutenberg a try. Not only that, but gave it time. Don’t panic when you first use it. Take an hour or so to write and edit a post. Practice using it as much as possible.
I’ll be publishing some tips on using Gutenberg in upcoming posts.
But most importantly of all!
Remember what I said earlier about reading instructions? Well, I’ve found you two excellent guides on how to use Gutenberg. The first one has been written by blogging expert Janice Wald and can be found by clicking here. Click here to access the second guide.
There is lots more I could add about Gutenberg, but I want to end this post by thanking Donna for her question. Thank you, Donna!
Blogger and writer Donna Connolly
Connect with Donna.
You can connect with Donna by clicking on the links below.
Have you used the Gutenberg editor? What do you think about it?
If you have any questions about blogging, please leave them in the comments section. I’ll even feature you in the post I publish that answers your question.
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