Mastering WordPress Block Themes: 3 Key Principles for Beginners

Introduction

WordPress block themes revolutionize the way websites are built and designed, simplifying the process down to three core elements: Blocks Templates and Styles.

Here’s a brief introduction to how they work:

Blocks

Blocks are the building blocks of your website’s content and layout. WordPress Block Themes include all the blocks you need to build your website. Blocks like site title, navigation, page title, text, images, buttons, and more. Everything on your site, from the header to the footer, is constructed using blocks.

Templates

Templates are the frameworks of your web pages. In block themes, templates define the structure and layout of all of the different parts of your website, such as the home page, individual blog posts, or contact pages. They dictate where elements like headers, footers, titles, and content areas should be placed. Templates are made 100% using Blocks.

Styles

Styles encompass everything from fonts and colours to spacing and button designs. They’re what give your site its unique look and feel, ensuring that despite the structured nature of templates, your website can still have a personalized and creative touch.

Let’s go into a little more detail on each one.

Theme Blocks

In WordPress, with a block theme, the foundation of your website is built using what are known as “Theme Blocks.”

Let’s delve into what these Theme Blocks are and how they shape your website:

1. Theme Blocks as Building Blocks:
   • Theme Blocks are the fundamental elements that compose your website. They serve as the building blocks for all aspects of your website, from the header and navigation menu to the footer and your content.
   • Each Theme Block has a specific purpose and function, making it easier to add, arrange, and customize elements on your site. For example, there are Theme Blocks for page titles, page content, navigation, site title, images, buttons, and more.
2. Unified Design Process:
   • Every element you add to your site, whether it’s text, images, or a navigation menu, is achieved through Blocks. This uniform approach ensures a consistent way of building and customizing your site.
   • This unified design process simplifies the way you work on your website. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced designer, you interact with all elements using the same intuitive block-based system.
3. Drag-and-Drop Editing:
   • The drag-and-drop capability of Blocks makes arranging your page layout a breeze. You can simply pick up blocks and place them where you want, allowing for effortless customization.
   • This visual editing style lets you experiment with different layouts and structures until you achieve the desired look and functionality for your site.

Theme Blocks in WordPress block themes are the core elements that simplify the website design process. They serve as the versatile and customizable units that allow you to build and shape your site effortlessly, regardless of your technical expertise.

Here are Theme Blocks that are included with every Block Theme 👇

Theme Block	Description
Navigation	Create and customize navigation menus.
Custom Link	Add custom links to the navigation menu.
Home Link	Include a link to the homepage in the menu.
Submenu	Create hierarchical submenus in the menu.
Site Logo	Insert and customize your site’s logo.
Site Title	Add your site’s title to the content.
Site Tagline	Insert your site’s tagline or slogan.
Query Loop	Retrieve and display posts based on criteria.
Post Template	Define templates for individual blog posts.
Post Title	Display the title of a blog post.
Post Excerpt	Show a brief summary or excerpt of a post.
Post Featured Image	Insert the featured image of a blog post.
Post Content	Display the main content of a blog post.
Post Author	Show author information for a blog post.
Post Author Biography	Include the author’s biography in a post.
Post Author Name	Display the name of the blog post author.
Post Date	Show the publication date of a blog post.
Post Modified Date	Display the date when a post was last modified.
Post Categories	List categories associated with a blog post.
Post Tags	Show the tags assigned to a blog post.
Pagination	Add pagination links for navigation.
Posts List	Create a list of posts with display options.
Avatar	Insert a user’s profile picture or avatar.
Post Navigation Link	Add links to navigate between blog posts.
Next Post	Display a link to the next blog post.
Previous Post	Show a link to the previous blog post.
Read More	Insert a “Read More” link to expand content.
Comments	Manage and display comments on your site.
Comments Title	Display the title for the comments section.
Comment Template	Define the template for displaying comments.
Comment Author Name	Show the name of the comment author.
Comment Date	Display the date and time of a comment.
Comment Content	Show the content of a comment.
Comment Reply Link	Add a link to reply to a comment.
Comment Edit Link	Include a link to edit a comment.
Comment Pagination	Add pagination for navigating through comments.
Post Comments Form	Insert a comment form for users.
Post Comment (deprecated)	Previously used for displaying individual comments (deprecated).
Login/out	Provide options for users to log in or out.
Term Description	Display the description of a term (category or tag).
Archive Title	Show the title for archive pages.
Search Results Title	Display the title for search results pages.
Template Part	Define reusable template parts for different templates.

Templates

When someone visits a page on a WordPress website, a process happens behind the scenes to display the page with its full design and layout, not just plain text.

Here’s a simple explanation:

The Request: When someone clicks a link or types a URL, they’re asking WordPress to show them a specific page.

WordPress Finds the Content: WordPress checks what the visitor wants to see (like a blog post or a home page). It then goes to its database to fetch the required content.

Selecting a Template: WordPress selects a template for the content. Templates are preset designs for different types of pages – there’s one for blog posts, another for the home page, etc.

Arranging Content on the Template: WordPress places the content (such as text and images from a blog post) onto this template. The Block template determines the placement and appearance of elements like the title, photos, colors, and fonts.

Displaying the Final Page: Once the content is arranged, WordPress shows the final page to the visitor’s browser. The page is a mix of content and design.

Block Themes vs. Classic Themes

Block themes provide complete design control over your website templates. You can customize every aspect to your liking, giving you 100% flexibility.

In contrast, classic themes like Astra, GeneratePress, and Kadence limit customization to the settings predetermined by the theme designer. This means that each classic theme has different customization options, making it less flexible and consistent compared to block themes.

Pre-Designed Templates

When you choose a WordPress Block theme, it comes with pre-designed default templates. These templates offer a ready-made structure for your website, which includes:

1. Default Template Design: Each theme has its own set of templates for various types of pages (like the home page, blog posts, etc.). These templates are designed by professionals and are ready to use right out of the box.
2. Customizing Templates with the Site Editor: If you want to add a personal touch or have specific design requirements, WordPress block themes offer the flexibility to customize these templates. The Site Editor tool allows you to modify existing templates or even create your own from scratch.

WordPress Template Parts

Template Parts are like mini templates. They are collections of blocks that can be reused across different templates. The most useful Template Parts are headers, footers, and sidebars.

Template Parts are integrated into templates to create a complete page layout. For example, a standard page template will include a header and footer template part, and then the Theme Blocks.

The same header or footer template part can be used across multiple templates. This means when you update the header template part, the change automatically appears on all pages using that header.

This system makes managing your site’s design more efficient. Instead of editing every single page, you can simply modify a template part, and the changes apply wherever that part is used.

Styles

Block themes in WordPress have a feature known as Styles, along with a helpful tool called the Style Book. Let’s break down what these are and how they work:

1. Styles:
   • Definition: Global Styles allow you to set design elements like colors, fonts, and spacing consistently across your entire website.
   • Site-Wide Consistency: Instead of styling individual blocks on each page, Global Styles let you make broad design choices that apply everywhere. For example, you can choose a font or color scheme that will be used throughout your site.
   • Easy Customization: This feature simplifies the design process, especially for larger websites, by ensuring that changes made in Global Styles are automatically reflected across all pages and posts.
2. The Style Book:
   • Overview: The Style Book is a visual guide to all the styles available in your WordPress theme. It’s like a catalog of all the design elements and block styles that your theme supports.
   • Seeing Styles in Action: The Style Book presents a real-time preview of how different styles look when applied. This includes various block types, from headings and paragraphs to images and buttons.
   • Streamlined Design Process: With the Style Book, you can quickly see and choose the styles that best fit your site’s aesthetic. It’s an excellent tool for both planning your site’s design and for making sure your style choices are cohesive and visually appealing.

Conclusion

Understanding the key concepts and principles of WordPress block themes is really useful for beginners. It helps you build and tweak your WordPress sites more effectively. Knowing these basics means you can easily keep up with updates and new features. As you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to try out more complex designs. This know-how is a great tool for making your websites look more professional.