You’ve done it! You’ve installed WordPress, made your site beautiful with a theme, added the advanced functions you’ll need with plugins, and so you can begin structuring your site and entering content!
Get to know the Block Editor
In 2019, WordPress introduced the new “Block Editor.” This editor makes it much easier to make interesting page layouts with tools like Columns, “Media & Text”, and “Cover Images”.
If you’re building a WordPress website today, you should try to do it with the block editor. By using the default WordPress editor, you’re taking advantage of the fastest and most accessible way to build content. Even more important, if your site is more than 20-30 pages, using the Block Editor will make it much easier to migrate your site to a different theme in the future. (Sites built with “page builder” plugins need to be completely rebuilt for each redesign since an automated content migration is almost never possible.)
More Block Editor Resources
To learn the basics and get started, check out our page all about the WordPress block editor and the WordPress Block Editor FAQ.
If you need to update your site to the block editor, review our blog post about upgrading to WordPress 5.0.
Writing for the Web
Once you start writing, you’ll want to make sure you’re writing for the web. What does that mean, exactly? It means you’re writing for people who are reading quickly, as little as possible, and scanning the page more than reading at all.
Writing Style and Level
- Write simply and plainly.
- Keep paragraphs and sentences short (1-4 sentences)
- Avoid acronyms and jargon. Never assume “our visitors will know that.”
- Write meaningful links that describe the linked page’s content (“our services”) or the action taken by the link (“Donate”).Don’t use “click here,” “read more,” “continue reading,” etc. (Need examples? Check out how links are written on this site!)
Formatting for Readability
- Write with bulleted and numbered lists whenever appropriate (like this!)
- Outline every page (like a table of contents) with headings
- Use the “Headings” block or find headings in the “Formats” menu of the Classic Editor
- Use Heading 2s for your main section titles (e.g. “Writing for the Web”). Use Heading 3s for subsection titles.
- Headings make it easy to scan a page, allow people using screen readers to hear the structure of the page, and improve your search engine optimizations!
- Use bold and italic sparingly to highlight important information.
- Don’t color text at all.
- Don’t center- or right-align any text longer than one line. Don’t “full-justify” text ever.