WordPress Block Editor – Paragraph Block

This tutorial is part of our series on How To Use The WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg).

• To learn more about using the WordPress block editor interface, go here: The WordPress Block Editor – Content Area
• To learn more about using blocks, see this tutorial: How To Use WordPress Block Editor Blocks

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Paragraph Block – Description

The Paragraph block lets you add a single paragraph of simple text to your post or page. It is the default block used to create and add content on your WordPress site.

How To Use The Paragraph Block

In this section, we’ll cover:

• How to add a Paragraph block to your content.
• How to edit and configure your Paragraph block and block settings.
• How to remove the Paragraph block from your content.

For more details on using blocks (e.g. how to move blocks around your content), see this tutorial: How To Use Blocks.

Adding A Paragraph Block

To add a Paragraph block to your content:

• Either
  • Click on the ‘Add Block’ tool in the Editing Toolbar section and select the Paragraph block (in Most Used or Text section), or
  • Click in the Content Area and begin typing to automatically create a Paragraph block.
• Type or paste in your content.
• Use the tools in the Paragraph Block Editor or Block Settings section to format and align your text, add hyperlinks, add typographic elements (e.g. add a drop cap), change font size and color,  add background color, and more.

Let’s go through the above steps.

First, create a new post or page or open an existing post or page and either:

Click on the Add Block tool and select a Paragraph block…

Or, click anywhere in the Content Area and begin typing to automatically create a Paragraph block.

Type or paste your text into a Paragraph block and use the formatting tools to format your text.

As each Paragraph block can only contain a single paragraph of text, every paragraph has its own block.

So, if you break up a text passage into new paragraphs, WordPress will automatically create a new Paragraph block for every paragraph.

Here are some useful tips to remember when using Paragraph blocks:

Press the ‘Enter’ key after typing in text to automatically create a new Paragraph block.

Press the ‘Backspace’ key at the beginning of a new paragraph to rejoin the sentence with the previous Paragraph block.

To preserve line breaks and prevent new Paragraph blocks from being created when typing in a new line, create ‘hard returns’ (SHIFT + ENTER).

Remember to update and publish your post or page to save your settings.

After adding paragraphs to your content, you can:

• Edit and configure the block settings,
• Save, publish, or update your post or page.

How To Edit A Paragraph Block

To edit a Paragraph block:

• Click inside the Paragraph Block to select it.
• Use the Block Editor tools to:
  • Change the alignment of the paragraph text.
  • Format the text (e.g. bold, italics, etc.).
  • Add hyperlinks to text inside the paragraph.
• Use the Block Settings to:
  • Change the font and font appearance of your text
  • Change the font size of your text.
  • Change the font color of your text.
  • Change the block’s background color.
  • Change the hyperlink color of your text.
  • Add a drop cap to your paragraph.
  • Add jump links and advanced styling to your block.

Let’s go through some of the above options:

Paragraph Block Editor

Use the Text Alignment tool to align text inside the block.

Use the Block Editor tools to format your paragraph.

Use the link tool to add hyperlinks to text.

Paragraph Block Settings

You can change the font and font appearance (e.g. light, bold, italic, etc.) in any paragraph block independently of other content blocks on your posts or pages using the WordPress Font Library tool.

You can change the font size of the text in your paragraph by selecting a pre-configured option from the Font Size drop-down menu or typing in a specific font size into the Custom field.

You can also change the line height of text in your block by typing in a value or using the up and down arrows. Click the Reset button to return all values to their default setting.

Use the Color settings section to change the color of your text, your block background color, or the color of your text links.

You can also add a drop cap to a Paragraph block.

To add a drop cap to paragraph text, toggle the Drop cap button to on in the Text settings section.

Remember to update and publish your post or page to save your settings.

How To Remove A Paragraph Block

To delete or remove a Paragraph block from your content:

• Click inside the Paragraph block to select it.
• Select the ‘More Options’ tool in the Block Editor.
• Click on ‘Remove block’.
• This will remove the Paragraph block from your content.

Additionally…

• You can reposition your block using the ‘Move Up’ and ‘Move Down’ arrows or the Drag and Drop handle tool (if you need help with this step, see our tutorial on How To Use Blocks).
• You can also convert a Paragraph block into a Reusable block.

Paragraph Block Tools, Options & Settings

The Paragraph block includes tools, options, and settings for:

• Paragraph Block Editor
• Paragraph Block Settings

Paragraph Block Editor

The Paragraph Block Editor includes tools that let you perform the following operations:

• Change Block Type (See ‘Paragraph Block – Additional Info’ section below.)
• Drag & Drop Tool
• Move Up and Down Tool
• Change Alignment Tool
  • Align text left
  • Align text center
  • Align text right
• Bold – Add bold text formatting to your text.
• Italic – Add italicized text formatting to your text.
• Link Tool – Link and unlink text in your block.
  • Custom URL – Paste a URL or type a search term to bring up a list of posts, pages, or custom post types on your site containing your search term.
    • Clicking on the Link settings button brings up the following options:
      • Open the link in a new tab (on/off).
    • Apply button. Once the Apply button is clicked, your link displays the following additional options:
      • View the link.
      • Edit the link.
      • Delete the link.
• More Rich Text Controls – See How To Use Blocks to learn more about using rich text control settings.
• More Options – See How To Use Blocks to learn how to use this section.

Paragraph Block Settings

Paragraph Block settings include:

• Block description area
• Typography
  • Font – Use the WordPress Font Library tool to add and use custom fonts.
  • Font Appearance – You can select various font style choices depending on the font variants and fonts installed on your site (e.g.: bold, medium bold, heavy, light, light italic, etc.).
  • Font Size – Depending on the theme used, font sizes may include the following:
    • Default
    • Extra small
    • Small
    • Normal
    • Medium
    • Large
    • Extra large
    • Huge
    • Gigantic
    • Custom
  • Custom field – Enter a custom value for your font size in points.
  • Reset button – Resets the font size to its default values.
  • Line height – Type or use the up and down arrows to enter a line height value into this field.
• Color Settings – Select from the preset color palette or add a custom color using hexadecimal or RGB values. Click the Clear button to restore the default color.
  • Text Color
  • Background Color
  • Link Color
• Text Settings
  • Drop cap (on/off)
• Advanced Settings
  • HTML Anchor – Create a unique web address to send users directly to this block using a unique jump link URL. To learn more about using HTML Anchors, see our tutorial on How To Use Blocks.
  • Additional CSS Class(es) – This field lets you add multiple CSS classes to your block separated with spaces. This allows you to write custom CSS and style the block as you see fit. Note: This requires having knowledge of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Paragraph Block – Additional Info

The Paragraph block can be converted into the following block types:

• Heading block
• List block
• Quote block
• Columns block
• Group block
• Preformatted block
• Pullquote block
• Verse block
• Reusable block

Installing plugins or themes on your site may also add new functionality, options, or settings to the Paragraph block.

Congratulations! Now you know how to use the WordPress content editor’s Paragraph block.

To learn how to use other blocks, go here: WordPress Block Editor – How To Use Blocks

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Updated: July 5th, 2024