WordPress reusable content blocks

What are they and how are they helpful?

WordPress reusable content blocks make updating the same content in multiple locations on a website quick and easy.

Here’s how it works:

1. First, the developer identifies the information for the content block.
2. Second, they create the block.
3. When the information contained in the block needs to be changed, it only has to be updated in one place.

Rather than having to locate each instance of a common change, the system automatically changes every instance of it throughout the site.

We look at a website project from many perspectives

1. What are the client’s goals for the site?
2. What information will the client want to change most often?
3. How can we make it easy to change that content?
4. What can we do to reduce the friction points for the site visitor to place that call, send that email, make that purchase, register for that list?
5. Will the client be happy with the way the site looks?
6. Will the user (the client’s client) be able to find the information they’re looking for?

When implemented correctly, WordPress reusable content blocks make updating repeated content on a website simple.

How do WordPress reusable content blocks work?

We recently built a new website for an organization that holds an annual event. Much of the information on the site stays the same year to year. Other information changes more frequently.

For example, the website displays the registration deadline in multiple locations. The previous iteration of the site did not employ reusable content blocks. So each year someone would have to search for every instance of that date on the website, and manually change it.

With the date embedded within sentences in different locations throughout the site, it would be easy to miss some. However, by putting the date in a reusable content block, the person updating the website only has to change it in one place. Then, in every location where the block is used, the date is corrected.

Reusable content blocks are not limited to inline text

WordPress reusable content blocks may contain text, images, and links. For example, the same organization that we used as an example above produces an annual printed program. This is then available for download in multiple locations on their website. With the download link contained in a reusable content block, it only needs to be changed in one location.

There are several ways to create reusable content blocks in WordPress. A variety of plugins are available. There is also a new WordPress Block Editor known as Gutenberg. It offers similar functionality. Each option has its own pros and cons. Therefore, we choose which one to use based on each specific case.

Is your website difficult to update?

There is so much more to building a website than just putting information on the page. At Trevellyan.biz, we consider all the stakeholders, from the business owner, to the customer, to the staff who keep the site up to date.

If you find that your website isn’t as simple to update as it should be, give us a call. We can review your site to see if there is anything we can do to improve it. We would also be happy to quote a price on a new website. Learn more about our Website Design and Development Services, call us at 518.392.0846, or email [email protected].