How Block Patterns Can Help You Build WordPress Sites Easily

   Kathy Banach

How to

March 27, 2023
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Building a website can be a daunting task, especially if coding and web design aren’t your strong points. No matter if you’re a seasoned designer or just starting out, WordPress block patterns make creating a good-looking website easy.

Wouldn’t building a WordPress website be so much easier if you didn’t have to design every post or page from scratch? Better yet, what if you could insert a beautifully-made block layout in just one click?

All of this is possible with one, ultimate solution – WordPress block patterns.

In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about block patterns and the different ways you can use them. Then, we’ll show you our top-choice method for adding block patterns to your WordPress website. 

Let’s get started.

What are WordPress Block Patterns?

Essentially, WordPress block patterns are a group of blocks put together in the form of a layout. You can think of them as pre-made templates or designs with placeholders for content.

WordPress patterns, also known as Gutenberg patterns, can include text, images, or other types of images. You can use WordPress patterns to create different types of content, ranging from galleries to multi-column layouts.

After you create the block pattern, you can insert it into posts, pages, custom post types, and even templates across your site. You can then add or edit the content.

Block Patterns vs. Reusable Blocks – What’s the Difference?

At this point, you may be thinking that block patterns sound a lot like reusable blocks. 

In a way, that is true. Block patterns and reusable blocks share some common traits:

  • Both can reduce repetitive work
  • You can use block patterns and reusable blocks on your website an unlimited number of times

However, there is a key difference between the two.

You can create a WordPress block pattern once and then customize it over and over again. Every time you insert a block pattern into a post or page, it stays independent from the original block pattern. This lets you duplicate the basic design while giving you freedom to change the content, colors, and even block order.

When it comes to reusable blocks, you have to use them exactly the same across your website. If you don’t convert the reusable block into a regular block, any change you make to one reusable block applies to all the other instances on your site.

While this does make reusable blocks less flexible than Gutenberg patterns, they can still be a useful addition to your website. For example, if you want to add the same call-to-action button to every post. With reusable blocks, you can create this button once and then simply keep inserting it into your content.

Why Go For WordPress Block Patterns

First and foremost, WordPress block patterns let you easily build a professional, good-looking site. Here are just a few examples of what you can put together with block patterns: 

A pricing table

A gallery grid

A product section

An “About the author” section

Of course, block patterns come with some other benefits that deserve a mention.

Higher Productivity

Let’s face it – no matter your level of experience, creating a nice design takes time. Now, consider the time you’ll need to create appealing designs for every part of your website.

With WordPress block patterns, you don’t need to spend countless hours adding multiple blocks to build every section of your website. Instead, you can create one, or even a few block patterns that meet your site’s specific needs.

Then, you can reuse the block patterns on different posts and pages and tweak the content and design however you like.

Cost-Effective

With block patterns, you don’t need to hire a web designer to create the design for every post or page from scratch. Instead, you can work with a designer once to create a small library of block patterns that match your brand’s style guide. You can then insert any of the patterns into a post or page and quickly edit the content of it by yourself.

Better User Experience

Even if your website offers the best products and services, an inconsistent design is enough to frustrate users – and drive them away.

With block patterns, you can create consistent and visually appealing layouts. This provides users with a sense of familiarity and reliability, both which play leading roles in user experience.

How Can You Add Block Patterns to a WordPress Site?

It’s time to move on to the big question – where can you find WordPress patterns and how can you add them to your site?

The WordPress Block Pattern Directory

The Block Pattern Directory offers a collection of premade Gutenberg patterns created by WordPress users, developers, and designers. Once you find a pattern you like, all you need to do is copy and paste it into your WordPress site’s Gutenberg editor. 

You can put your own spin on the block patterns you find in the Block Pattern Directory. You also have the option of creating your own Gutenberg pattern, but you’re limited to using the blocks available in the block pattern editor. And, you need to have a WordPress.org account. 

Manually Create and Register Block Patterns

The Block Pattern Directory provides a wide range of Gutenberg patterns and lets WordPress account holders create their own with the block pattern editor. But, what if you want to manually build your own block patterns and add them to your WordPress theme?

To build your own WordPress pattern, you can use the register_block_pattern PHP function. But for this method, you need to be comfortable with at least the basics of writing code and accessing your site’s files.  

Use a WordPress Block Pattern Plugin

If you’re not quite on board with coding but want to create a block pattern that stands out, there is a solution – using a WordPress block pattern plugin.

This is both the simplest and most user-friendly way to create custom block patterns. It’s also the method we’ll use to show you how to create your very own WordPress block pattern. 

How to Create Block Patterns with the BlockMeister Plugin

For a WordPress plugin that lets you create custom block patterns easily, look no further than BlockMeister.

The BlockMeister plugin is a powerful tool for creating customizable, good-looking WordPress block patterns. With this plugin you can:

  • Create block patterns from within the editor
  • Design simple patterns, complete sections, or even page layouts
  • Assign your patterns to one or multiple categories
  • Add keywords to make it easier to find the block patterns in your library

What’s more, the BlockMeister plugin is compatible with both Gutenberg blocks and Toolset blocks. This means that you can even create block patterns with dynamic content – no coding needed.

Below, we’ll show you just how easy it is to create a block pattern created with standard Gutenberg blocks, Toolset blocks, and the BlockMeister plugin:

  1. From your site’s dashboard, go to Block Patterns → Add New.
  2. Give your WordPress pattern a name and choose the blocks you want to add to your pattern. For the purpose of this example, we’ll create a pricing grid using Toolset blocks. As you can see, we added a three column grid and placed a Container into each grid cell. We used the Heading block for all our content.
Creating a block pattern with BlockMeister and Toolset blocks
  1. Publish the pattern.

Now, create or edit a post or page that you want to add the block pattern to:

  1. Click on the Toggle block inserter + icon in the top toolbar of the WordPress editor.
  2. Switch to the Patterns tab and select the block pattern you want to insert into your post.
Selecting the block pattern to add to a page
  1. Edit the content, images, and style of the block pattern according to your needs.

That’s it! You just designed a beautiful, fully functional page in minutes.

Final Thoughts

Whether you are creating a blog, business website, or e-commerce store, WordPress block patterns provide all the flexibility and customization you need.  

In just a few clicks, you or your web designer can create unique block patterns tailored to your site’s needs. Your library of block patterns can help you save time, money, and improve overall user experience.

By using the BlockMeister plugin, you can remove the coding aspect and create your very own block patterns with Gutenberg or Toolset blocks. You can then reuse these WordPress patterns across your site and make as many changes to them as you want. 

Share Your Questions and Feedback

Do you use WordPress block patterns on your site? Have you already used the BlockMeister plugin on your website? Do you have any questions or feedback you’d like to share?

Let us know in the comments – we can’t wait to hear from you!

There’s more!

This article is a part of an ongoing series where we present interesting and powerful ideas of what you can build with Toolset. We’re publishing these every few weeks, so stay tuned!

Other articles in this series:

 

Comments One Response

  1. Had you all completely wrapped / integrated Toolset around Elementor, you’d be raking in the cash. 🙂

    Blocks makes everything so much more difficult to achieve the desired result, it’s not even funny.