The Basics of Blocks
In a WordPress site, you add content through widgets called “Blocks”.
These blocks are the fundamental elements to your site. This is how you will add text, images and links on your pages.
Below I will go through the various block options and what you can do with each of them.
Accordion
The Accordion is the tool you are seeing being used right now for this list of blocks. An accordion is a great tool that lets you organize information in drop down segments and the user can press on them to view each separately. By using this, you are able to give a lot of information without overwhelming the viewer.
Heading
A heading is a great block to use for titles.
This is a Heading
With a heading, you adjust various settings for that text. You can change the level of the heading by choosing between H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 and H6.
You can adjust the alignment from left, center, right.
If you want to make your heading a button to another website or page, you can use the Link Button to do that as well!
List
A list is a a simple feature that organizes information in a bulleted or numbered list
- Bullet #1
- Bullet #2
- Bullet #3
- Number #1
- Number #2
- Number #3
Table
A table is used to organize information into columns and rows.
When creating a table, it will ask you for the number of rows and columns for your table.
| Text goes here | Text goes here |
| Text goes here | Text goes here |
Images
On your website, you can add images! From a single image to a gallery to a collage, you have options as to what you want your images to look like depending on the style and types of images.
When you use the Carousel, Collage, Masonry, Offset, Stacked, or Gallery, you will be asked to upload the multiple images to the library. When they are added to the library, you will be able to find them again in that library if you need them on another page.
Video
If you have a video you want students or parents to see, you can link a video from another site to yours. For example, you can add a video from youtube to your page very easily using this feature.
When you add a video, it will ask you to Upload, link to your Media Library, or Insert from URL.
In Youtube, you can press the share button below the video you want to share and then copy the link it gives you below:
Then once you paste that link into the INSERT FROM URL option in your site, it will add it to your page.
Button
A button is another way you can create a link.
This is more visually appealing than just a general text hyperlink, and will stand out more on the page.
When you create the link, it will show you an OPEN IN NEW TAB option below it. If you press that, it will open that link on a new tab instead of moving past your site. For me, I typically choose Open in a New Tab to ensure they can get back to my site easily.
Alert
An Alert is a great tool to make your information stand out.
This is an Alert! The color will change behind the text and will ensure your viewer can see it.
Columns
Using columns is a great way to split up your page into sections.
Columns do not work well within an accordion so I cannot add one here to show you, but you can use them on a regular page. My Class #1 has an example of this.
Links to Files & Sites
As you have seen in some of the blocks above, you can create links that will send your viewer somewhere else. You can link them to another page on your site, to a district webpage, or even to another site that is helpful to your students.
If you want to link a document for your students or parents to access, you can do this as well!
In order to make a link, you need to decide how you want the link to look.
If you want your text to be a link (like this), then all you do is highlight the text and press the link icon.
If you want your link to look like a button, then add a button block and do the same thing to link it.
If you want to link them to a document, we DO NOT recommend you upload your file or document. The reason we suggest you DO NOT use those, is if you ever need to update it, you will have to go and remove it, and then re-upload it again.
Our suggestion for documents would be to link them from your OneDrive. This way, all your link does is take them to that file in OneDrive. If you update that file, it will not need to be updated on your site because it is just a link.
When using OneDrive, you will need to do a couple things to ensure your students and parents CANNOT EDIT your file.
First, in OneDrive, I would suggest you make a folder for all files that will be on your website. That way you know not to move or edit them unless needed.
Second, once you have the file in OneDrive, you will need to press the share option for that file. When you do, it will look like this:
The first thing you need to look at is who do you want to be able to use this link? If it is students only, the PEOPLE IN LPISD option might work best. If parents will need access, then you might want to switch it to ANYONE WITH LINK since they probably don’t have an LPISD account.
Once you who you want to have access to the link, you now need to look at the Other Settings options. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
Under Other Settings, you will see a button with an Allow Editing option. In almost every single situation, you will want to UNCHECK this option. If you don’t, the viewer will be able to edit your file on your OneDrive and that edit will show for you and everyone else! Please make sure you UNCHECK this option!!
You can also add other specific options like expiration date, password, and block download if you choose so.
I hope this page has helped you see the various blocks you can use and gives you some ideas as to how you can use them to enhance your site! If you have any additional questions, you can always submit a Technology Ticket and we can help you out!