The Paragraph block is your foundation for connecting with your community and sharing God's word online. This block provides simple text editing with formatting options to help structure readable and clear content.
Add a Paragraph Block
There are two ways to add a Paragraph block:
Method 1 — Just Start Typing
Click anywhere on the page canvas.
Begin typing. A Paragraph block is created automatically.
Method 2 — Insert Using the Block Inserter
Click the + Add Block button.
Search for Paragraph.
Select the Paragraph block.
Start typing your text.
Tip: As you type, press Enter to automatically create new paragraph blocks. Using Shift + Enter will create a line break within the same block.
Best Practices
Break long text into short paragraphs
Use Headings to introduce new sections
Use Highlight sparingly to emphasize only what truly matters
For accessibility: always maintain high contrast between text and background
Block Toolbar
Every block comes with its own set of controls. By hovering over the buttons, you can see tooltips that reveal what each button does and display any available keyboard shortcuts.
The toolbar for the paragraph block includes the following buttons from left to right:
Control | Icon | Description |
Transform to |
| The 'Transform to' button allows you to convert the Paragraph block into various formats, such as Heading, List, and Quote blocks. You can also change the text content into Columns, Pullquote, Code, Group, Preformatted, and Verse blocks. Using any of these options will alter the text's appearance or style. |
Block-moving tools |
| The drag (six dots) icon lets you reposition the block anywhere within the editor by holding the icon and dragging it to your desired location. Alternatively, you can use the arrow icons to move the block up or down among nested or multiple blocks. |
Text alignment |
| The text alignment tool allows you to left-align, center, or right-align the text in a Paragraph block. |
Bold and Italics |
| You can customize the text in the Paragraph block using the Bold and Italics formatting options. Additionally, you can use these keyboard shortcuts: |
Insert links |
| The Insert Links tool allows you to add a hyperlink to the selected text. Learn more about link editing options. |
More rich text controls |
| The More controls menu in the toolbar provides additional text formatting features. A list of these options is explored later in this article. |
Options |
| The Options icon provides helpful tools for duplicating your content, removing blocks, or editing your text as HTML. |
Unknown formatting | ? | The clear unknown formatting (?) icon appears only when WordPress detects unrecognized formatting, typically from content pasted from external editors. Using this option removes any problematic code without affecting your ability to apply other formatting. |
The More Rich Text Controls menu in the toolbar provides the additional text formatting features described below:
Option | What It Does | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
Footnote | Adds a numbered footnote reference | Scripture references, study notes |
Highlight | Adds a background highlight to text | Draw attention to announcements or key phrases |
Inline Code | Styles text in a code-like font | Technical instructions |
Inline Image | Inserts a small image inside the text line | Useful for icons or symbols |
Keyboard Input | Formats text as a keyboard key | Example: Press Enter |
Strikethrough | Draws a line through selected text | Indicate corrections or changes |
Subscript | Places text slightly below baseline | Chemical notation (H₂O), academic notation |
Superscript | Places text slightly above baseline | Verses (John 3⁶), ordinal numbers (1st) |
Block Settings
Each block has settings that help you shape your message. To find these options for your paragraph block, click the Settings button in the top-right corner of your editor.
Color
The color settings in the block editor allow you to customize text color, background color, link color, gradients, and duotone filters for your blocks. Available options vary by theme and block type.
Color Tips:
In the color section, click the three-dot menu to see all available color options
Use "Reset All" in the three-dot menu to restore default settings
Choose colors from your color palette. To change your site's color palette, navigate from your dashboard to Appearance, then Editor.
Typography
The Typography settings help you shape how your text appears.
Font Family: Choose from theme-available fonts
Font Size: Select preset sizes (S/M/L/XL) or custom values using px, em, or rem
Letter Case: Choose all caps, lowercase, or capitalized first letter
Letter Spacing: Control space between characters
Decoration: Add underline or strikethrough
Appearance: Adjust weight (Thin to Black) and style (Regular to Italic)
Typography Tips:
In the typography section, click the three-dot menu to see all available options
Use "Reset All" to restore defaults
Dimensions
The dimensions section offers multiple ways to adjust your Paragraph block's size, including margins width and height, enabling you to tailor the text layout for visual appeal.
Advanced
The Advanced settings allow you to add an HTML anchor and CSS classes to the Paragraph block.
HTML Anchor: Create a unique anchor text for the Paragraph block and link it to another webpage. For more details, refer to Page Jumps.
Additional CSS Classes: Add custom CSS classes to the Paragraph block, enabling you to style the block as desired.