Are you wondering how to change your header, footer or blog layout without touching any code? With a block theme, you can do it all in the Site Editor.
The Site Editor is the home of full site editing in WordPress. It lets you design every part of your site with blocks, not just the content of posts. In this guide, we will see what it does and how to open it.
What can you edit in the Site Editor?
The Site Editor arrived in WordPress 5.9 along with block themes. Just like the block editor handles a single post, the Site Editor handles the whole site. Here are its main sections:
- Navigation: Edit the menus used in your header and footer.
- Styles: Set global colors, fonts and spacing for the entire site.
- Pages: Open and edit your pages right inside the site layout.
- Templates: Change the layouts for single posts, archives, the 404 page and more.
- Patterns: Manage your patterns and template parts, such as the header and footer.
How to open the Site Editor
- First, make sure you are using a block theme, such as Twenty Twenty-Five.
- Now, go to Appearance → Editor in your dashboard.
- Next, click Templates and pick the template you want to change.
- Here, select any block and edit it, just like you do in a post.
- Finally, click Save at the top right to apply your changes.
Your template changes are saved in the database, not in the theme files. If something goes wrong, you can reset a template back to the theme's original design.
Site Editor vs. the Customizer
Classic themes still use the Customizer and the Widgets screen. With a block theme, these options mostly disappear, and the Site Editor takes their place. So if you don't see Editor under Appearance, your theme is most likely a classic one.
Want step-by-step help with the most common jobs? We have separate guides to edit the header and edit the footer in WordPress.
To sum up, full site editing puts your entire design in one visual place. That's it for the Site Editor. If you have any questions, drop them in the comment section below.