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Writing content · 2.4

Patterns and synced patterns

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The short version

  • A pattern is a group of blocks, already laid out for you.
  • You insert one, then change the words and pictures.
  • You can save your own patterns to use again.
  • A synced pattern updates everywhere when you edit it once.

Blocks and patterns

A block is one piece, such as a paragraph or a button. A pattern is a collection of blocks. You insert it into a post or page, then change it to suit you.[1]

Two columns. A block is one piece of content, such as a paragraph or an image. A pattern is a group of blocks arranged for you, which you can insert and then change.
A block is one piece. A pattern is a ready-made group.

Patterns save time.[1] They also show you how blocks can work together.

Insert a pattern

Open the block inserter, which is the plus button in the toolbar. Then open the Patterns tab.[1]

The block inserter with the Patterns tab open, showing ready-made About section layouts.
The Patterns tab shows ready-made layouts you can insert. Screenshot: WordPress documentation, captured 2026-10-18.

Pick a group on the left, such as About. Click a pattern to insert it where your cursor is.

After you insert a pattern, you can change its text and swap its images. This is called content-only editing. It stops you from breaking the layout by accident.[1] To change the layout too, use the Edit pattern button.

Find more patterns

WordPress has an official Block Pattern Directory. You can explore it for more patterns.[1] Choose a pattern, copy it and paste it into your post.[1]

Save your own pattern

You can create your own patterns. This has been possible since WordPress 6.3.[1]

Five steps to make your own pattern: select the blocks, open the three dot menu, choose Create pattern, name it and choose whether to sync it, then click Create.
Saving your own pattern.

First, select the blocks you want.[2] Then open the three-dot menu and choose Create pattern. Give it a name.[2] Then click Create.[2]

Your saved patterns appear in the inserter, under My patterns.[1]

The block inserter showing where My Patterns appears.
Patterns you save yourself appear under My Patterns. Screenshot: WordPress documentation, captured 2026-10-18.

You can rename, duplicate, export or delete a pattern later. You find these choices in the Site Editor.[1]

Synced and not synced

When you save a pattern, there is a Synced switch.[2]

Two columns. A synced pattern: edit it once and every place it is used changes. A pattern that is not synced: each copy is separate, so changing one does not change the others.
Synced patterns update everywhere. Plain ones do not.

A synced pattern updates everywhere you used it when you edit it.[1] Here is a good use. Say you end every post with the same note. If you make it a synced pattern, you only write it once.[2]

A pattern that is not synced is just a starting point. Once you insert it, it is separate. There is no link back to the original.[1]

You can also detach a synced pattern in one place. Then you can edit that copy without affecting the saved pattern.[1]

A bit of history

Synced patterns used to be called reusable blocks. WordPress 6.3 renamed them.[1] You may still see the old name in older guides.

Where next

Patterns shape a small area. A theme shapes the whole site. The next section starts with block themes and classic themes.

Sources

  1. Block Patterns, WordPress.org Documentation (accessed 2026-10-18)
  2. Synced Patterns (Reusable blocks), WordPress.org Documentation (accessed 2026-10-18)