WordPress Patterns: How To Create & Use Them

WordPress patterns (also called WordPress block patterns) can assist you enhance your productivity. So, if you’ve ever built a page in WordPress, you know it takes time to get things right – adding text, images and buttons and ensuring they all look good together.

This tutorial shows you how to create your WordPress patterns, save them, use them in posts and pages, and even edit or delete them later. We’ll also explain the difference between Synced and Unsynced patterns so you can choose what works best for you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• WordPress patterns are reusable block layouts that save time and keep your design consistent.
• You can choose from ready-made patterns or create your own to match your WordPress site’s look.
• Patterns can be either Synced(updates everywhere) or Unsynced(edits affect only one place).
• Adding a pattern to a page or post is as easy as selecting it from the Patterns tab and clicking insert.
• You can edit patterns directly in a post or from the saved patterns section in the Site Editor(if using a block theme like Twenty Twenty-Two).
• If you want more control, detach a synced pattern and edit it without affecting the original.
• WordPress pattern overrides let you change certain parts of a synced pattern without touching the rest.
• WordPress saves pattern revisions, so you can restore an older version if needed.
• Unused patterns can be deleted from the Patterns section to keep things tidy.
• Patterns can be exported as JSON files to reuse on other WordPress sites or saved as backups.
• You can also import JSON pattern files into a new site to reuse the same layout.

What Are Patterns in WordPress?

WordPress patterns are pre-made layouts built using blocks. Instead of creating the same design from scratch every time, you can save it as a pattern and reuse it anywhere on your site.

These block patterns help keep your website looking the same across different pages. For example, if you always add a picture, heading, and button in the same way on each page, you can turn that setup into a pattern. Then, next time, you insert the pattern with one click instead of doing everything over again. This saves time and keeps your pages neat and professional.

Synced & Unsynced Patterns

When you create a pattern in WordPress, you have 2 options: Synced or Unsynced (Not synced). Both are useful, but they work in different ways.

Therefore, knowing the difference helps you decide which is right for your content.

• Synced Patterns

The Synced WordPress patterns are like a shared template. When you use them on different pages, they look the same everywhere. If you change the synced pattern, that change will show up on every page where the pattern is used. This is helpful if you want something to stay the same across your WordPress site, like a footer, a contact section, or a banner.

Let’s say you create a synced pattern that shows your company’s contact info. Later, you update the phone number in one spot. Because it’s synced, the new phone number will be updated everywhere that pattern appears. This saves you time and keeps your site consistent.

• Unsynced Patterns

An Unsynced pattern is different. When you insert an unsynced pattern into your page, it’s just a group of regular blocks. You can edit it as much as you want, and it won’t change the original pattern or any other place where the pattern was used.

Unsynced patterns are ideal when you want to use a layout as a starting point but still need to change the content each time. For example, you may use an unsynced pattern for a blog post intro that follows the same layout but has different words and pictures every time.

In short, use synced patterns to keep things the same everywhere, and use unsynced patterns when you want more freedom to customize each one. Both give you control, just in different ways.

Create WordPress Patterns

Creating your block patterns in WordPress is a great way to save time and keep your design looking the same on every page. You don’t need to know how to code. Just use the block editor, the tool you already use to write posts and build pages.

First, think about what you want your pattern to look like. A pattern is just a group of blocks combined in a certain way. For instance, you may want a pattern with an image, a heading, a short paragraph, and a button that links to another page. This layout is perfect for promotions, product features, or welcome sections.

To design it, start by adding each block to the page:

• The heading block for your title.
• The paragraph block for your text.
• Finally, the button block for your call-to-action (CTA).

Then, arrange them in the order you want. You can add an image, columns, background colors, or spacing. Once you’re happy with the layout, it’s time to save it as a pattern.

Select all the blocks you want to include in the pattern. To do this, click and drag your mouse to highlight them all or hold down Shift and click each block one by one.

Once selected, a small toolbar will appear at the top. Click the  ⋮  (also called the Options menu), then choose Create pattern.

A new window will pop up, asking you to name your pattern. Choose a name that helps you remember what it’s for, such as Home Page Banner, Free Guide Section, or Contact Section.

You can also pick a Category for your pattern or specify the name to create a new Category. You may also choose or create multiple Categories, if required. This is optional but helps you organize things if you make more patterns later.

Next, choose how your pattern should behave:

1. Synced: If you change the pattern later, it will update everywhere it’s used on your WordPress website. This is great for things like reusable promo banners.
2. Unsynced: The pattern will be added to your page as a combination of usual blocks. You can edit them freely, and the original pattern won’t change.

Finally, click Add. Your pattern is now saved and ready to use again anytime you want.

With a few clicks, you’ve made a custom design to reuse across your site. The following section shows how to insert and use your saved WordPress patterns on any page or post.

Use WordPress Patterns

Once you’ve created a pattern in WordPress, adding it to a page or post is simple. This helps you reuse your favorite layouts without starting from scratch. Whether it’s a banner, a product section, or a contact block, you can insert it in just a few clicks.

To begin, open the page or post where you want to add the pattern. In the upper-left corner of the editor, click the + icon to open the Block Inserter. This is where you can find your site’s WordPress blocks and patterns.

Next, click Patterns inside the Block Inserter. Here, you’ll see a list of built-in patterns plus the custom ones you’ve created. You can scroll through the list or use the search bar to find your pattern faster.

TIP: If you added a category when creating your WordPress pattern, go to that category first; your pattern should be listed there.

When you find the pattern you want, click on it. WordPress will insert the layout into your page or post right where your cursor is. Now, you can leave it as-is or make small changes to fit the content of that page.

Detach a Synced Pattern

Sometimes, you may want to use a synced pattern but then make a change without updating every page. You can do this by detaching the pattern. Detaching breaks the link between the page and the original pattern. Once it’s detached, the blocks become regular blocks. You can edit them freely without affecting the original version.

Here are the steps to detach a synced pattern in WordPress:

Open the post or page where you added the synced pattern. Click the pattern you want to detach. With the pattern selected, click ⋮  in the block toolbar and click Detach.

This will convert the synced pattern into regular blocks. You can now edit them as you wish, and it won’t affect the original saved pattern.

IMPORTANT:

Detaching is one-way; you can’t re-sync it unless you save it again as a new pattern. The original synced pattern will stay in your Pattern Library (you can access it by going to Appearance → Patterns) unless you delete it from there.

Override a Synced Pattern

Starting with WordPress 6.6, a new type of pattern was introduced: Synced Pattern Overrides. This pattern type uses the Block Bindings API and combines features from both synced and non-synced patterns.

With synced pattern overrides, you can create a layout that keeps its structure and style across your WordPress website, just like regular synced patterns. Any changes you make to the layout or design will automatically update wherever the pattern is used.

But here’s where it’s different: certain blocks inside that pattern can be editable per page. That means you can change the content in specific blocks, such as a heading or paragraph, without affecting the same pattern elsewhere. So, in short, synced pattern overrides give you a shared structure with flexible content.

Here’s how you can create and use a synced pattern override in WordPress:

Sign in to your WordPress Admin Dashboard. Then, go to Appearance → Patterns. Choose a pattern you want to work with, like the Big Title with Two Columns Text layout from the Twenty Sixteen theme. Next, click ⋮ and choose Duplicate.

Type in a new name and set it as a Synced pattern. Then, click Duplicate.

After that, locate your newly created pattern under My patterns. Click on it to open it in the editor.

Click on a block you want to make editable (for example, a Heading block). In the right-hand Block settings panel, scroll to Advanced. You’ll see an option to Enable overrides; click to turn this on.

A pop-up will ask you to provide a name for the override. Once named, click Enable to activate it.

Don’t forget to click Save in the top right of your page or post to update your pattern.

Note: You can disable the override later if required.

If you want to override multiple WordPress patterns, do the same steps for any other blocks in the pattern you wish to make customizable on individual pages.

Once you’re done, open your page or post and insert the synced pattern you created. You can now edit only the blocks you marked for overrides. Make changes, save the post, and preview this on the front end.

Note: When using the overridden pattern in a WordPress post, remember: only the selected blocks are editable. Everything else will follow the original pattern’s layout and design. This lets you keep a consistent style across your site while updating specific content per page. You can reuse this pattern across different pages, and every instance will maintain the same layout but allow unique content wherever overrides are enabled.

In the next section, we look at how to edit WordPress patterns after you insert them so you can adjust them whenever needed.

Edit a WordPress Pattern

You can make changes after you add a pattern to a page or post. WordPress makes it easy to edit patterns, whether you want to change just one or update all of them at once. It depends on whether the pattern is Synced or Unsynced.

If you’ve already added a pattern to a post or page, click on it, then click Edit original, and start editing. You can change the text, replace images, move blocks around, or add new blocks. It works just like editing regular blocks.

But here’s something important to know: If the pattern is Synced, any changes you make will affect every place that pattern is used on your site. If the pattern is Unsynced, changes only apply to the pattern you’re editing. The original pattern and any other copies stay the same. This is great when you want the layout to remain the same, but the content to be different.

Revise WordPress Patterns via My Patterns

You can also edit patterns directly from your list of saved patterns. In the WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance → Patterns.

This is where you’ll find all your saved patterns, both Synced and Unsynced. Again, if you’ve chosen the Category while creating your WordPress patterns, locate your pattern under it; otherwise, find them under My patterns.

Once you find your pattern, click to edit it. This will open the pattern in the editor. Now, you need to switch to the Block tab, where you can make changes, like updating font colors or the layout, or adding new blocks.

Then click Save. If it’s a Synced pattern, the update will apply across every place it’s used. If it’s Unsynced, the pattern will change, but existing versions added to pages won’t be affected.

Restore a Previous Revision of WordPress Patterns

Sometimes, you may change a pattern and realize you liked the old version better. Don’t worry –WordPress keeps track of your edits, so you can return to an earlier version if necessary. This is called revision history and it’s a helpful feature that saves time and prevents mistakes.

Access Pattern’s Revision History

To restore a previous version, find your saved patterns by navigating to WordPress Dashboard → Appearance → Pattern.

Find the pattern you want to fix and click to open it.

Once the pattern is open, switch to Pattern. You’ll see an option called Revisions with a link. Click this to view all the changes made to that pattern over time. Each revision is saved automatically, so you can scroll through the list and see what was changed and when.

Select & Restore a Previous Version

As you go through the revision history, WordPress shows you what the old version looked like compared to the current one. This helps you decide which version you want. You can scroll through using the Slider or Previous and Next buttons. When you find the correct version, click Restore This Revision.

That’s it! Your pattern will return to the older version, and you can keep using it or make more changes if needed.

Delete WordPress Patterns

Over time, you may create patterns that you no longer need. Maybe they’re outdated, or you’ve made a better version. In that case, you can delete a pattern from your WordPress site to keep your workspace clear and organized.

To get started, go to WordPress Dashboard → Appearance → Patterns. Browse through the list and find the pattern you wish to delete. You will recognize your pattern by its name or thumbnail preview. Click it to open the full pattern. This ensures you choose the one you want to remove.

Once the pattern is open, navigate to Patterns. Click the ⋮ menu in the top corner. Then, select Delete.

A message will pop up asking you to confirm the action. Click Delete to finish.

The pattern will be deleted and won’t appear in your list anymore. Remember, in WordPress, once you delete a pattern, especially a custom pattern you created, there is no built-in undo button to bring it back. However, if you used a plugin to create patterns (e.g., BlockMeister – Block Pattern Builder), you can restore them from the Trash, but only if you haven’t emptied it yet.

IMPORTANT:

Avoid using incompatible plugins, as they can cause issues.

Import & Export Patterns

If you create a pattern you like and want to use on another WordPress site or wish to save a backup, you can easily export and import it. WordPress lets you save patterns as files to move them or keep them safe for later. This is helpful for designers, developers, or anyone managing more than one site.

Export WordPress Patterns

To export a pattern, go to Appearance → Patterns. Find the pattern you wish to save and click to open it. Once open, click the three-dot menu and choose Export as JSON.

This will download the pattern to your computer as a .json file. You can store this file as a backup or share it with someone else. This is great for moving your design to a new site or if working with a team.

Import WordPress Patterns

To use a pattern on a different site, upload the JSON file. Go to the dashboard of the new WordPress site and open Appearance → Patterns. Then, click Add New Pattern. From the options, choose Import pattern from JSON. Select the JSON file you saved earlier and upload it.

The pattern will now appear in your list and is ready to use like any other.

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