An In-depth Introduction to the WordPress Block Editor for Screen reader Users (Part One)

Introduction

Welcome to the WordPress Block Editor Tutorial Part One of a Series!

This tutorial will cover many different concepts and topics when it comes to using the WordPress Block Editor. However, the tutorial will primarily focus on using the block editor in conjunction with a keyboard and screen reader.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks go to the following contributors:

• Amanda Carson for co-authoring and proof reading parts of this tutorial.
• David Edick for setting Up and hosting the Zoom conference for us to demonstrate the concepts detailed in this series as well as recording and editing the user zoom sessions.
• Jason Castonguay for assisting in researching and testing of the Mac Keystrokes so this information can be Updated.

Topics and Concepts that will be covered:

• What are Blocks in WordPress
• Comments on editor accessibility
• Tools used for tutorial
• Frequently used keyboard shortcuts
• Inserting, Deleting and Changing Layout of Blocks
• Post & Page View versus Block View
• Inserting and Deleting Hyperlinks

What Are Blocks In WordPress?

Blocks are the components for adding content in the new WordPress editor. They are used to transform a single document into a collection of discrete elements, each of which has an explicit, easy-to-change structure. Block structure and settings are separate from the settings for the entire document, and block settings and Post/Page settings have their own distinct parts within the editor’s user interface.

Comments on editor accessibility

Although there may be additional keystrokes available, this document provides enough to get you started.

As we find more keystrokes and test with them, we will of course keep editing and Updating this document, so please stay tuned for future revisions.

The keystrokes we have documented here were not easy to find. Most are not documented within the editor, and there is no link to any outside documentation to find further information. We made an educated guess that “richtext” implied that the new WordPress editor is supposed to be something like Microsoft’s WordPad. We looked UP the keystrokes for that editor, tested them with the new WordPress editor, and our educated guess turned out to be correct.

We went with Wordpad and not Microsoft Word because while Wordpad is a richtext application in the technical sense, Microsoft Word is not. Furthermore, it is an unattainable goal if the new WordPress editor lives in the browser. Not all the Wordpad keystrokes work, so we have documented the ones that do.

Individuals using assistive technology that depend strictly on keyboards or keyboard simulation will need to experiment to understand fully what is available to them.

Tools used for tutorial

• WordPress 6.8using the twenty twenty-five (2025) theme
• Browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Microsoft Edge; all browsers kept UP to date.
• Screen readers: JAWS 2025, NVDA 2024 and Microsoft Narrator (Windows 11) as well as VoiceOver (MacOS Sequoia 15)

Frequently used keyboard shortcuts

Notes:

• If a shortcut requires two or more keys at the same time, the keys are separated by a plus sign (+).
• The shortcuts in this article refer to the U.S. keyboard layout. Keys for other layouts might not correspond exactly to the keys on a U.S. keyboard.

Editing Shortcuts

Move around in a document/block editor using the keyboard

Edit and move text and graphics

Delete text and graphics

Specific Keystrokes for the block editor

Inserting, Deleting and Changing Layout of Blocks

Inserting a new block

When starting a new page or post, a dialog with the first new post or page appears welcoming you to the block editor. Move to the “close this dialog button” and press either spacebar or enter to dismiss this dialog.

After typing the text for your title a placeholder for a new block is inserted into the content area which prompts the user to start typing or press the slash (/) key to choose a block type. If using a screen reader, you will need to invoke forms or edit mode before you start typing or use the slash key. If this placeholder does not appear then you can simply press the Keystroke of ALT + CTRL + Y (Mac: Command + Option + Y) to insert this placeholder and then use the previous instructions.

If you are editing an existing page or post that already has blocks in the content area, you can add a block either before or after a selected block in the hierarchy. To add a block before the selected block press ALT + CTRL + T (Mac: Command + Option + T) and to add a block after the selected block press ALT + CTRL + Y (Mac: Command + Option + Y). Screen reader users will need to be in forms or edit mode.

You can also duplicate a block by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + D (Mac: Command + SHIFT + D). This is useful if you have a block already formatted and want to duplicate this block along with its information in another location in your pages or posts.

Copying a block uses the standard Windows keystroke of CTRL + C (Mac: Command + C), which is useful for when your block is setUP and formatted and you wish to share between other pages or posts. You can also move a block by using CTRL + X (Mac: Command + X).

Choosing a block

With focus on the block placeholder, press the slash (/) key to choose a block. You will more than likely see a list of approximately 8 to 9 items in this list that is presented. This list is either the most commonly or most recently used blocks chosen. Please note that screen reader users will need to be in forms or edit mode.

Use your UP and DOWN ARROW keys to navigate this list until you get to the item you desire and then press the enter key. Do not attempt to use first letter navigation in this list as it does not work, only the ARROW keys.

Changing your block layout

As you continue to compose your page or post, the blocks are enumerated 1 of 10, 2 of 10, and so on.

To move your block UP or DOWN in the hierarchy, first make sure you are focused on the block, make sure you are in forms or edit mode and then press ALT + F10 (Mac: Option + F10)to bring UP the block editing toolbar.

Use your RIGHT and LEFT ARROW keys to navigate this toolbar. As you press the RIGHT ARROW keys, the first two (2) options on this toolbar are the buttons to move either UP or DOWN one (1) block at a time. Choose the appropriate button and press the spacebar or enter key to maneuver the block into the position of the hierarchy you desire.

You can also use the keystroke of ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + T (Mac: Command + Option + SHIFT + T) to move your block UP one position in the hierarchy, as well as press the ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + Y (Mac: Command + Option + SHIFT + Y) to move your block DOWN one position in the hierarchy.

Deleting a block

To delete a block, make sure that your focus is on the block you wish to delete, and in forms or edit mode and then press the keystroke ALT + SHIFT + Z (Mac: CTRL + Option + SHIFT + Z). Your block will be deleted.

There is a second option for you to explore in deleting a block. Press ALT + F10 (Mac: Option + F10) to bring UP the toolbar, then use the RIGHT ARROW to move to the “Options button” and press either the spacebar or enter key to drop DOWN a list of items, then DOWN ARROW to the option for “remove/delete block” and press the enter key on this item and the block will be deleted.

Furthermore, you can press CTRL + A (Mac: Command + A) twice quickly to select all the blocks in the content area and press either the backspace or the delete key to get rid of all the blocks in the content area. You want to use caution when using this method, as it may not give you the result that you are looking for.

Post and Page View versus Block View

For the sake of this tutorial, we will refer to editor or view, as each has the word block involved and we will attempt to untangle the confusing terminology.

Do not confuse the editing views with the editors themselves. You can switch between the two (2) editors with a simple keystroke which is ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + M (Mac: Command + Option + SHIFT + M). The block editor is also called the “visual editor” and the Code/HTML editor which is the second. These editors along with the blocks are the primary focus of this tutorial.

Post and Page view

After inserting your block of choice to work with, you will have the add block toolbar still available. Just after this toolbar, are two (2) buttons that is used to switch between the views.

The post and page view is used for configuring certain elements about your page or post prior to publication, such as the following:

• Status and visibility
• Permalink
• Categories
• Tags
• Featured image
• Excerpt
• Discussion
• Post attributes

It is recommended that you consider the above items before you publish to make sure everything is in place to work properly on your web site.

Explore these attributes on your own as it is beyond the scope of this tutorial currently to write UP these options. However, this does not mean that a future revision of this tutorial may not have these attributes documented.

Block view

The block view is different for each block that you insert into your content area, so to keep this simple we will use the paragraph block to explain the configuration options available. Each block will be documented separately along with its configuration options in block view in more detail when the document for each block is introduced and published.

For the paragraph options you will have the following at the time of this writing:

• Topography – for setting the font size
• Color Settings – for setting text color
• Text Settings – choose either drop cap or large initial letter
• Advanced Settings – insert a hyperlink or modify the CSS for your choice of style

Inserting and Deleting Hyperlinks

This tutorial is going to assume that you have a list block created with three (3) list items.

For example, my list looks like the following:

• Visit John
• Call John
• Email John

Since this list is now established, let us turn the text of the list into useable hyperlinks.

First select the list block, and if you are using a screen reader turn on your forms or edit mode. Use your navigation keys to move to the first part of the text and using text selection keystrokes, select “Visit John.” Tip: be sure to only select the text, because if you accidentally select the blank at the END of the first item, the first two (2) items in the list are both incorporated into a single link.

Once your text is selected, then press the keystroke of CTRL + K (Mac: Command + K) and the insert link dialog appears prompting for a URL. Type the following in this field: https://www.customerservant.com and then you should hear that one (1) option has been found. Tab to the submit button and then press your spacebar or enter key. You should hear a message stating that a link has been inserted.

That is how to insert a hyperlink using the http or https protocol, but what if you wish to use another protocol to insert a hyperlink?

Let us select the second list item text remembering to only select the text and not the blank character at the END of the line. When you have this selection made, then press the keystroke of CTRL + K (Mac: Command + K) and in the edit field type tel://8005551212 and you should hear that one (1) item has been found. Tab to the submit button and press either your spacebar or the enter key. You should hear a message that the link has been inserted.

For the last list item, again select the text to become a link being careful not to get the blank character at the END of the line. Press the keystroke of CTRL + K (Mac: Command + K) and then type mailto:john@jcarson.wtf into the edit field and you should hear a message stating one (1) item has been found. Tab to the submit button and either press your spacebar or the enter key and you should hear a message stating that the link has been inserted.

It is now time to test your links to make sure they do what you intended to do.

Note: We used three (3) examples to show how to insert hyperlinks using different protocols just so you do not have to experiment to figure out these procedures.

Deleting or Removing a hyperlink

Deleting or removing a hyperlink is just as easy as inserting one, just select the text that is already a hyperlink using the cautions already mentioned in this tutorial and press the keystroke of CTRL + SHIFT + K (Mac: Command + SHIFT + K) and you should hear a message indicating that the hyperlink has now been removed.