Most websites repeat the same pieces of content again and again. A call to action at the end of a blog post, a contact box, a short author note or a disclaimer often appear on dozens of pages. Copying and pasting those blocks works at first, but the moment you need to change a phone number or a button label, you have to hunt down every copy. Gutenberg has a built-in answer to this problem: patterns, and in particular synced patterns.
If you are new to the block editor, it helps to read our guide to understanding the Gutenberg WordPress Editor first. This post assumes you already know how blocks are added and arranged.
What Patterns Are
A pattern is simply a group of blocks saved together so you can insert it again later. It can be as small as a heading and a button, or as large as a full landing page section with columns, images and text. Themes and plugins ship their own patterns, and you can create your own from any selection of blocks in the editor.
Patterns come in two flavours, and the difference matters:
- Synced patterns stay connected. When you edit the pattern, every place that uses it updates at the same time.
- Unsynced patterns act as a starting point. When you insert one, you get an independent copy of the blocks that you can change freely without affecting anything else.
Synced patterns are what older versions of WordPress called reusable blocks. The name changed, but the idea is the same: one source, many placements.
How to Create a Synced Pattern
Creating a pattern takes less than a minute. Select the block or blocks you want to reuse, open the options menu in the block toolbar (the three dots) and choose the option to create a pattern. Give it a clear name, decide whether it should be synced, and save.
From then on, the pattern appears in the block inserter under the Patterns tab, and you can also find it by typing its name after a forward slash in an empty paragraph. Naming matters more than it seems. A name like "Newsletter box, blog footer" is much easier to find six months later than "Box 2".
When to Use Synced and When to Use Unsynced
A good rule of thumb is to ask whether the content should always be identical. If it should, make it synced. Typical examples include:
- calls to action that point to the same page
- legal notes or disclaimers
- contact details and opening information
- a short "about the author" box
If you only want the same layout but different content each time, use an unsynced pattern. Product comparison rows, team member cards or case study sections usually fall into this group. You keep a consistent design without forcing every instance to say the same thing.
Be careful with synced patterns on very busy sites. Because a change applies everywhere at once, a small mistake also spreads everywhere at once. Preview the change on one page before you save.
Managing and Editing Your Patterns
To edit a synced pattern, select it on any page and choose to edit the original. Gutenberg opens the pattern on its own, and once you save, the change is reflected everywhere it is used. On sites with a block theme, all patterns can also be managed from the Patterns section of the Site Editor under Appearance.
Sometimes one page needs a slightly different version of a synced pattern. In that case you can detach it on that page. Detaching turns the pattern back into ordinary blocks, so the page keeps its own copy and no longer receives updates from the original.
It is worth reviewing your pattern library from time to time. Delete patterns nobody uses, merge near duplicates and rename anything unclear. A tidy library makes it much easier for everyone who edits the site to pick the right building block.
Patterns, Accessibility and Performance
Because a synced pattern is built once and reused, it is a good place to get the details right. Add meaningful alt text to images, use a logical heading level and write link text that makes sense on its own. Our post on Gutenberg accessibility best practices covers these points in more depth.
Patterns are made from regular core blocks, so they do not add extra plugins or scripts to your pages. That keeps them light compared with many page builder widgets that do a similar job.
Final Thoughts
Synced patterns are one of the simplest ways to save time in Gutenberg. Use them for content that must stay identical everywhere, use unsynced patterns for layouts you want to repeat with fresh content, and keep the library organised. Your future self, and anyone else who edits the site, will thank you.