Require a “More” block in WordPress posts
As a WordPress user or reader, you might have noticed that some blogs and websites use a “More” block to break up their content and display a teaser of the post on the homepage or archive pages. This feature allows visitors to see a preview of the post and decide if they want to read more.
Personally, I enjoy adding “More” blocks to my posts, so that people that subscribe to email updates about blog posts, still have to visit the site to view the whole content. This helps me track actual interest in the posts, as they get page views.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how you can require a “More” block in your WordPress posts to improve user experience and engage your audience. 😊
What is the “More” Block?
The “More” block in WordPress is a powerful tool that allows you to split your content into two parts: the excerpt and the full post. By inserting the “More” block at a specific point in your post editor, you can control where the excerpt ends and the rest of the content becomes accessible on the single post page. This feature is especially useful for long-form articles or posts with rich media elements.
Why Require a “More” Block?
As well as increasing engagement via email, more blocks have a few other benefits:
- Increased Engagement: A well-crafted teaser created with the “More” block can entice readers to click and continue reading the full post. This can lead to higher engagement rates, lower bounce rates, and increased time spent on site.
- Improved Readability: You can break up your content into a teaser and a full post, providing readers with a clearer view of what a post entails. They can quickly scan the teaser and decide if the content is relevant and worth their time.
- Enhanced Navigation: Requiring a “More” block allows users to navigate through content more efficiently. They can easily browse through multiple posts on the homepage or archive pages without being overwhelmed by lengthy posts in their entirety.
Lots of these benefits depend on exactly how WordPress is configured. How does the theme handle long posts, and displaying posts in lists? How do emails work? Do you write long-form content?
How to require the “More” Block?
I recently came across the PublishPress Checklists plugin.
PublishPress Checklists is the best plugin to make sure your content is ready to go live. With PublishPress Checklists, you can choose pre-publishing requirements for your content. Using PublishPress Checklists, you define tasks that must be completed before content is published.
PublishPress
Once installed, you can find a “Checklists” menu item in the admin panel.
A whole bunch of predefined checklist options are available, but to require a “More” block, currently, you’ll need to define your own.
Now, whenever you try to hit the publish button on a new WordPress post, you’ll be met with a very visible reminder.
If you try to click through to publish, you’ll also find the next button disabled.
Scrolling down in the sidebar showing post details, you can find the checklist created by the plugin, that you need to complete in order to post.
