Customizing Block Sizes for Better Website Design: An Expert Guide

As a web developer with over 15 years of experience building WordPress sites, I‘ve seen the platform evolve rapidly from a simple blogging engine to a sophisticated CMS powering over 40% of all websites.

The latest addition of the block editor (aka Gutenberg) ushered in a new paradigm of creating content with modular blocks. While the block approach makes building pages more visual, it also requires adapting existing workflows.

One key skill in the block editor is customizing the size and appearance of blocks for aesthetics and conversions. In this comprehensive guide drawn from my experience with WordPress over the years, we’ll explore why you should resize blocks and exactly how to do it like a pro.

Why Should You Customize Default Block Sizes?

Since adopting the block editor in 2018, WordPress has seen over 20 million sites switch to using it. The entire editing process is now centered around blocks of content rather than dealing with raw HTML.

While blocks make content layout very visual, the predefined heights and widths may not always fit what you want for your pages. Here‘s why you should resize them:

Make designs look perfect on any device

Some default blocks can span the entire width of the content section. While they look fine on desktop, scaling down to mobile can make them appear too stretched out:

Bad responsive blocks

Adjusting block widths ensures they display nicely across all devices for optimal responsive design.

Enhance visual hierarchy on pages

Changing heading and media block sizes can better direct user focus and create visual hierarchy:

resized blocks visual hierarchy

Fit more content without overflow

Certain blocks may overflow their boundaries if you add more content than the default size accommodates.

Increasing height prevents messy overflow so all content is visible:

Fixed overflow

Maintain stylistic consistency

Varying default block sizes can look disjointed. Enforcing consistent dimensions for similar blocks promotes rhythm.

As you can see, default block sizes don‘t always meet needs. Let‘s look at ways to resize them.

How to Resize Blocks in WordPress

Based on years of using WordPress and experimenting with blocks, here are the main methods I recommend for resizing:

1. Use Individual Block Settings

The easiest way is to tweak size values directly in a block‘s settings:

block settings resize

  • Pros: Simple and quick for individual blocks.
  • Cons: Limited to blocks with size options in settings.

For example, Image and Video blocks let you set pixel widths and alignments. Use these built-in settings first before exploring more complex methods.

2. Wrap Blocks in Columns

The Columns block allows placing other blocks into adjustable column containers:

Columns resize demo

  • Pros: Granular control over width by resizing columns.
  • Cons: Only adjusts width, not height.

This technique works for any block type and gives you very precise width control.

3. Use the Group Block Method

Groups let you cluster blocks together and resize the entire group:

Group resize demo

  • Pros: Single resize handle for multiple blocks. Controls both width and height.
  • Cons: Requires adding the Group wrapper block first.

For example, group together a heading, image, and text blocks to maintain their size relationships.

4. Custom CSS Code

For maximum flexibility, inject custom CSS to override block sizes:

CSS code resize demo

  • Pros: Not limited to built-in settings. Reusable CSS classes.
  • Cons: Requires CSS skills. More setup time.

Use this when you need sizes beyond what the block itself allows. We‘ll explore some reusable CSS snippets next.

5. Installsizing Plugins (Advanced)

Plugins extend block styling options beyond the core editor‘s capabilities:

Advanced Block Styling

  • Pros: Precise resizing with advanced controls. Animate blocks, save styles.
  • Cons: Additional setup time and cost for premium plugins.

Tools like SeedProd add advanced customization for creating high converting pages and landing pages.

Now let‘s look at resizing some common blocks in more detail.

Resizing Images in WordPress

Images often need resizing to fit nicely into layouts. Here are a few ways to customize image block sizes:

Easy built-in settings

The Image block provides direct width, height, and alignment settings:

Image block settings resize

Quickly test different alignments and pixel sizes to get images sized appropriately.

Anchor resizing

Click the image to reveal drag-and-drop anchors for live resizing:

Image block anchor resize GIF

Anchors provide responsive visual feedback as you resize so you can dial in the perfect size.

Reusable CSS classes

For reusable image sizes, define CSS classes like:

/* Small image */
.small-image { 
  width: 200px;
  height: auto;
}

/* Large image */
.large-image {
  width: 100%;
  height: auto;
}

Then assign these classes to image blocks:

CSS class resize images

Classes give you consistency and let you size images responsively.

Adjusting Text Block Sizes

Resizing headings, paragraphs, lists, etc also helps perfect page layouts.

Use the Columns block

Wrap text blocks in columns to control their widths:

Resize text in columns

Reducing column widths shrinks contained text blocks proportionally.

Custom CSS classes

Redefine text block sizes with CSS:

/* Small text */
.small-text {
  width: 75%;
  font-size: .9rem;
} 

/* Large text */ 
.large-text {
  width: 100%;
  font-size: 2rem;
}

Add these classes to text blocks:

CSS text resizing demo

This gives you reusable, responsive control over font sizes and widths.

Manual formatting

Select text inside a block and use the formatting toolbar to resize:

Manual font resizing

Manual sizing works well for small tweaks to standalone text.

Line height

Adjust line height in block settings to increase text block spacing:

Line height resize text blocks

Line height prevents multi-line content from looking cramped.

Tips for Other Common Blocks

Here are some tips for resizing specific block types:

Cover Block

Adjust height via slider, add spacing with background color.

List Block

Increase line height for spacing. Wrap in columns to constrain width.

Quote Block

Shrink font size and width with CSS classes.

Video Block

Use alignment options to fit width to column or go full width.

Button Block

Control height and width using the padding sliders.

Spacer Block

Only has height setting. Adjust to space other blocks vertically.

Column Block

Change columns and gutters to resize contained blocks.

Group Block

Use layout options to distribute contained blocks. Adjust overall height/width.

Maintaining Proper Content Flow

When resizing blocks, keep these tips in mind:

  • Don‘t cramp text content with narrow widths.
  • Allow images and videos enough space to shine.
  • Use consistent sizes for similar blocks like headings.
  • Watch for content overflow issues and increase height.
  • Resize responsively for smaller mobile widths.
  • Group related blocks before resizing.
  • Preview across device sizes.

Careful resizing creates aesthetically pleasing layouts that adapt well responsively.

Leveraging Plugins Like SeedProd (Pro Tips)

While the WordPress block editor has come a long way, third-party page builders like SeedProd offer advanced customization options that serious designers need.

After trying several top page builders over the years, I find SeedProd to be the best for creating high-converting landing pages and sales funnels quickly.

Compared to the WordPress editor, SeedProd provides more granular control over resizing any block on the page:

SeedProd block resizing

Key features that make block resizing easier:

  • Pixel and percentage size inputs for all blocks.
  • Individual padding, margins, and border sizing.
  • Global styles to batch edit multiple blocks.
  • Reuse column layouts and styles.
  • Animate blocks with entrance effects.
  • Rollback changes if needed.

These advanced customization options ensure your blocks remain precisely sized no matter how complex your layouts get. You can create pixel-perfect block layouts to maximize conversions.

If you want to get serious about converting visitors beyond what the WordPress editor allows, SeedProd is a worthwhile investment for creating landing pages.

Troubleshooting Block Resizing Issues

While resizing blocks is fairly straightforward, here are some common issues to watch for:

Content overflowing block boundaries

This occurs when reducing width too much. Try increasing block size, changing layouts, or splitting into multiple blocks.

Unresponsive blocks

If full width blocks appear too stretched on mobile, reduce to constrained widths or percentages.

Disappearing padding or styles

Some added padding, colors etc may get overridden when resizing. Recheck and reapply if needed.

Spacing and alignment problems

Use margin settings or Spacer blocks to fix gaps between resized blocks.

Unexpected image distortions

When images become pixelated or warped from stretching, use appropriate image sizes instead.

Weird sizes

For consistency, use pixel units, percentages, or CSS media queries when resizing groups of blocks.

Pay attention to how content reflows on size changes. Adjust until the responsive behavior is right.

Best Practices for Resizing Blocks

Here are a few closing tips for resizing blocks successfully:

  • Favor mobile-first percentage widths before adding larger desktop sizes.
  • Pick image sizes matching rendered block widths to avoid pixelation.
  • Use EM units and relative sizes for better responsive scaling.
  • Don‘t just rely on anchors. Also tweak toolbar and sidebar settings.
  • Find the right balance of white space and snug content.
  • Change parent layouts before resizing child blocks for flexibility.
  • Test on all device sizes and make incremental changes until satisfied.

While it takes experimentation to resize blocks perfectly, these practices will help guide you through the nuances and intricacies of block sizing in WordPress.

Conclusion

Whether you‘re a long-time WordPress user getting to grips with the new block editor or just starting out, mastering block resizing is a must for creating pixel-perfect page designs.

Use the techniques covered in this guide – from built-in block settings and using groups/columns to custom CSS and plugins – to gain complete control over block dimensions on your site.

Fine-tuning blocks for the right sizes across devices keeps users focused on your content, not distracted by messy layouts. Combining aesthetics with conversion optimization leads to increased traffic, engagement and sales.

Hopefully these tips distilled from my many years of experience help you resize blocks flawlessly. Let me know if you have any other sizing questions!

Written by Jason Striegel

C/C++, Java, Python, Linux developer for 18 years, A-Tech enthusiast love to share some useful tech hacks.