Gutenberg blocks explained: patterns, reusable blocks, and synced content

The block editor has grown three overlapping ways to reuse a layout, and the naming hasn't made the differences obvious. Here's what each one actually does.

Blocks: the basic unit

A block is a single piece of content — a paragraph, an image, a button, a whole pre-built "cover" section. Every page in the block editor is built from blocks, nested inside each other as needed. If you've used the editor at all, you already know blocks; the confusion starts with the next two concepts.

Patterns: a starting point, not a link

A pattern is a saved arrangement of blocks — say, a three-column pricing table — that you insert as a starting point. Critically, once inserted, it's a completely independent copy. Editing one pattern instance on one page has zero effect on any other page where you've used that same pattern. Patterns are for layouts you want to reuse but customize differently each time.

Reusable blocks: one edit, everywhere

A reusable block (sometimes now folded into "synced patterns" in newer WordPress versions) is the opposite: every instance is linked to the same underlying content. Edit it on one page, and the change appears everywhere it's used, instantly. This is exactly what you want for something like a site-wide call-to-action banner or a legal disclaimer that must stay identical everywhere.

Synced patterns: the newer, unified name

Recent WordPress versions merged the two concepts under one interface: when saving a pattern, you now choose "synced" (behaves like the old reusable blocks) or "not synced" (behaves like a classic pattern). If your version shows this choice, it's the same underlying distinction described above — just presented as one toggle instead of two separate features.

A simple rule for choosing

• Reusing a layout idea that should look different each time it's used → unsynced pattern.
• Reusing identical content that must update everywhere at once → synced pattern / reusable block.

Get this one distinction right and most of the confusion around Gutenberg's reuse features disappears.