new custom html ‘editor’
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I’m having lots of trouble putting html code into the custom html block. Before this week this was relatively easy.. I’d dump in some html and then I’d be able to edit away as I like. And it would interpret it fine to my blog. Now I’ve got to go through this stupid editor that screws up my <a> and <img>. If you’re going to dumb down this block the least you can do is provide the old way too and stop getting in the way.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi there, can you tell us in more detail about this issue? I see you posted something similar last year as well.
What exactly is not working now that worked before? Examples are also helpful, so publishing a temporary page on your site that illustrates the problem and sharing a link to it here will also help.
Meantime, here is a support guide for this block
Use the Custom HTML block to add HTML code and preview it as you edit it. This guide will show you how to use this block to add code to your website. In this guideAdd the Custom HTML blockAdd your codeSupported code Have a question? Ask our AI assistant Back to top Add the Custom HTML block To add the Custom HTML block, click the + block in -
The html-code you can use in a custom html blok is very limited. But why would you be messing around with html-code as our own Block Editor is much more efficient?
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Thanks for the replies.
I prefer entering html code so I can control my text positions particularly with my poetry. I liked the old custom html block since it just took my code and interpreted it when the post happened. That means I could easily edit the code. Now I have to use the wp html code editor which is an extra step. And it keeps screwing up my code particularly the wikimedia <a> and <img> strings every time I exit the editor.
Also the button to end the edit session often disappears on an iPad.
Please provide the old custom html block which was simple and easy and faster to use. -
Have you tried the Verse block? https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/verse-block/
After your last reply I’m not sure I understand where you are entering your HTML code? In the Custom HTML Block or in the Post Code Editor that appears under the ellipsis menu at the top right of the Post Editor’s sidebar.
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It seems I left out a paragraph to my above reply.
The Code Editor pictured above is not very user friendly. You’ll likely have a better experience with either the HTML block or the Verse block.
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I tried the verse block but the defaults look terrible with the block having a grey background and a terrible font. Changing that takes a lot of work. The old custom html block was much less work for me. I work in IT and I know html. And I still don’t know WHY the custom html was changed. That decision made stuff worse.
I can understand WP trying to make things easier but don’t take tools away like that and replace them with ‘features’ that are only features to some. Leave the old tool and add a new one. WP made their own software less useful to me. And you could say I’m not a paying customer for this blog and that’s true but I am a paying customer through a local group who have a Go Daddy website using WP. That was my recommendation. But when the term finishes I will definitely change my mind if you keep screwing your clients. -
Hello again, I understand this is frustrating because it changed how you work.
First let me just say that both @staartmees and I are veteran forum volunteers and do not work for WordPress.com. We are “members” like you are.
While I’ve gone ahead and flagged your thread for Staff attention, you haven’t really replied to my questions above
What exactly is not working now that worked before? Examples are also helpful, so publishing a temporary page on your site that illustrates the problem and sharing a link to it here will also help.
other than to say
it just took my code and interpreted it
So, if you can provide that information in the meantime, it will assist Staff when they get to this thread.
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Thank you for your help, I’m sorry for being so frustrated. If I can find a way to do this without the hassle I will. I’ve been posting to my wordpress site for many years daily and I hate it when technicalities like this get in the way.
I can’t show you how it used to work on a temporary page since the custom html block isn’t working the way it used to. I could show you how the new html editor screws up a wikimedia image.Or I could tell you the problem with my process.
What would help you?
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Perhaps there’s a way to turn off the block feature completely… I did prefer the system from years ago that didn’t have blocks at all. It just had a Visual and a Code tab.
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Accepted answer
Hi there,
I see you’ve been having trouble with the Custom HTML block changing your code, especially with Wikimedia links and images.The quickest way for me to help is if you could create a test page showing the issue and share the link here. That way I can see exactly what’s happening with your HTML code.
It sounds like you might prefer the older editing experience you mentioned – the one with just Visual and Code tabs. Have you tried using the Classic block? It gives you that simpler interface within the block editor: https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/classic-block/
Also, just to clarify – are you editing directly in the Custom HTML block, or are you using the Code Editor from the ellipsis menu at the top?
Looking forward to hearing back. -
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You can save it as a draft and preview the post.
Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions!
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You must realise wordpress.com (and wordpress.org) aren’t really meant to be used as an html editor as we offer our easy to use homemade Block Editor.
If you really want to code everything yourself, there are several other CMS that suits better to your needs.
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I appreciate your response but wordpress has been suitable to my needs for many years. I only get pissed off when the tools I had for posting are removed. This ‘improvement’ to the custom html block is a brick wall for a user who knows how to use the old system fine.
My post tomorrow required me to take my code… paste part in the Classic Editor, copy the title to the title bar, remove the hmtl and then, since I have a wikimedia graphic to go with it I have to create another block, the custom html block, open the useless editor, paste in my html code for the graphic, and then try to hit the stupid button that hardly appears because I’m using an iPad and then I’m ready to schedule it.It used to take 1 or, at most, 2 minutes. Now it takes at least 5 if not 10. This is ‘easy to use’????
I’ve been trying to explain the problem since Nov. 25 and no one can help me. What I would like is to speak to the Manager who requested this change to the html editor or the programmer who implemented it. I work at a software company. I understand making features for the public… but that doesn’t mean you get rid of the features for advanced users. That’s just bad business.
I may just take your advice and find another platform. X and facebook work fine with wikimedia html pastes. I preferred the control I had with WordPress but they are taking that away. Nice parting gift for 20 years of loyalty.
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Hi @tgrignon,
I’ve read through the entire conversation, and I completely understand your frustration. It’s incredibly disruptive when a tool you’ve relied on for years changes and breaks a workflow that was efficient for you. Your loyalty to the platform is clear, and we want to help get this sorted out.
The core issue preventing us from finding a solution is that we can’t see exactly what the editor is doing to your code. When you say it “screws up my code ” we believe you, but we can’t diagnose the problem without seeing the evidence.
To move forward, we need a specific example. Could you please provide the following? It will only take a minute and will be the most direct way for us to help.
- Paste the original HTML code here in a reply. For example, the full HTML string for the Wikimedia graphic you mentioned.
- Then, go to a test post and paste that same code into a Custom HTML block.
- Click out of the block or save the draft.
- Go back into the Custom HTML block and copy the code that the editor has changed.
- Paste that new, “screwed up” code here in your reply.
Seeing the “before” and “after” code side-by-side will allow us to see precisely what is being altered. This is the crucial piece of information needed to understand if this is a bug, an intended change, or if there’s a way to format your code to prevent it from being modified.
We aren’t trying to give you the runaround; we genuinely need to see the code in action to help you.
Looking forward to your response.
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You’ve fixed the button issue for the iPad… thanks.
I think I have figured out part of the issue… and it’s kind of hit and miss since sometimes wikimedia has coded angle brackets in their publish to web html like from this page:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Webcartoonist%27s_depiction_of_her_own_nervous_breakdown.jpg/1024px-Webcartoonist%27s_depiction_of_her_own_nervous_breakdown.jpg
I can’t post the actual code in because the forum won’t allow that. But if you go the page above and select Use this File and Embed this file you’ll see the code for yourself.
Now if I put that into the html code editor it seems to work and shows the picture. But when you edit the html block again it fails to put in part of the html (the > part) so it renders what you can see here:
https://tgrignon.wordpress.com/2025/12/05/test-post-of-interesting-nervous-breakdown-wikimedia-art/I can avoid the problem by picking a wikimedia image without that encoding but that limits what I can post. But your old custom html block tool allowed that encoding just fine.
And… no matter what… this still makes my posting slower since I have to go through the editor open and close.
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Hi there!
I checked the post https://tgrignon.wordpress.com/2025/12/05/test-post-of-interesting-nervous-breakdown-wikimedia-art/ on the editor. It appears you are looking to link the image to its URL https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Webcartoonist%27s_depiction_of_her_own_nervous_breakdown.jpg on your HTML code.
May we try editing that post to duplicate the HTML block and try fixing the HTML code to see what happens?
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