Footnotes

The WordPress Block Editor makes it easy to add footnotes or references at the bottom of a post. Footnotes can be added as you go, or at any time when editing, and appear in a block at the bottom of the page.

How to Add

This is a simple process. You type your content into the post, as normal.1 When a particular sentence requires a footnote, follow these steps:-

  1. Position the cursor within the paragraph where you want to link to a footnote.
  2. Click on the More dropdown in the block controls bar to see the more advanced options.
  3. From the dropdown list, choose Footnotes.
  4. This automatically adds a superscript number at the cursor location, linked to a corresponding note text at the bottom of the post. The cursor is moved into the footnote block, where you can type the desired footnote content immediately.
  5. List items can also have a footnote.2
Selecting footnotes from the block control bar dropdown

Footnotes are numbered and linked automatically. Adding an extra one earlier in the content will cause all following footnotes to be renumbered automatically, without any additional effort.3

Deleting the footnote number within the main text automatically deletes the corresponding footnote content.

Footnotes iconThe Footnotes Block

A Footnotes block is created automatically, to sit at the bottom of the post content. Footnotes can be updated if necessary,4 simply by positioning the cursor on the footnote text and editing as desired.

The block can be styled, by positioning the cursor within the block and using the settings sidebar. For example, footnote text is often a little smaller than the main text and font size can be changed using the typography settings for the block.

More Information

For our introduction to the block editor, see Beginning with the Block Editor and Block Editor – Text and Formatting. Or see our guide to Page Layout with the block editor.

  1. This is a footnote, typed directly into the footnote area of the page. ↩︎
  2. List items can also have a footnote. ↩︎
  3. Adding an extra footnote causes existing footnotes to be renumbered automatically. ↩︎
  4. Footnotes can be edited and deleted easily. ↩︎