If you are looking for the keyboard shortcuts to save time for content formatting or other works on your WordPress website – you are in the right place.
Here, we will discuss some really useful WordPress keyboard shortcuts that can help you speed up your workflow and be more productive by utilizing the saved time.
We will talk about the keyboard shortcodes available for the classic WordPress post editor, Gutenberg and comment moderation section. At the end of the blog, we will also talk about the websites that let you create your own custom keyboard shortcuts.
So, let’s get started and go through the Keyboard shortcuts available on WordPress:
WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts for Post Editor:
WordPress, being a popular website builder and blogging platform comes with a robust content editor to add various types of content including text, images, audio, videos, etc.
You can customize the formatting of each content type and while doing so you need to use the mouse to access these formatting and styling buttons on the editor.
However, by using the WordPress keyboard shortcuts; you can rest your hand and edit your contents faster.
Here are some of the keyboard shortcuts available for the post editor. These shortcuts are quite similar to the one that you use in the computer and Microsoft Word in everyday life.
Keyboard Shortcut to Select Text for Windows:
These are the windows shortcuts that can help you select text in the editor without having to use the mouse:
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Description |
| CTRL + A | Select All Text |
| Shift + Left/Right | Select One Letter to Left or Right |
| CTRL + Shift + Left/Right | Select One Word to Left or Right |
| CTRL + Shift + Up/Down | Select One Line Above/Below |
| Shift + Home | Select All Text Until the Beginning of the Current Line |
| Shift + End | Select All Text Until the End of Current Link |
WordPress Keyboard Shortcut to Select Text for Mac:
These are the Mac shortcuts to select text in the editor without having to use the mouse:
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Description |
| Cmd + A | Select All Text |
| Shift + Left/Right | Select One Letter to Left or Right |
| Cmd + Shift + Left/Right | Select One Word to Left or Right |
| Cmd + Shift + Up/Down | Select One Line Above/Below |
| Shift + Home | Select All Text Until the Beginning of the Current Line |
| Shift + End | Select All Text Until the End of Current Link |
Keyboard Shortcuts to Manipulate Selected Text for Windows:
After you have selected the text, here are the windows shortcuts to format/edit it.
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Description |
| CTRL + C | Copy Selected Text |
| CTRL + X | Cut Selected Text |
| CTRL + V | Paste Selected Text |
| CTRL + Shift + V | Paste Selected Text Without Any Formatting |
| CTRL + B | Bold Selected Text |
| CTRL + I | Italic Selected Text |
| CTRL + U | Underline Selected Text |
| CTRL + K | Insert a Link on Selected Text |
| ALT + Shift + L | Left Alignment |
| ALT + Shift + R | Right Alignment |
| ALT + Shift + C | Center Alignment |
| ALT + Shift + J | Justify |
| ALT + Shift + D | Apply Strikethrough |
| ALT + Shift + A | Another Way to Insert Link |
| ALT + Shift + O | Start Ordered List |
| ALT + Shift + U | Start Unordered List |
| ALT + Shift + S | Remove Link on Text |
| ALT + Shift + Q | Create a Quote |
| ALT + Shift + 2/3/4/5/6 | Apply Appropriate Heading Tags to Selected Text |
| ALT + Shift + X | Add a Code Tag |
Keyboard Shortcuts to Manipulate Selected Text for Mac:
Here are the shortcuts to apply to format or edit the selected text.
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Descriptions |
| Cmd + C | Copy Selected Text |
| Cmd + X | Cut Selected Text |
| Cmd + V | Paste Selected Text |
| Cmd + Shift + V | Paste Selected Text Without Any Formatting |
| Cmd + B | Bold Selected Text |
| Cmd + I | Italic Selected Text |
| Cmd + U | Underline Selected Text |
| Cmd + K | Insert a Link on Selected Text |
| Option + CTRL + L | Left Alignment |
| Option + CTRL + R | Right Alignment |
| Option + CTRL + C | Center Alignment |
| Option + CTRL + J | Justify |
| Option + CTRL + D | Apply Strikethrough |
| Option + CTRL + A | Another Way to Insert Link |
| Option + CTRL + O | Start Ordered List |
| Option + CTRL + U | Start Unordered List |
| Option + CTRL + S | Remove Link on Text |
| Option + CTRL + Q | Create a Quote |
| Option + CTRL + 2/3/4/5/6 | Apply Appropriate Heading Tags to Selected Text |
| Option + CTRL + X | Add a Code Tag |
Other WordPress Shortcuts for Windows:
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Descriptions |
| CTRL + Z | Undo Action |
| CTRL + Y | Redo Action |
| Shift + Enter | Move One Line Down in the Editor Without Inserting a Full Line Break |
| ALT + Shift + M | Add Media |
| ALT + Shift + W | Enable Distraction Free Writing Mode |
| ALT + Shift + T | Add More Tags |
| ALT + Shift + P | Insert Page Break |
| ALT + Shift + H | Open Help Screen |
| ALT + Shift + Z | Expands WordPress Editor Formatting Bar |
Other WordPress Shortcuts for Mac:
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Descriptions |
| Cmd + Z | Undo Action |
| Cmd + Y | Redo Action |
| Shift + Enter | Move One Line Down in the Editor Without Inserting a Full Line Break |
| Option + CTRL + M | Add Media |
| Option + CTRL + W | Enable Distraction Free Writing Mode |
| Option + CTRL + T | Add More Tags |
| Option + CTRL + P | Insert Page Break |
| Option + CTRL + H | Open Help Screen |
| Option + CTRL + Z | Expands WordPress Editor Formatting Bar |
WordPress Keyboard Shortcut for Gutenberg:
Since the release of WordPress 5.0 – a new editor called Gutenberg was released. It enables you to add different elements like text, images, headings etc through blocks. This gives you more flexibility and customization options on how your post will look at the end.
If you want to learn the usage of Gutenberg on your website then, check out the article: How to use Gutenberg block editor in WordPress?
Since Gutenberg is gaining popularity day by day, here are some of the shortcuts that can be applied to Gutenberg editor.
If you want to switch between the code editor and block editor just use the shortcuts keys given below:
For Windows: CTRL + Shift + ALT + M
For Mac: Cmd + Shift + ALT + M
Once you are in the block editor, you can use the command below:
/: It helps you insert block quickly and start typing the name of the block. Then, select it once you see it.
Enter: After you create a block, press Enter. You will then be able to add another block right away. Start typing the name of the new block and select the block once you see it.
Shift + ALT + H: To view the keyboard shortcuts available on Gutenberg.
Keyboard Shortcuts of Gutenberg Editor for Windows:
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Descriptions |
| CTRL + Shift + D | Duplicate the Selected Block |
| CTRL + ALT + T | Insert New Block Before Selected Block |
| CTRL + ALT + Y | Insert New Block After Selected Block |
| ALT + Shift + Z | Remove Selected Block |
| CTRL + Shift + , | Show or Hide Settings Bar |
| CTRL + Shift + Z | Redo Your Last Undo |
| ALT + Shift + N | Navigate Next Part of Editor |
| ALT + Shift + P | Navigate Previous Part of Editor |
| ALT + Shift + O | Open Block Navigation Menu |
| ALT + F10 | Navigate to Nearest Toolbar |
Keyboard Shortcuts of Gutenberg Editor for Mac:
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Descriptions |
| Cmd + Shift + D | Duplicate the Selected Block |
| Cmd + Option + T | Insert New Block Before Selected Block |
| Cmd + Option + Y | Insert New Block After Selected Block |
| CTRL + Option + Z | Remove Selected Block |
| Cmd + Shift + , | Show or Hide Settings Bar |
| Cmd + Shift + Z | Redo Your Last Undo |
| Option + CTRL + N | Navigate Next Part of Editor |
| Option + CTRL + P | Navigate Previous Part of Editor |
| Option + CTRL + O | Open Block Navigation Menu |
| Fn + Option + F10 | Navigate to Nearest Toolbar |
WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts for Comment Section:
Beyond editing contents, WordPress also includes keyboard shortcuts to help you moderate comments.
By default, these shortcuts are disabled. But you can enable them in the following steps:
Step 1:
Go to User >> Your Profile on your WordPress dashboard.
Step 2:
Check the box next to Keyboard Shortcuts to Enable Keyboard Shortcuts for Comment Moderation.
Step 3:
Save your Changes.
The available shortcuts to manage comments are:
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Descriptions |
| J | Move to Next Comment |
| K | Move to the Previous Comment |
| D | Delete the Comment |
| A | Approve the Comment and Publish It |
| U | Unapprove the Comment |
| R | Reply to the Comment |
| Q | Quick Edit a Comment |
| E | Open Full-Screen Editor to Edit Comments |
| S | Marks Comment as Spam |
| Z | Restore a Comment from Trash or Undo your Action for Deleting a Comment |
| X | Add Check Mark |
These are the basic commands applied for a single comment.
If you have selected multiple comments, you can perform these keyboard shortcuts to perform bulk actions:
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Descriptions |
| Shift + X | Toggle the Check Mark for All Comments |
| Shift + A | Approve Check Comments |
| Shift + D | Delete Checked Comments |
| Shift + U | Unapprove Selected Comments |
| Shift + T | Move Selected Comment to Trash |
| Shift + Z | Restore Selected Comment from Trash |
How to Create Own WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts?
If the keyboard shortcuts mentioned above are not enough for you, you can create your own workflow specific keyboard shortcuts by using the program like AutoHotkey and ShortKeeper.
If you are good at coding and find it easier to set up scripts and macros to boost your productivity, then you can go for AutoHotkey.
Otherwise, you can use Shortkeeper to easily create your keyboard shortcuts without using any codes.
Conclusion:
It might be overwhelming at first to memorize all these shortcuts. But, in the long run, they will definitely help you to save time and speed up your workflow.
We hope the article is helpful for you to know some useful WordPress keyboard shortcuts available. If you have any other helpful shortcuts that are not included above, let us know in the comment box below.
