10 Hidden WordPress Features You Probably Didn’t Know Exist
November 30, 2025
WordPress is famous for its user-friendly interface, but beneath the surface of the dashboard lies a trove of powerful, often overlooked features. These hidden gems can dramatically speed up your workflow, improve content management, and unlock new customization potential without the need for extra plugins.
If you’ve been using WordPress for years and still feel like you’re missing something, chances are one of these features can revolutionize your daily routine.
The WordPress dashboard can sometimes feel cluttered. The Screen Options tab, located near the top right of almost every administration screen, is your key to customization.
What it does: It allows you to toggle which modules (like Recent Drafts, Activity, or custom theme panels) are visible on the current screen.
Hidden Power: You can use it to increase the number of items shown per page (e.g., displaying 50 posts instead of the default 20) or hide unnecessary columns, creating a cleaner, faster-loading interface tailored to your tasks.
2. Keyboard Shortcuts for the Block Editor (Gutenberg)
Efficiency is paramount for content creators. The Block Editor has robust keyboard shortcuts, mirroring those in desktop publishing tools.
Hidden Power:
Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + D: Duplicates the currently selected block.
Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + Z: Undoes the last action (quick undo).
/ (Slash Command): Type a forward slash followed by the block name (e.g., /heading, /image) to instantly insert a new block without touching your mouse.
3. Post and Page Revisions: Your Time Machine
You likely know about revisions, but few understand their true power. WordPress automatically saves every significant change you make, acting as a historical record.
Hidden Power: Beyond just reverting to a previous version, the revisions screen allows you to compare any two revisions side-by-side. The changes (additions and deletions) are highlighted in red and green, making it easy to see exactly what a collaborator or an errant save modified.
4. Sticky Posts: Featured Content on Demand
This simple setting is often overlooked but incredibly effective for drawing attention to critical announcements or your best content.
What it does: When editing a post, look under the “Status & Visibility” settings. Checking the box for “Stick to the top of the blog” ensures that post remains the first item on your main blog page, regardless of how many new posts you publish.
5. Quick Edit: Speedy Metadata Changes
Need to update the publication date, change the category, or fix a tag for multiple posts without opening each one individually?
What it does: Hover over any post or page in the main list and click Quick Edit. A box appears that allows you to change the title slug, date, category, tags, status (draft, published), and even comments status, all on the same screen.
6. Drag-and-Drop Order for Menu Items
While seemingly basic, many users still use the “up/down” arrows to reorder menu items, which can be tedious for large menus.
Hidden Power: In the Appearance > Menus section, you can simply click and drag any menu item to a new position. You can also drag items slightly to the right to instantly create sub-menu items (dropdowns).
7. Block Patterns: Reusable Complex Layouts
Block patterns are pre-designed block arrangements created by the theme or plugin developers (or yourself). They are the evolution of shortcodes and templates.
What it does: When you click the + icon to add a new block, switch to the Patterns tab. Here, you’ll find professionally designed sections (e.g., CTAs, gallery layouts, testimonials) ready to be inserted in one click.
Pro Tip: You can register your own custom block patterns for elements you frequently use, turning a ten-block assembly into a single-click addition.
8. Keyboard Navigation in the Media Library
Working with the Media Library is faster if you avoid clicking the scroll bar.
Hidden Power: When browsing your images, you can use the left and right arrow keys to navigate between the images in the lightbox preview, and the Esc key to close the preview and return to the grid view.
9. The WordPress Heartbeat API (And How to Control It)
The Heartbeat API runs in the background, constantly communicating between your browser and the server. It powers features like real-time saving and showing other users are editing a post.
The Tradeoff: While useful, it can consume significant server resources, especially if you leave many tabs open.
Hidden Control: Although not a core dashboard feature, you can control the frequency of this API using lightweight plugins (or code snippets) to reduce server load and improve overall performance, particularly on shared hosting environments.
10. Link Title Attribute for Accessibility
When adding a link to your text, you typically only set the URL and the anchor text. However, there is an often-ignored “Title Attribute” field.
What it does: The text you put in the Link Title Attribute becomes a tooltip when a user hovers over the link. More importantly, it provides vital context for screen readers used by visually impaired users, significantly improving your site’s accessibility compliance.
Mastering these features will transform you from a basic WordPress user into an efficient power user, allowing you to focus more on creating exceptional content and less on fighting the interface.
