Formatting Text Bold Italics Headers Lists

Your blog posts need good formatting. Nobody wants to read a wall of plain text—it’s exhausting and honestly pretty hard to follow.

Good news: WordPress makes text formatting ridiculously easy. You’ll use bold for emphasis, italics for subtlety, headers to organize sections, and lists to break down information. Pretty much everything you need to make your content readable.

Here’s what we’re covering: the formatting toolbar in the Block Editor, keyboard shortcuts that’ll speed things up, and how to structure posts so people actually read them instead of bouncing.

Prerequisites

• Access to your Badass Network blog
• A post or page open in the Block Editor (even a blank one works fine for practice)

The Formatting Toolbar: Where Everything Lives

When you’re typing in the Block Editor and select text, a small toolbar pops up right above your selection. That’s your formatting hub.

Select any word or phrase in your post. See that toolbar? It shows buttons for bold, italic, links, and more. Most people don’t realize it’s there until someone points it out, but once you know, it becomes second nature.

The toolbar sticks close to your text selection, which is pretty handy compared to older editors where you’d hunt through menus. WordPress designed it to feel like Google Docs or Microsoft Word—familiar territory.

What’s in the Toolbar?

Bold (B): Makes text heavier and darker. Use it when you want readers to notice something important.

Italic (I): Slants text slightly. Works well for emphasis that’s softer than bold, or for things like book titles and foreign words.

Link icon: Turns text into a clickable link. We won’t dig into this one here, but it’s worth knowing where it lives.

More options (three dots): Reveals additional formatting like inline code, strikethrough, and text color. Honestly, you won’t use these daily, but they’re useful occasionally.

Making Text Bold: When and How

Bold text stands out. That’s the point.

You’ll want bold for keywords, important phrases, or anything you’d naturally emphasize if you were speaking out loud. Don’t overuse it—if everything’s bold, nothing stands out.

Three Ways to Make Text Bold

When Bold Makes Sense

I’d recommend bold for:

• Key terms readers need to remember
• Action words in instructions (“Click Settings,” not “Click Settings”)
• Questions in FAQ sections
• Warnings or important notes that people shouldn’t skip

Using Italics: The Subtler Option

Italics work differently than bold. They’re quieter, more nuanced.

Most people use italics for:

• Book titles, movie names, or publications (The Great Gatsby, National Geographic)
• Foreign words or phrases that aren’t common in English
• Gentle emphasis when bold feels too strong
• Internal thoughts in narrative writing

Making Text Italic

Same drill as bold, just a different button and shortcut.

Toolbar method: Highlight text, click the I button. Text slants to the right.

Keyboard shortcut: Press Ctrl+I (or Cmd+I on Mac) to toggle italics on and off.

Markdown shortcut: Type one asterisk or underscore before and after: *like this* or _like this_. WordPress converts it when you move on.

Combining Bold and Italic

Yeah, you can do both at once. Select text that’s already bold and click italic, or vice versa. You get bold italic text.

Honestly, this is pretty rare in blog posts. Most people find it visually overwhelming. I’ve used it maybe five times in years of blogging, usually for something like a book title that also needs strong emphasis.

Headers: Breaking Your Content into Sections

Headers organize your post into chunks. They’re the signposts that tell readers “Here’s what this section’s about.”

WordPress gives you six header levels (H1 through H6), but you’ll mostly use H2 and H3. Your post title is automatically H1, so don’t add another H1 inside the post—it messes with SEO and looks weird.

Adding a Header Block

Headers aren’t just formatted text in WordPress. They’re separate blocks.

Here’s how to add one:

Choosing the Right Header Level

H2: Major sections of your post. If you were writing about “How to Bake Bread,” your H2s might be “Ingredients,” “Mixing the Dough,” “First Rise,” “Shaping,” etc.

H3: Subsections under an H2. Under “Mixing the Dough,” you might have H3s for “Wet Ingredients” and “Dry Ingredients.”

H4-H6: Rarely needed in blog posts. If you’re using H4, your post might be getting too complex. Consider breaking it into multiple posts.

Changing a Header’s Level

Click on any header block. In the toolbar that appears, you’ll see a dropdown showing the current level (like “H2”). Click it and pick a different level.

This happens more than you’d think—sometimes you reorganize a post and realize an H3 should actually be an H2, or vice versa.

Lists: Making Information Scannable

Lists break down complex information into bite-sized pieces. They’re easier to read than paragraphs, especially on mobile.

WordPress gives you two types: bulleted lists (unordered) and numbered lists (ordered).

Creating a Bulleted List

Bulleted lists work for items where order doesn’t matter—features, tips, ingredients, tools, whatever.

Creating a Numbered List

Use numbered lists when order matters: steps in a process, ranked items, chronological events.

Same as bulleted lists, but click the numbered list icon instead (looks like “1. 2. 3.”). Or type 1. followed by a space to start a numbered list automatically.

WordPress handles the numbering for you. Add an item in the middle of the list? Everything renumbers automatically. Delete an item? Same thing. Don’t manually type numbers—let WordPress manage them.

Nesting Lists (Lists Within Lists)

Sometimes you need a sub-list under a main item. Like this:

• Main point
  • Supporting detail
  • Another detail
• Another main point

To create nested lists:

1. Press Enter to create a new list item
2. Press Tab to indent it (makes it a sub-item)
3. Press Shift+Tab to outdent it back to the main level

Mixing List Types

You can nest a numbered list inside a bulleted list, or vice versa. WordPress handles it fine.

Practical example: A bulleted list of tips, where one tip contains a numbered step-by-step process. It works, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need.

Keyboard Shortcuts: Speed Up Your Formatting

If you’re formatting a lot of text, keyboard shortcuts save massive amounts of time.

Here’s what you’ll use most:

• Ctrl+B / Cmd+B: Toggle bold
• Ctrl+I / Cmd+I: Toggle italic
• Ctrl+K / Cmd+K: Add a link (we didn’t cover this, but good to know)
• Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z: Undo
• Ctrl+Shift+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z: Redo

For markdown shortcuts:

• ## + space: H2 header
• ### + space: H3 header
• - or * + space: Bulleted list
• 1. + space: Numbered list
• **text**: Bold
• *text*: Italic

I usually mix both approaches—keyboard shortcuts for bold and italic, markdown for headers and lists. Find what clicks for you.

Formatting Best Practices (The Stuff That Actually Matters)

Okay, you know how to format text. Here’s when and why you should.

Don’t Overdo Bold and Italics

If half your post is bold, you’ve defeated the purpose. Bold should highlight key points, not entire paragraphs.

Same with italics—use them sparingly. Too much italic text gets hard to read, especially on screens.

Use Headers to Create Structure

Every post longer than 300 words needs headers. They break up the content and make it easier to scan.

Most readers don’t read every word—they skim headers first to see if the post has what they need. Make those headers descriptive. “Step 3” tells them nothing. “Setting Up Your Blog Title” tells them exactly what that section covers.

Lists Work Better Than Paragraphs for Steps

Anytime you’re explaining a process with multiple steps, use a numbered list. It’s clearer and easier to follow.

For tips, features, or unrelated points? Bulleted list.

For narrative explanation or context? Stick with paragraphs.

Keep Paragraphs Short

This isn’t really about formatting, but it matters. Long paragraphs intimidate readers, especially on mobile.

Two to four sentences per paragraph usually works. Sometimes one sentence is enough. Sometimes five makes sense. Vary it.

Preview on Mobile

Text formatting that looks perfect on desktop can feel cramped on a phone. Preview your post on mobile before publishing—you might find you need more headers or shorter paragraphs.

Common Situations You’ll Run Into

What You’ve Done

You’ve learned how to format text in WordPress using the Block Editor. You can make text bold or italic, add headers to structure your content, and create lists to break down information. Plus you’ve got keyboard shortcuts to speed up the whole process.

Next step: Start using this in your actual posts. Format an old post that’s just plain text—you’ll see how much more readable it becomes. Then make formatting a habit in every new post you write.

If you want to level up your content creation, check out our guide on adding images or learn about using the full Block Editor.

Related Resources

• Writing Blog Posts with the Block Editor — Master the full WordPress editor
• Creating Your First Blog Post — Complete guide to publishing
• Adding Images to Your Blog Posts — Make your content visual
• Writing SEO-Friendly Blog Titles — Get found in search results

Need Help?

If something’s not working or you’re stuck on formatting:

• Contact us through your Badass Network dashboard
• Include what you’ve tried and what’s happening
• Screenshots help if you’re seeing weird behavior

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