65 WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts To Maximize Your Efficiency 

As a webmaster for numerous websites (most of them WordPress), I found that maximizing my efficiency in the way I use WordPress plays a crucial role in getting the job done. Whether you manage or create content for just one WordPress site or dozens, time is a precious commodity. The faster you can work, the more you can accomplish and stay competitive.

When it comes to editing your site in WordPress, the secret to speed is all about the WordPress keyboard shortcuts! If you use your PC a lot, then you’re probably already familiar with keyboard shortcuts like ctrl + c to copy and ctrl + v to paste. And yes, I’m sure you already know that you can use those shortcuts in the WordPress editor as well! However, there are quite a few other handy shortcuts out there.

In this article, I’ll cover 65 keyboard shortcuts you can use to maximize your WordPress efficiency!

The Basics – 10 Essential Shortcuts for Beginners

Windows                                                        Mac

Ctrl + a                         SELECT ALL               Command (⌘) + a

Ctrl + b                         BOLD                          Command (⌘) + b

Ctrl + c                         COPY                          Command (⌘) + c

Ctrl + I                          ITALIC                         Command (⌘) + l

Ctrl + k                         Insert/edit link              Command (⌘) + k

Ctrl + u                         UNDERLINE                Command (⌘) + u

Ctrl + v                         PASTE                         Command (⌘) + v

Ctrl + x                         CUT                             Command (⌘) + x

Ctrl + y                         REDO                          Command (⌘) + y

Ctrl + z                         UNDO                          Command (⌘) + z

The above shortcuts can be used in various other applications outside of WordPress as well. For example, in a Microsoft Word doc. These are just generic keyboard shortcuts that most modern operating systems and associated software applications will understand. Since these can be applied within your WordPress editor as well, you should have these memorized by heart. They can shave off hours of your time, just by mastering these 10 alone.

10 Shortcuts for Comments Actions

When working on the comment section of WordPress, you can also use keyboard shortcuts.

Note that you will need to enable this by going to Users »Your Profile and then checkmark the Keyboard Shortcuts checkbox. It will not work otherwise!

With these, you luckily only need to remember the shortcut letter. For example, j and k are your navigational keys – moving you up and down through your comments list. Conveniently, they are the same for any system you are using.

j: Let’s you select a comment. Thereafter, you can use j to move the select to the next comment. You can also move the current selection DOWN. J will also take you to the next page of comments when you reach the bottom of the first page.

k: You can also use k to select the first comment. After that, when you press k, it will move the current selection UP. When you’re at the top of a comment page, pressing k will take you back to the previous page.

Once you have selected a comment, you can perform the following actions simply with any of the letters below:

a:      APPROVES your currently selected comment

d:      DELETES the comment or moves it to the TRASH

e:      Navigates the EDIT screen

q:      Activates QUICK EDIT for rapid inline editing

r:       Initiates an inline REPLY

s:      Marks the comment as SPAM

u:      UNAPPROVES the comment so it goes back into moderation

z:      RESTORES current comment from the trash.

Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to whizz around your comments by only pressing one letter per action. Easy, right? Press s for spam, e for edit, or d for delete – it’s very fast!

8 Bulk Action Comment Shortcuts

These eight shortcuts let you perform actions on multiple comments for speedy cleanups all at once.

x:               You can use x to select the current comment

Shift x:       You can check all of the boxes

Shift a:       APPROVES the checked comments

Shift d:       DELETES the checked boxes

Shift s:       Marks the selected comments as SPAM

Shift t:        Moves the checked comment to the TRASH

Shift z:       Restores checked comments from the TRASH

The letters a, d, s, and z are all the same single actions from the previously mentioned shortcuts – except with the shift command in front of it.

Working your comments should now be lightening quick. You’ve already learned 28 shortcuts! Here are a few more…

24 Advanced Shortcuts for Eager Beavers

If you’ve aced the first 28, here are another 24 to sate your addiction for shortcut learning.

Note: If you are using Windows, you will need to press Alt + Shift before each letter below. If you are working on a Mac, you’ll need to press Ctrl + Option before each of the 17 letters and 7 numbers below.

a:      Insert Link

c:      Align CENTER

d:      Strikethrough

h:      HELP

j:       JUSTIFY Text

l:       align LEFT

m:     Insert Image

n:      Check Spelling (you will need a plugin for this option)

o:      Ordered List

p:      insert PAGE break tag

q:      QUOTE

r:       Align RIGHT

s:      Remove Link

t:       Insert More tag

u:      Unordered List

w:      Distraction Free Writing mode

x:      Add/remove code tag

1:      Heading 1

2:      Heading 2

3:      Heading 3

4:      Heading 4

5:      Heading 5

6:      Heading 6

9:      Address

The above are all incredibly useful and that brings our count to 52 shortcuts that make your life easier on WordPress! But why stop there? There’s 13 more to cover!

13 Formatting Shortcuts for the Overachievers

Learning this list below will just put you into the showing off category. You now will really know everything. You’ll be the master of the shortcut, a WordPress wizard. Time to format fast…

*	Start an unordered list
–	Start an unordered list
1.	Start an ordered list
1)	Start an ordered list

##              H2

###            H3

####          H4

#####        H5

######      H6

`..`              transform text into code block

>                transform text into block quote

—	horizontal line

Conclusion

There you have it! That’s 65 keyboard shortcuts that can greatly enhance your WordPress productivity and efficiency. If you use WordPress a lot like I do, most of these (some I don’t use that much) will really come in handy and save you countless hours throughout the course of a year. These shortcuts are often under looked, yet it’s the next most important thing after choosing a reliable and fast WordPress web host, which I’m also adamant about. WP Engine is one of my top choices and you can follow their blog for more excellent tips and tricks on anything WordPress!

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Jay is a web guru with nearly a decade of experience building and hosting websites of all kinds. He is an online consultant and founder of How To Get Online – helping small businesses learn about web technologies and getting their business online. Jay loves learning and he loves teaching. That’s what the web is all about for him!