We will be carrying out essential maintenance on Glow Blogs during this time. Unfortunately, this maintenance requires downtime and, as a result, Glow Blogs will not be available.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
All you need to do is create a canva and get a Public View Link, paste that into a post or page editor and the Canva is embedded. We have more details on the embeds blog Canva post. An Example:
WordPress 6.8 packs a wide range of performance fixes and enhancements to speed up everything from editing to browsing.
100+ accessibility fixes and enhancements touch a broad spectrum of the WordPress experience.
The Style Book is available in some classic themes, this gives you an overview of the standard styles in classic themes in the Site Editor style book. It is read only for our classic themes. Accessed via the Appearance -> Design section of the dashboard.
You can also access patterns for classic sites in the Design section, this allows you to add & edit patterns easily. Usefull if you have repeated content or repeat a type of content. Patterns are used in the block editor.
Block, images, you can set any image to site featured images.
The Full Site Editor
The FSE see some improvements. Especially in the views of Navigation, styles, Pages & Templates in the Editor.
Style Editor
The Style Book has a new, structured layout and clearer labels, to make it even easier to edit colors, typography—almost all your site styles—in one place
Pages in the Editor
Pages listed & can be edited in the Appearance-> Editor section of the dashboard.
This release contains a couple of improvements and some general updated.
Additional CSS
We have restored the ability to add additional CSS in the customiser and the Styles of the Site editor. You can again edit the styles of your site. Read more on the new CSS page.
New Plugin: Contact Form Block
We have added a new contact form with Google reCatcha v3 to Block themes. The Jetpack contact forms did not work in the block editor. You can now use this plugin in Block Theme sites. Read more about the plugin & other form options on the Contact Form page.
A few quick tips and some information that might help at the start of this new session.
Check Your Blogs
The Glow Blogs housekeeping has started.
All staff and pupils who administrate blocks shoud check them .
It is getting near to the 28 August 2025 date when unused blogs will be deleted from the system. These have already been archived. If you have a blog that you have not used for a few years but still value please check it, if you see an archived notice you can tell your Key Contact before the 21 August 2025 if you need it restored. More information.
No one in school can access a blog (perhaps staff have moved or retired)
You need to get your Local Authority to raise a call with the RM help desk.
Make sure you include the usernames you want added to a blog and the URL of the blog.
I can log on to Glow but I can’t access a blog where I have a role.
If you have just be added to the blog, get an admin for the blog check you have been added in the right way. If you are showing as NOT LOGGED IN YET, see this tip. If that doesn’t help you need to get your Local Authority to raise a call with the RM help desk.
Make sure you include your username and the URL of the blog.
We now recommend using The Blocks Editor to create posts & pages on your sites. Itis a newer way to edit posts and pages. It allows a lot more flexibility as to content and layout. We have a blog that explains more: Using the Blocks Editor in Glow Blogs.
Site Editor
The site editor is a new way to edit the look and design of your site. It goes much further than changing themes. More improvements should come to Glow Blogs in the session, when we wil provide more information.
H5PH5P
H5P is a plugin that allows you to create & display on your site a whole range of interactive content, from quizzes, multi-choice and close exercises all the way to 360 tours. H5p examples.
Accessibility
Accessibility they are new ways to make you sites accessibly to different visitors. Accessibility is becoming even more important in web design and should be considered for all public blogs.
We have changed the way users can control cookies with the civic cookie plugin. This allows visitors and users to set the cookies they will accept from Glow Blogs. You can change this at any time by editing your cookie preferences. These are accessed from the icon that will appear at the bottom right of every page.
Civic Cookie Setting iconCivic Cookies Settings Click to expand.
You can choose to accept or reject cookies in different categories. We have also an new Glow Blogs Cookies Policy page.
Other Plugins
The Following plugins have been updated to the latest versions:
WP Draw Attention, Akismet, Jetpack, Civic Control Cookie, WP Accessibility, MegaMenu, 3D Flipbook and You Tube embed.
A Reminder – Housekeeping
Check your sites & tell your Key Contact before the 21 August 2025 if you need any restored.
It is getting near to the 28 August 2025 date when unused blogs will be deleted from the system. If you have a blog that you have not used for a few years but still value please check: