Delete leftover empty buttons
If you deleted a button in the WordPress editor but an empty button or a blank gap still shows on the live page, the parent block is still there. Every Button sits inside a Buttons block that lines up a row of them. Deleting the last Button can leave the empty Buttons block behind, and it still takes up space on the page.
Delete the Buttons block
- Open the page in the editor.
- Click the leftover button, or the empty space where it was.
- Click the parent button at the left end of the block toolbar (its tooltip reads Select parent block: Buttons), or open List View and click the Buttons row just above Button.
- With Buttons selected, delete it from the toolbar menu (⋮ → Delete).
- Click Save, then check the live page.
On a narrow screen the parent button isn't in the toolbar. Use ⋮ → Select parent block (Buttons) instead.
List View is the surest way to see what's left: Buttons is the container, and each Button is nested under it.
Faster ways to delete a block
- In List View: click the block's row, then press Delete or Backspace.
- Shortcut: with the block selected, press Shift+Alt+Z on Windows, or Ctrl+Option+Z (⌃⌥Z) on a Mac.
Both remove the whole selected block, including anything inside it. Press Ctrl+Z (⌘Z on a Mac) if you removed the wrong one.
Other causes of a blank gap
If there's no leftover Buttons block, open List View and look for blocks you can't see on the page:
| What's in List View | Why it makes a gap | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A Paragraph that shows Type / to choose a block in the editor | Pressing Enter after the last line adds an empty paragraph, which still takes up a line of spacing | Delete it |
| A Spacer | It's a block that only adds space | Delete it, or drag its height smaller |
| A Group, Row, Stack, or Column with nothing inside | The empty container keeps its padding and the spacing around it | Delete it, or move the content you meant to put in it |
| A Button whose text is only a space | WordPress hides buttons with no text, but a space counts as text, so a blank button shows | Type the label, or delete the button |
| Nothing empty, but a big gap around one block | A Margin or Padding setting under Dimensions in the block's sidebar | Reset that setting |
To check spacing, select the block and find Dimensions in the sidebar, on the Styles tab when the sidebar has tabs. It shows Padding, Margin, and, on container blocks, Block spacing.
Common mistakes
- Deleting the Button but not the Buttons block. The container stays, and its spacing stays with it.
- Checking only the editor. The editor shows outlines and placeholders the live page doesn't. Always check the live page after saving.
- Pressing Backspace while typing. Inside text, Backspace deletes letters, not the block. Select the block in List View first.
If the live page still shows the old button after you saved, your browser or the site's cache may be showing an old copy. See Fix WordPress changes not showing on your site.
If your site runs on Dirigible
Some Dirigible blocks have their own button, set in the sidebar rather than with a Buttons block. On a Hero, the button appears whenever Link URL has a link, even if Link Text is blank. To remove an empty Hero button, clear Link URL. To keep the button, fill in Link Text.
For buttons that sit in the wrong place rather than empty ones, see Center buttons that won't center.
