Applies to WordPress 7.1 and later; basic Notes exist from WordPress 6.9. Last verified: 2026-09-11, against WordPress 7.1.
Short answer: Notes are WordPress's built-in way to leave feedback on a post or page inside the block editor without changing the content. They arrived in WordPress 6.9, and 7.1 added notes on selected text, several threads on one block, @mentions and rich text. Anyone who can edit a post can see and add notes on it, and visitors never see them. To leave one, select a block, open its three-dot menu and choose "Add Note."
If your editorial process is a writer sending a draft link, an editor replying with a list of "in paragraph four, change…" emails, and someone matching each comment to the right sentence, Notes replace most of that. The feedback sits on the exact block or words it is about, and it stays with the post.
Nothing on this page asks you to edit content or install anything. The one site-wide setting it mentions is under Settings > Discussion. If you change it, write down the current value first, and as with any settings change, make sure you have a recent backup.
What WordPress Notes are, and what they are not
WordPress.org's Notes documentation, last updated August 19, 2026 and read on September 11, 2026, describes the feature plainly: notes let you and your collaborators "leave feedback directly on the content you are editing, without changing the content itself," and they "never appear in your published content."
A few boundaries are worth knowing before you plan a workflow around them:
- Notes are asynchronous. You leave a note, and someone else reads it later. They are not live co-editing where you watch another person type. Real-time collaboration is not part of WordPress 7.1, and the current status of real-time collaboration tracks where it stands.
- Notes are commentary, not suggested edits. The documentation describes no accept-or-reject mode. A note says what should change; someone still edits the block.
- Notes live in the post and page editors only. The documentation says they are not shown on the front end and are not available in the Site Editor, so you cannot leave a note on a template or template part.
- Under the hood, they are comments. The WordPress 6.9 developer note on Notes, read on September 11, 2026, explains that notes are stored in the comments table with a comment type of
note. That is why their email setting lives under Settings > Discussion, next to the settings for ordinary comments.
What WordPress 7.1 added to Notes
The first version of Notes, in 6.9, worked at block level only, and the 6.9 developer note lists inline notes as not yet available. The WordPress 7.1 "Mary Lou" announcement, read on September 11, 2026, and the Notes documentation's August 2026 changelog set out what changed:
| Capability | 6.9 | 7.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Note on a whole block | Yes | Yes |
| Note on selected words inside a block (inline notes) | No | Yes |
| Several separate threads on the same block | No | Yes |
| @mentions of other users | No | Yes |
| Bold, italic, code and links inside a note | No | Yes |
| Resolved notes separated by a "Resolved" divider in the all-notes view | No | Yes |
Inline notes are the change that matters most for editing. Feedback like "this sentence contradicts the heading" now points at the sentence, not at a whole paragraph block the writer has to reread. For the rest of the release, see everything else that shipped in WordPress 7.1.
How to use WordPress Notes for block editor collaboration, step by step
Leave a note on a block
- Open the post or page in the block editor.
- Select the block you want to discuss.
- In the block toolbar, open the three-dot menu and choose Add Note.
- Type your note and submit it. The block now shows an indicator that it has a note attached.
To raise a separate point on a block that already has a note, repeat the same steps. In 7.1, Add Note on such a block starts a new thread instead of opening a reply to the existing one.
Leave a note on specific words
- In a text block such as a Paragraph, select the exact words.
- Select the comment icon in the rich-text toolbar.
- Type and submit the note in the sidebar.
The selected words are highlighted in the editor. According to the documentation, the highlight stays attached to the same text while you keep editing around it, and highlights are stripped from the published output.
Mention someone
Type @ in a note or a reply. A list of users appears. Keep typing to filter it, then choose a name with the arrow keys and Enter, or with the mouse. Press Escape to dismiss the list. You cannot mention yourself, because the current user is left out of the suggestions.
Reply, resolve and reopen
- Reply from the note thread on the block, or from the Notes panel. Replies stay threaded under the original note.
- Resolve by selecting the note and then the check option. Resolved notes leave the active view but stay available for reference.
- Reopen by opening the dedicated Notes view in the top toolbar, selecting the resolved note, writing a new message and choosing Reopen and reply.
See every note on a post
The Notes view in the top toolbar lists all notes on the post, including resolved ones, with a Resolved divider between the open and the finished conversations. If a block that carried a note is deleted, the note is not lost. It becomes an orphaned note and is grouped with the active notes, since it may still need attention.
Who can see and add notes
Notes follow editing permission. The documentation's rule is "Only users who can edit a post can see or add notes on that post," which works out like this with WordPress's default roles:
| Role | Can see and add notes on |
|---|---|
| Administrator | All posts |
| Editor | All posts |
| Author | Their own posts |
| Contributor | Their own posts |
| Subscriber | Nothing |
| Site visitors | Nothing. Notes never appear on the site. |
This suits the usual review arrangement. An editor can leave notes on a contributor's draft, and the contributor sees them because it is their own post. Two contributors cannot see each other's notes, because neither can edit the other's post. If you are deciding who should have which role in the first place, how WordPress user roles control access walks through it.
Notes are on by default for posts and pages. Custom post types show them only if the theme or plugin that created the post type has enabled support.
Note emails, and the setting that controls them
By default, WordPress sends an email in two situations. When another user leaves a new note on your post, you get an email as the post's author. When someone mentions you in a note, you get an email.
The documentation points to one switch for changing this: Settings > Discussion, under Email me whenever, in the option Anyone posts a note. For anything finer, it says administrators can adjust notifications with plugins or custom code. The 6.9 developer note lists heavy note activity producing a lot of email to authors among the feature's known limitations, so on a busy editorial site this setting is worth a look.
A simple review workflow that replaces the email thread
This is one way to use the documented features, not a rule. Adjust it to your team.
- The writer finishes the draft and saves it.
- The editor reads it in the editor and leaves inline notes on the exact words, using a new thread for each separate point and an
@mentionwhen a specific person needs to act. - The writer replies in the thread, makes the change in the block, and resolves the note.
- The editor opens the Notes view before publishing and confirms nothing is still open above the Resolved divider.
- Anyone who wants to see what actually changed between the first draft and the final one can compare the two in visual revisions, which shows edits side by side before anything is restored.
Limits to know before you rely on Notes
- There is no personal inbox. The documentation answers "Can I see all notes assigned to me?" with "This currently isn't possible." Mentions arrive by email, but there is no screen listing every note that mentions you across the site.
- Templates are out of scope. Notes do not work in the Site Editor.
- It is not live editing. Two people working in the same post at the same moment is still not supported.
- Custom post types need support switched on by whoever built them.
Notes are one of several things the redesigned editor now does without a plugin. For the everyday tasks around them, the task-by-task walkthrough of the new admin covers the rest.
FAQ
Do WordPress notes show on the live site?
No. Notes are visible only in the editor, to users who can edit that post. They never appear to visitors, and inline highlights are removed from the published output.
Can a contributor see notes an editor leaves?
Yes, on their own posts. Authors and contributors can view and add notes on posts they wrote; administrators and editors can do so on all posts.
How do I stop note notification emails?
The documentation points to Settings > Discussion, where the Email me whenever option includes Anyone posts a note. Finer control, such as changing who receives which email, needs a plugin or custom code, according to the same page.
What happens to a note if I delete the block it was on?
It becomes an orphaned note. WordPress keeps it and shows it with the active notes, above the Resolved divider, so it is not silently lost.
Version context. Written against WordPress 7.1, released August 19, 2026, and confirmed as the current release on the WordPress.org release archive on September 11, 2026. Notes first shipped in WordPress 6.9; the inline notes, multiple threads, mentions and rich text described here need 7.1. Steps, permissions and notification behavior come from WordPress.org's Notes documentation (last updated August 19, 2026), the WordPress 6.9 developer note on Notes and the WordPress 7.1 release announcement, all read on September 11, 2026. Review trigger: the next major WordPress release, any new entry in the Notes documentation's changelog, or real-time collaboration shipping.
