Reflecting on this summer mini-series about the last default WordPress themes, I had a significant realization 1: I overlooked a crucial phase in the development of Gutenberg. Five years ago, in my so-called article, I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Phase II. However, as regular readers of this blog might recall, much has transpired since that pivotal summer of 2020, and I struggled to keep up with WordPress’s rapid evolution. Allow me to provide a brief update.
Certainly, Gutenberg is a substantial leap forward in functionality. By allowing users to create beautiful, engaging layouts without writing code, this block-based system brings a lot of editing power and flexibility. Specifically, Gutenberg allows doing more with fewer plugins. In fact, it is going to be much more than a post editor. The next step is to expand its functionality, allowing people to customize the rest of their website. They will be able to edit and manipulate everything on their site without having to depend on developers.CogitActive
The Gutenberg project
The WordPress Gutenberg Project is an ambitious initiative by WordPress.org to transform the content management experience. Its inception was driven by the need to modernize the WordPress content editing experience. The traditional editor 2, while functional, lacked the intuitiveness and flexibility demanded by modern web design standards. Gutenberg was envisioned as a solution to empower users with a more accessible and visually engaging interface, facilitating the creation of complex layouts with ease.
The Gutenberg project is a reimagination of the way we manage content on the web. Its goal is to broaden access to web presence, a foundation of successful modern businesses.WordPress
However, the vision of the Gutenberg Project extends beyond mere content creation, aspiring to offer comprehensive site customization capabilities, collaborative features, and multilingual support, thereby democratizing publishing for all users. The Gutenberg Project’s implementation has been segmented into four distinct phases, each aligning with major WordPress releases:
Phase 1 – Easier Editing: replace the classic editor with the block editor, offering a more intuitive way to create posts and pages.
Phase 2 – Customization: focus on site editing, block patterns, and block themes, culminating in the integration of full site editing (FSE; see below).
Phase 3 – Collaboration: enhance collaborative editing and workflows within WordPress with a more intuitive way to co-author content.
Phase 4 – Multilingual: address the implementation of multilingual capabilities within the core of WordPress.
Phase 1 was initiated 3 in Dec 2018 with WordPress 5.0 and the shift from the Tiny MCE “Classic” editor to the Gutenberg block-based editor. Initially met with skepticism and resistance, the project gradually gained optimism as the editor matured and users began to recognize its potential benefits.
Gutenberg is perhaps the most controversial project in WordPress history. Throughout its development cycle, excitement and optimism gave way to hate and fear. When Gutenberg became available as a plugin, it brought very strong reactions on both ends of the spectrum, but the majority of feedback was utterly negative.CogitActive
Blocks
Gutenberg is built on the idea of using “blocks” to write and design posts and pages. Each piece of content, whether it’s a paragraph, image, or video, is treated as an individual block that can be added, arranged, and customized independently.
Blocks — pieces of content that you can move around
The main advantage of this modular approach is the possibility to edit the blocks individually with block-specific formatting making it simpler to re-order and organize the content in your posts and pages. Indeed, just like physical blocks, WordPress blocks can be added, arranged, and rearranged, allowing users to create media-rich content and site layouts in a visually intuitive way — and without workarounds like shortcodes or custom HTML and PHP.
By embracing blocks as an interaction paradigm, we can unify multiple different interfaces into one. Instead of learning how to write shortcodes and custom HTML, or pasting URLs to embed media, there’s a common, reliable flow for inserting any kind of content.WordPress
As stated in the WordPress roadmap, in 2021 and 2022, [WordPress] focused on merging Site Editing (Phase 2) into WordPress. This introduced the Site Editor and a suite of editing capabilities that enable leveraging blocks for use across an entire website.
Specifically, WordPress 5.8 brought Blocks to the widget area and WordPress 5.9 put you in control of your whole site with Full Site Editing. In fact, this phase extended well into 2023 as features were introduced, tweaked, and refined.
The WordPress 6.3 development cycle has begun and work is already underway on an ambitious list of features that will debut in the upcoming major release. It will cap off Phase 2 of the Gutenberg project, with an emphasis on polishing customization features and making them easier to use.Sarah Gooding
Full Site Editing (FSE)
One of the overarching goals of the Gutenberg Project was to provide a full-site editing experience, enabling users to manipulate every aspect of their website’s appearance directly from the editor. Gutenberg blocks were indeed destined to surpass their original purpose as integrative elements of the blogging experience and make their way to the overall website as well. This vision became a reality in January 2022, with the release of WordPress 5.9.
Beyond just blog posts and written content, users gained control over their entire website with block-based headers, navigation, and footers. Whether it’s the header, footer, or sidebar, these blocks can be used throughout the entire site via a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface. This flexibility, together with a WYSIWYG editing experience 4, enables the creation of more intricate layouts without the need for traditional page builders. By adopting a Block theme, you gain independence in designing your website, free from reliance on external providers.
Many WordPress sites use page builders to aid in page template creation. […] The primary aim is to empower non-technical users to build complex pages. […] While third-party solutions initially scratched a specific client itch, they’ve since been outclassed by Gutenberg. With the backing of the core WordPress team, this first-party solution is primed to make the other options extinct eventually.Rob Petrin
Conclusion
The WordPress Gutenberg Project represents a transformative step in the evolution of content management systems, aiming to revolutionize the way users create and manage content within WordPress. The Gutenberg editor is still at an early stage, but continues to evolve, with each WordPress release bringing improvements and new features that cater to the needs of a diverse user base. Its focus on ease of use, flexibility, and a rich editing experience makes it a powerful tool for content creators and website builders alike.
Gutenberg was developed to provide a first-party solution to a common publishing problem while removing the primary pitfall of other page builders – decreased site performance. While it had a controversial initial roll-out in 2018, the advent of newer features such as Full-Site Editing has proven Gutenberg the best-in-class page builder.Rob Petrin
1 Actually, there were two instances! Considering the nature of these posts—both in terms of content and the timing during the summer break—and the recurring challenge of time constraints due to work overload, I turned to an AI for assistance in writing these posts. Specifically, I utilized the Compose option in Copilot within the Edge browser. While doing so, I did deviate from my initial plan (as mentioned in Maybe with a little help), but more significantly, I discovered that the outcome—the AI-generated post—was quite underwhelming. ^
2 Tiny MCE, the former WYSIWYG editor, had been implemented back in 2005 with WordPress 2.0 release. ^
3 Actually, the Gutenberg Project commenced as a feature plugin on GitHub, namely Gutenberg. WordPress leadership chose the name, after Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the printing press and ultimately changed the world in the process. The plugin page states indeed that Gutenberg aims to revolutionize the entire publishing experience as much as Johannes Gutenberg did the printed word.
It was officially integrated into WordPress core with the release of WordPress 5.0 in December 2018. Since then, it has undergone continuous refinement, with each WordPress release bringing enhancements and new features that align with the project’s phased approach. Importantly, as explained by the Gutenberg Team, Each WordPress release includes stable features from the Gutenberg plugin, so you don’t need to install the plugin to benefit from the work being done here.
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4 This allows users to see how their design will look in real-time as they build their pages. Before, the possibility of making design changes directly visible (without switching to a preview mode) was limited to individual pages and blog posts. ^