Carlo Daniele from Kinsta highlights that discussing Twenty Twenty-Two from a technical perspective is akin to discussing the latest and most powerful features introduced in WordPress 5.9; hence, my previous post. Named after the illustrious “Josephine,” this release introduces, among other things, Full Site Editing (FSE) 1 through Block Themes. These innovative themes are constructed entirely using blocks, encompassing every aspect of your website, including the header, navigation area, content, and footer. Being a block theme, Twenty Twenty-Two indeed revolutionizes how we interact with WordPress themes.
The Block Editor has been continually improved and refined since its launch, though the release of WordPress 5.9 on 25 January 2022 marks its greatest evolution. Block Themes are going to change how we build websites with WordPress and Twenty Twenty-Two is a fantastic example of what they can offer.Kevin Muldoon
Twenty Twenty-Two is the first default block theme!
Features of Twenty Twenty-Two
The true richness of Twenty Twenty-Two lies in its opportunity for customization. The theme is built to take advantage of the Site Editor features introduced in WordPress 5.9, which means that colors, typography, and the layout of every single page on your site can be customized to suit your vision. It also includes dozens of block patterns, opening the door to a wide range of professionally designed layouts in just a few clicks.WordPress
Like its predecessors, Twenty Twenty-Two follows a minimalist design approach. It comes with three custom templates, several recommended color palettes, and a variety of block patterns — 64 patterns to be exact — which open the door to a wide range of professionally designed layouts with just a few clicks. However, the theme takes full advantage of the features introduced in WordPress 5.9:
Site Editor: an editor that allows you to edit all parts of your site, navigate between templates, and more.
Styles: a feature that allows you to customize your site, including individual blocks, as much as you’d like with different colors, typography, layouts, and more.
Templates: edit, create, and manage templates that a page or post uses.
Template parts: a way to organize and display groups of blocks as part of a block template mainly for site structure, like Headers, and Footers.
Theme blocks including the Navigation Block, Query Loop block, and more.
Theme blocks are a new category of blocks introduced with WordPress 5.9; there are 23 of them to help you shape your website design:
- Navigation, Site Logo, Site Title, Site Tagline, Query Loop, Posts List
- Template Part, Header, Footer, Post Title, Post Excerpt, Post Featured Image
- Post Content, Post Author, Post Date, Post Categories, Post Tags
- Next Post, Previous Post, Post Comments, Log In/Out, Term Description, Archive Title
The Template Part, Header, and Footer blocks, are only available in the Site Editor. The remaining 20 theme blocks can also be accessed in the Block Editor for styling posts, pages, and custom post types.
WordPress Twenty Twenty-Two is intentionally lightweight. For instance, the fonts used on the theme, Source Serif Pro and Sans Serif are both lightweight fonts, which only helped the case for making it as light as possible. On top of that, the built-in Gutenberg blocks support from WordPress gives the theme an edge minimizing the need for it to bring the option all by itself. It also uses as little CSS as possible in the theme itself 2.
Keep in mind that Twenty Twenty-Two is designed to use the above features instead of the Customizer to edit your site. The Customizer will be hidden by default, though it may be reactivated if you have plugins installed that require it.
And of course, Twenty Twenty-Two supports a wide range of functionalities: Accessibility ready, Block editor patterns, Block editor styles, Blog, Custom colors, Custom logo, Custom menu, Editor style, Featured images, Block themes, News, One column, Portfolio, RTL language support, Sticky post, Style variations, Threaded comments, and Wide blocks.
Community Feedback
Reviews have highlighted the theme’s flexibility and lightweight design, with many noting its playfulness and resilience. Initial feedback pointed to excitement about a theme that can be tailored to individual needs.
What sets it apart is the fact that it’s a complete block theme. Previous default themes were rather limited in terms of customization options and seemed to fit a very narrow website niche. This year’s default theme feels fresh, modern, and intuitive.Nick Schäferhoff
Twenty Twenty-Two stands out indeed for its deep integration with full site editing and global styles. It represents a departure from the traditional WordPress theme structure, aiming to be as flexible as premium WordPress themes. The theme has been noted for empowering users to build complex layouts easily and for embracing the customization anatomy of blocks.
With Full Site Editing and Pattern Directory hitting the market, WordPress Twenty Twenty Two will be able to present itself as perhaps the most customizable default WordPress default theme in history. This is a new dawn of modernization within the WordPress ecosystem. We’re excited and so should you.Faisal Sarker
Conclusion
As a block theme, Twenty Twenty-Two is a major shift from its predecessors; every element of it is indeed customizable. Designed to be the most flexible, lightweight, and customizable default theme ever, it aims to be an endlessly flexible theme and on par with premium WordPress themes.
Twenty Twenty-Two has set a new standard for WordPress default themes. Its reception has been favorable, with its flexibility and customization options being particularly praised. The theme is well-suited for a variety of websites, from blogs to business sites, and represents a significant step forward in the evolution of WordPress themes. Its ability to adapt to the user’s vision makes it a powerful tool for creating unique and expressive online spaces.
Everyone deserves a truly unique website, built on a solid, well-designed foundation. Twenty Twenty-Two aims to help you achieve that by offering a wide set of patterns, templates, headers, footers, and custom color palettes. As the first-ever default block theme, Twenty Twenty-Two invites you to explore full site editing and create a site that reflects your individual vision.WordPress
Coming next: Twenty Twenty-Three
1 As stated by Faisal Sarker from WP Hive, FSE is predicted to be on par with prominent third-party page builders.
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2 Because all styles reside in the theme.json file and are editable through the global styles. ^