What is Gutenberg?
Gutenberg is the new visual WordPress editor. It is named after Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the first printing press with moveable type. As of writing this, the new visual editor is currently in its beta testing phase; it is therefore not ready to run on production sites just yet.
How is it different?
For those just starting with WordPress, the new editors goal is to make things ‘easier’. When compared to the current visual editor, Gutenberg requires minimal shortcodes and HTML to make things work.
So, unlike the current WordPress editor, you don’t have to:
- Create featured images to be added at the top of a post or page;
- Write shortcodes for specialized assets of different plugins;
- Import images, multimedia and approved files from the media library or add HTML shortcodes;
- Add widgets for content on the side of a page;
- Copy and paste links for embeds;
- Add excerpts for subheads.
In order to add more advanced layout options as well as making it easier to use, Gutenberg is embracing ‘little blocks’. Blocks are small ‘drag and drop’ units, which replace the current inconsistent customisation process.
These new features allow you to control a website’s entire layout (both back end and front end) from a single console.
“Blocks are a great new tool for building engaging content. With blocks, you can insert, rearrange, and style multimedia content with very little technical knowledge. Instead of using custom code, you can add a block and focus on your content.”
What we think
Overall we believe that Gutenberg will make it easier for web developers to structure the inner pages of your site. It will also allow more elements of the current version to be easily editable for non-web developers, making it easier for teams to keep websites maintained.
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems available due to it being user friendly whilst versatile for web developers to work with. It gives developers the ability to create blogs, websites or ecommerce platforms etc with the same content management system powering their sites.
If you are struggling to maintain your WordPress site get in touch with us on 01952 234004