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WordPress is about to change forever

by | Oct 17, 2018 | newsletters

Few versions of WordPress in the past have garnered as much buzz around them as WordPress 5.0. the last time we saw this much hype (and change) was the introduction of custom post types, which changed WordPress from a blogging platform into the world’s most popular content management system that now powers 30% of the websites on the planet. The reason for this hype about 5.0 is two simple words: Gutenberg Editor. Once WordPress 5.0 ships, the default way that people create content with WordPress will radically change.  As of now, here is the scheduled release dates for WordPress 5.0:

  • October 19: Beta 1
  • October 30: RC 1 (Release Candidate)
  • November 19: Release
  • There will likely be a secondary RC in January of 2019

The scope of this project entails:

  • Merging the Gutenberg plugin into the core software
  • Updating the default themes to work well with the block editor
  • Creating the new Twenty Nineteen theme
  • Creating an upgrade experience to remove the Gutenberg plugin and offer the Classic Editor plugin

The launch of Gutenberg means that you’ll need to get acquainted with a whole new editing experience. You can get a head start and find out exactly what you’re in for by installing a beta version of the Gutenberg editor as a plugin. Here’s what to expect after 5.0 rolls out:

The platform’s focus is moving towards a more intuitive site-building experience. Specifically, the core team is looking to maintain it’s market share against the rise of hosted website builders, many of which are easier to use for novice designers than all the complexities that WordPress offers. Building themes will become easier. In the past, you needed at least a simple development background to put together a WordPress theme. With Gutenberg, theme creation will become much more accessible thanks to blocks. Aside from your own editing experience, Gutenberg will also bring important changes to a lot of your favorite plugins, especially those that interact with the editor such as page builders and those that use shortcodes.

The biggest improvement is that it will now make it possible for you to build and create unique web pages filled with lots of content blocks, which you can easily move around with a drag-and-drop interface. Here’s a preview of what the new editor will look like:

When you click on the + in the upper left corner, you be able to select from Common Blocks, such as images, headings, lists, and more as shown below:

This upgrade will completely change your experience of editing content on your website. Before plugins, custom fields, custom page templates, and much more would have been necessary in order to create a custom look for your page content. You will now be able to design and build pages filled with lots of different layout blocks without a need for all of that. Just embed what you want and move it around on the screen to get the desired look:

So what happens if you don’t like the new Gutenberg editor? Fortunately, there is a “classic editor” plugin that will be available so you can revert back to your old habits. Are you concerned about how this will affect your website? don’t worry – we are developing a training course that will walk you through everything you need to know. It should be available early next year. Contact us if you want to get on the waiting list!

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