What is Gutenberg in WordPress ?

Creating posts or pages becomes an intuitive and visual experience with Gutenberg. Start by clicking on « Add a new post » or « Add a new page » from your WordPress dashboard and open a new tab with the Gutenberg editor, displaying an initially empty page with a paragraph block ready to use. This is where your project comes to life.

Gutenberg goes beyond a simple content editor, radically transforming the way you design and edit your pages and posts. This article explores Gutenberg’s impact, evolution and essential features, making it a must-have tool for WordPress content creators.

The history and evolution of Gutenberg

Introduced by WordPress, Gutenberg takes its name from Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. This new editor represents a real revolution in the way content is published, moving away from theclassic WordPresseditor. Gutenberg introduces a block system that offers greater flexibility and freedom in the creation of pages and posts.

In this world of blocks, every element – be it text, images, videos or any other type of media – becomes a reusable and customizable block, making it easier to design and edit content.

The move to Gutenberg, with the release of WordPress 5.0 in December 2018, marked a major evolution. Prior to this update, theclassic editor was the norm. The advent of Gutenberg replaced it as the defaultcontent editor, although the Classic Editor plugin remains available for those preferring the old interface. It should be noted, however, that support for this plugin will be limited until 2024, encouraging users to switch to Gutenberg to take full advantage of WordPress’ innovations.

The introduction of Gutenberg has also had a significant impact on the WordPress ecosystem. By simplifying and consolidating site customization, it reduces the need for additional plugins for certain functionalities. This evolution affects not only users, but also WordPress-related agencies and service providers, who have to adapt to these new features.

In short, Gutenberg redefines the WordPress ecosystem by promoting a more integrated and flexible approach to content creation and website customization.

Key features of the Gutenberg editor

TheWordPress Gutenberg editor is based on a system of blocks, essential for content creation. Each block can be an element of varied content, such as text, an image, a video, a gallery, or more sophisticated elements like columns or quotes.

Manipulating these blocks is made easy by drag-and-drop functionality, enabling content creation and editing to be both intuitive and visual. This approach offers exceptional layout freedom, encouraging creativity. You can customize blocks according to your preferences, adjusting layout and visual styles, and integrating interactive features.

A notable example is the image block, which does more than just upload images. You can also crop images, apply filters or add captions directly from the editor. The creation of « reusable blocks » makes it easy to maintain visual consistency across your site, and optimizes the time spent on creating recurring content.

Gutenberg is designed for maximum scalability, integrating easily with a variety of WordPress plugins and themes. Plugins such as Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg (now Spectra), Kadence Blocks, and GutenKit enrich your content with additional blocks and advanced features, adding elements such as interactive maps, banners, progress bars, and timers.

Gutenberg-compatible themes such as Blocksy, GeneratePress and Neve ensure perfect synchronization between Customizer settings and Gutenberg editor styles. This ensures impeccable visual consistency between customization and your website layout.

Daily use of Gutenberg

Creating posts or pages becomes an intuitive and visual experience with Gutenberg. Start by selecting « Add a new post » or « Add a new page » from your WordPress dashboard. This takes you straight to the Gutenberg editor, displaying an initially empty page with a paragraph block ready to use.

Reusable blocks are a key feature of Gutenberg, allowing you to save and select content blocks across your site. Create a reusable block by selecting a block, clicking on the three vertical dots in the block toolbar and choosing « Add to reusable block ». Name this block so that you can easily reuse it in other articles or pages via the reusable block library.

Inserting specific elements such as images, videos or galleries is made easier by selecting the desired type of block from the block library. To add an image, for example, click on « + », choose « Image », then download or select an image from your media library. Image parameters, such as size and alignment, are set directly from the editor.

Reusable blocks are a key Gutenberg feature, allowing you to save and reuse content blocks across your site. Create a reusable block by selecting a block, clicking on the three dots in the block toolbar and choosing « Add to reusable block ». Name this block so that you can easily reuse it in other articles or pages via the reusable block library.

To improve efficiency with Gutenberg, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with keyboard shortcuts. For example, use the up arrow to navigate quickly between blocks, or `Ctrl + Z` to undo the last action. Mastering these shortcuts can transform your workflow, allowing you to concentrate fully on creating innovative content.

What’s more, combinations like `Ctrl + Shift + ,` toggle between editing and preview modes, while `Ctrl + /` opens the blocks menu. Grouping blocks makes it easier to move or delete them en masse, simplifying the management of your content.

Gutenberg has transformed the way we create and edit content on WordPress. Introduced with WordPress version 5.0, this modern, block-based editor brings unrivalled flexibility and ease of use. Blocks, which are the core elements of Gutenberg, allow you to create sophisticated, custom layouts without the need for programming skills. Enrich your pages with new-age content using the Gutenberg builder.

Enrich your content creation experience with extensions and plugins for Gutenberg. Options such as Spectra or aBlocks extend the possibilities with additional blocks and advanced features.

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Conclusion

Gutenberg has transformed the way we create and edit content on WordPress. Introduced with WordPress version 5.0, this modern, block-based editor brings unrivalled flexibility and ease of use. Blocks, which are the core elements of Gutenberg, enable the creation of sophisticated custom layouts without the need for programming skills.

More than just an editor, Gutenberg is a complete platform for website design, offering the possibility of customizing not just articles and pages, but the entire site, including headers, footers and widget zones. The various phases of development, from improving editing to facilitating collaboration and multilingual support, testify to WordPress’ determination to continue strengthening and diversifying Gutenberg’s functionalities. This is a real boon for users wishing to add an innovative dynamic to their content.

It’s time to research and see in practice what Gutenberg can bring to your WordPress content creation process. Ready to give it a try?