WordPress has gone through a number of changes over the course of its life cycle. I know of at least one major developer who even considers WordPress to be a legacy application – meaning that it has passed beyond the the peak of its life cycle. From a popularity standpoint I’d say that’s pretty debatable considering the number of sites out there that are using WordPress. However, what they are referring to is just the overall architecture of the WordPress platform and how it compares to some of the new(er) kids on the block.
React app development, for example, has really taken the development world by storm, and in many cases, slower PHP based applications are being phased out in a lot of cases for JavaScript applications. There are pros and cons to either language, but what is important to keep in mind is that WordPress will still continue to have a place in as a marketing tool for years to come. It’s just that popular. Because of this, the demand for WordPress development will keep a lot of developers very busy coding WordPress themes and plugins. So how do we take a 10 year old PHP platform and modernize it using modern libraries like React?
Enter Gutenberg
The biggest change in the WordPress website development world is the implementation of Gutenberg as part of the WordPress core. Gutenberg basically allows WordPress to function as a block editor by replacing the popular but now somewhat dated feeling WYSIWYG editor. The Gutenberg block editor is both great and frustrating to use at times, but it does represent a major milestone in the life cycle of the WordPress platform. Most importantly, it indicates that WordPress is adapting and growing. Guess what Gutenberg is built off of? React. Want to build a new Gutenberg block for your WordPress site? You are going to have to dig into some React development.
Gutenberg offers a number of advantages in terms of being able to organize content in a way that is efficient and consistent. Take the YouTube Gutenberg block for example: in the past you would copy and paste the embed code from YouTube and style the resulting iFrame if necessary. These days? Simply add a new block, select “YouTube” from the list of available blocks, and add the video ID. The best part is that if you then want to move the video to a new place on the page, you can click and drag the block to a new location.
Update your WordPress site and start using Gutenberg
At Valier, pride ourselves in being able to deliver highly customized WordPress packages to our clients. Lately, we’ve been focusing on creating custom blocks for the Gutenberg Editor to give our clients even greater control over how their WordPress site performs, looks and functions. If your WordPress site launched before Gutenberg was released, then there are likely a number features that you are missing out on.
We design, develop, and manage WordPress sites for clients located all over the globe. If you are looking to modernize your WordPress site and start taking advantage of the Gutenberg block editor, get in touch with Valier.