This was maybe the most contentious WordPress launch yet. Many on social media thought it wasn’t ready. There was much gnashing of teeth. However, three days after the launch there appears to be few if any issues. Everything is going smoothly. 2-3 million sites are already running 5.0. Yay!
WordPress 5.0 has a new editor called Gutenberg. It’s a big deal. Everything is a block; paragraphs, images, embeds, layouts, etc. Blocks are easy to use, powerful, can be embedded in other blocks, and moved around easily.
I’ve been using a beta of the Gutenberg editor since May. It’s way better than the Classic editor (which can still be used.) Gutenberg plugins like Atomic Blocks and Caxton add even more functionality and editor blocks.
Coming versions of WordPress will expand Gutenberg into themes, widgets, and plugins. Everything will be modular, everything will work using the same WordPress core code blocks. No more rogue plugins that break things or incompatibilities between plugins.
Get your WordPress site ready for Gutenberg now. Installed plugins need to be tested and verified against the WordPress Repository to determine what version of WordPress they’ve been tested up to. Plugins that haven’t been updated for a while may have issues and might need replacements.
Going forward, themes will need to do all configuration in Appearance / Customizer. If a theme has its own config panels it’s not Gutenberg-compatible. This isn’t an issue yet but may be in 2019. WordPress and JetPack already have hundreds of Gutenberg-ready themes.
Phase 2 of Gutenberg will bring block-style editing to widgets, menus, and themes.
WordPress just took a huge step forward and is planning for the next 15 years. Contact me if you have any questions or want a Gutenberg tune-up for your site.