The current WordPress editor hasn’t had many changes over the past years; it is pretty much the same since it first started. A little change in the daily routine is always better. Likewise, even though there isn’t any issue with it, many think it is time for a change and get a new editor – the Gutenberg Editor.
What Is Gutenberg?
Named after Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the mechanical printing press, Gutenberg was introduced to the world by Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress at WordCamp Europe 2017 event held in Paris. Mullenweg showed a preview of the new Gutenberg editor with dynamic blocks replacing widgets during the interview. The demo video at WordCamp Europe also showed Gutenberg working smoothly in a mobile context.
Gutenberg is more then an editor. While the editor is the focus right now, the project will ultimately impact the entire publishing experience including customization. As a new WordPress editor, with dozens of cutting-edge features, Gutenberg simplifies website creation and editing for the average non-technical user. The entire editing experience has been rebuilt for media rich pages and posts. It allows website creators to build a website using blocks, which are small drag-and-drop units. 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.
Gutenberg is available as a plugin now, and soon by default in version 5.0 of WordPress. The classic editor will be available as a plugin if needed.
Blocks
Blocks are the unifying evolution of what is now covered, in different ways, by shortcodes, embeds, widgets, post formats, custom post types, theme options, meta-boxes, and other formatting elements. It’s a great 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.
More Than Just An Editor
Gutenberg is not just a new editor for WordPress. It’s the start of something much bigger. Gutenberg lays the groundwork for incredibly exciting developments. Gutenberg has three planned stages. First, WordPress will get a redeveloped editor, after that the project will focus on page templates and ultimately WordPress will become a full site customization. You can imagine, this gives us endless possibilities and it is a necessary step to keep WordPress the #1 CMS for years to come.
Build with Modern Technology
Gutenberg was developed on GitHub using the WordPress REST API, JavaScript, and React.