I have worked with WP since 2005 or so and got really good at CSS. whe Gutenberg first came along I hated it and of course it was weird and clumsy and buggy. But when I started to work with it and it matured and became much more usable I began to love it. Especially the combination of GeneratePress and their blocks and pro version. I never use pagebuilders anymore(Elementor etc) because I figured out how to do everything in Gutenberg and plugins. That said handing the project over to a client, who might be used to the classic editor is another challenge. I have to write a user guide for every handoff.
You nailed it. As developers and designers, we have a vested interest in mastering Gutenberg.. but.. hand your client the keys to his/her shiny new Wordpress website and then show them what they need to do to create and publish a blog post, and instant buyer's remorse. I'd say about 80% of people who've never seen Gutenberg before, first time exposed to it, have a visceral dislike, confusion and aversion to using it. Wonderful.. Wordpress...
This is where I want to be. 100% build with Divi at the moment and desperate to get off of it, but finding getting started with block development quite hard.
Oxygen + ACF + Gutenberg combo works well for us. Oxygen to build the templates (equivalent to FSE) ACF to extend the capabilities and Gutenberg just to enter the content of text and images. Result = very fast loading, dynamic websites, with no lock in, since all the content is within Gutenberg
@@mxmgo Thank you for the feedback and I'm pleased my comment helped you. This combination isn't for everyone of course, as the Oxygen learning curve requires some personal application to master, but the pay back sure is worth the effort - All the best
I've shifted focus and will now replace Elementor with Gutenberg The core reasons are page load speed, bloat, and being locked in to specific plugins. As soon as I can do anything myself rather than use a 3rd party solution, then I'm in The idea of being tied into a paid service which then hikes price, or vanishes, is too great a risk. Would still like to use more CSS and SCSS instead of Gutenberg but this isn't the WordPress way
I think we have to get into it, even as blind screen reader users. But the Gutenberg team really has to sit down and get some of the workflow stuff ironed out, especially for non-mouse users, like keyboard only users. While each block individually may work great, the stuff that glues them all together, well, doesn't glue it all together quite yet. That's a part of what makes it so difficult to transition still. I am blind myself and a screen reader user.
Paul Charlton used my answer, mostly. The hardest part for me was getting used to it and weaning myself off of the pagebuilder I am used to using. Here's to the Gutenberg future, for better or worse. So far, mostly better. For better or worse, the whole WordPress landscape will be different in a few years.
i like the blocks. I don't like the new structure of building websites with the "FSE". If you use a blank template, you have to fill it in and try to make it look like something worth clicking on. If you use a premade template, you're stuck with boring full width templates that don't work well for blogging, and these templates are so bland in structure. I get that this whole new editing thing is supposed to make websites more scalable across devices, but as far as FSE goes, I don't care for that. I do love the reusable blocks feature. That makes it simple for me to add a block to all of my pages and posts where I want site-wide updates to happen.
Gearing up on Gutenberg. Great to see all those experts and their opinion. I subscribed to this channel because I think you are the real expert here. So keep going so I eventually can use Gutenberg too.
From someone who has no idea what they are doing, I’m able to make a website that’s looks ok .and seems to have a end product that does what I want from my site that can only improve over time 👍
I remember how much it was hated - not just in the last 2 years but from the start when they changed from the classic theme to blocks, devs were moaning about it. I guess the difference is how it's become more of a default. As a user and designer who sometimes needs to tweak/code my site, I'd say broadly yes but with caveats - namely they keep fritzing around with the Gallery block, breaking any simple code I put on it to style it, or even recently in the last year totally changing how you get access to the options Also why is Captions STILL broken (if you add a caption to a page, it doesn't get added to the image settings, you have fo dig all the way into the image settings to add it, and then hope it shows on the page - quite often for Galleries you have to re-add the image for the caption to show). So I think blocks are very powerful, but they still look quite clunky unless you want simple clean coloured blocks, and the ability to reliably style them is a way off - I see they have added that as an 'experiment' but they really need a sort of defined API or structure to do this, and it needs to be in core. I use Automattic's themes for decades back to modding Kubrick, and I know logical structure is NOT their strong point! Matt M and team seem to change things on a whim and go 'tough', As a user, that's annoying. Like BobWP I am a podcaster as well, and yes have been using Gutenberg since it came in....I think for simple stuff it's great, but it leaves a lot to be desired for essential functionality you need when it changes randomly from version....
I hope Gutenberg plug can have many more options available for configuring the layout designs. For helping multi environments (industries) on content management like Blog, Press, Brands, Stores, Agencies, Sports, etc... WP suffers from action delayed compared to other platforms and this has led to the growth of other CMS, for example Shopify or others. (just install and compare). It is a shame that many plugins that are available become outdated, many ideas that should be reused for the WP community become abandoned in time and the users unable to use them. We should have adaptation and reuse as a form of digital circular economy. As with real products there is recycling and reuse. If we buy plugins, and more plugins, we have other CMS competing and with better performance at all levels. By only having access to basic functions we are behind in time compared to what other designers or programmers can offer with other platforms. I hope the Gutenberg team will be able to better transform the plugin with more options in order to improve the use of Wordpress and certainly the whole community will appreciate it. Otherwise slowly many people and industries will change platforms and get used to other things. This remember me why initially Drupal and then Joomla CMS (some years ago) get stuck in time, and other CMS like WP advance. Now I have some many friends working with other CMS that I just feel that maybe time to adaption is to come... There could be some rules like: - If a plugin is not updated in 2 major WP updates, for security reasons; - If a plugin is not updated for 1 year; - If the developer or the company dies; - If the developer or company decides to donate the code to the WP Dev community; These situations should revert the code (or idea) in favor of WP Dev community for the core application.
Two years building sites with Divi and I don't like it. It's that disatifaction that lead me to want to learn how to make websites with core Wordpress going forward, but I haven't found trying to build with Gutenberg that great an experience so far. I've been trying to create my first themes from scratch and things just don't work quite the way they're supposed to. Crucially the biggest issue is that when I google issues I'm having i don't find much which I suppose speaks to the newness of developing this way.
Wow - Jamie - thanks for the Video it's amazing.....And yes: it is just another great job, i really love this channel, you provide the best content. keep it up ...Your Channel covers all the great topics that me ( and many many other wordpress-users from all over the globe) are interested in Gutenberg, Full-Site-Editing (FSE), Block-Theme, Query-Loop and lots of others. Just awesome! Hats off to you - your videos are really inspiring me!! 😳♥♥♥ i'm glad that i found your videos...now i'm decided to watch all your videos. Thanks for your contribution❤ I always periodically return to your videos in complete awe... lol I your ideas - creating videos are literally one of the best thing I've seen for a very long time. ♥♥- and i would love to see at least one new video from you each week ;)
Thanks for this video. Very informative. There are a few comments/questions from my side ... Q1 Do you foresee that GB Blocks will replace plug-ins in the future? Q2 SQL developers will know what SQL-injection is. Is it possible that we could have the same threat, i.e. injection of rouge blocks? Q3 I would like to have a block wherein QR codes are displayed, has anyone tried it? Q4 There are plug-ins that display weather forecasts and tidal times. Is there a working block that does the same? I see a definite future in Gutenberg blocks.
I don’t know why I didn’t see any of the problems with Elementor before I built my website with it and 48 posts! Now I am trying to add Ezoic and seeing how it slows things down. Can you tell me: if I very slowly work on one post at a time, converting to Gutenberg, but leave the pages as they are, will this improve my site speed with Ezoic ? Ezoic doesn’t tell you up front that this will be a problem and while I was researching pagebuilders trying to figure out how to do this on my own, I never heard one bad comment mentioned about Elementor. I also have Astra which is supposedly an additional “problem.”
ive been using since 2020 gutenberg, im learning a lot ... less is better ... fast and very seo friendly .... elementor is very heavy and now they got lot of errors
From a developer's perspective, 2024, Gutenberg remains a NO (or a cautious yes) despite improving a lot since its launch. I agree with Paul Charlton that it doesn't work without third-party plugins. Mobile customization options simply don't exist. Really limited flex / grid controls. Important panels like dimensions are hidden when they should be obvious. For non-developers, it looks good and works okay - you can build something, but nothing special design-wise.
Well clearly you’re only asking this question to those who are already pro Gutenberg and not general Wordpress site builders and WP designer advocates. I think Gutenberg still too basic without true styling options etc
Seems to be a highly opinionated response in favor. I'll be contrary and say a hard NO. Having used classic for at least 7yrs. the move to Gutenberg never made sense - based on personal theming and back-end dev experience. There are plenty that agree with 5million+ classic editor plugin installs, and likely several more million relying on 3rd party builders. First thing I do on any site is install classic editor. I then use 3rd party builders, which focus on more intuitive layout creation. A layout builder which is more tightly integrated with the theme makes both content and styling more straightforward. Gutenberg is probably better for non-professionals seeking a free layout builder. However, it is not well-implemented IMO. Gutenberg is a more opinionated core editing experience, and they should at least continue to support the classic editor plugin.
I agree. These comments reflect and echo-chamber (Twitter-like...) of designers and developers. Ask clients who actually buy a WordPress website and have to figure out Gutenberg to make their own edits.. . how they feel about Gutenberg... hell, some ask for a refund, I get "WTF is this??!!" and then they sign up for a Squarespace or Weebly website instead, where at least the editor looks like something they can intuitively figure out and wrap their brains around. Way to go, WordPress...
@@jamiewp I start with any custom block development needs and then build block patterns from core and custom blocks for default content and available layouts similar to picking a template in a post or page, but all layouts, aka block patterns, are available from the block editor as well. The idea is ONLY develop custom blocks IF core blocks do not fit the need. Then build all page layouts as block patterns using core and or custom blocks. Add default content as block patterns by post type, whatever, etc... in an ideal case, I'm simply styling blocks into a theme, rather than building a theme. Outside of the header and footer, the page body will be block patterns and if your custom block renders using a php function, it will dynamically update existing posts to the current layout pattern. Hope this makes sense 👍
Hi, sorry about that. It wasn't me, it's youtube unfortunately. They've been randomly deleting comments on peoples channels for a few months now - I promise you, I would never do that.
Where did you find these people. Its a stacked deck. Gutenberg is a slap in the face to the "actual, real" developers - coders and a gift to slackers and pretenders that call themselves developers. If G is all that, why are some of the most popular plugins those that prevent the updates to G, to the tune of 400,000 downloads. The core committee should have split the teams in two in the beginning. One to support the true Wordpress and the other for Gutenberg.
Gutenberg will be the downfall of Wordpress, and I believe it has already begun. As if... security vulnerabilities, plugins updates, core updates, theme updates, PHP versions... aren't enough, the business that decided on WordPress then has to learn this bizarre Gutenberg Editor.. not many here are talking about the actual customers who buy these websites from designers, they overwhelmingly hate Gutenberg. People here are so invested in Wordpress, it's just a very bad and needlessly expensive option full of headaches for most people.
I hate Gutenberg. Seriously many of the features are half-baked The UI is also very confusing for a newbie. The workflow is terrible. The layout features are terrible. I can't make it spacing correct and it doesn't even do paragraphs spacing correctly. I'll stick with my page builders for now. At least its predictable on how the web page layouts are going to look like.
Been using WP since 2006, still find Gutenberg convoluted and bloated. Spend more time in code view, maybe because I started with notepad and HTML in 1994.
I have worked with WP since 2005 or so and got really good at CSS. whe Gutenberg first came along I hated it and of course it was weird and clumsy and buggy. But when I started to work with it and it matured and became much more usable I began to love it. Especially the combination of GeneratePress and their blocks and pro version. I never use pagebuilders anymore(Elementor etc) because I figured out how to do everything in Gutenberg and plugins. That said handing the project over to a client, who might be used to the classic editor is another challenge. I have to write a user guide for every handoff.
You nailed it. As developers and designers, we have a vested interest in mastering Gutenberg.. but.. hand your client the keys to his/her shiny new Wordpress website and then show them what they need to do to create and publish a blog post, and instant buyer's remorse. I'd say about 80% of people who've never seen Gutenberg before, first time exposed to it, have a visceral dislike, confusion and aversion to using it. Wonderful.. Wordpress...
This is where I want to be. 100% build with Divi at the moment and desperate to get off of it, but finding getting started with block development quite hard.
Oxygen + ACF + Gutenberg combo works well for us. Oxygen to build the templates (equivalent to FSE) ACF to extend the capabilities and Gutenberg just to enter the content of text and images. Result = very fast loading, dynamic websites, with no lock in, since all the content is within Gutenberg
thank you for your comment! I discovered oxygen. This is what I needed
@@mxmgo Thank you for the feedback and I'm pleased my comment helped you. This combination isn't for everyone of course, as the Oxygen learning curve requires some personal application to master, but the pay back sure is worth the effort - All the best
I made the jump to the block editor at 5.0 and have never looked back. I'm excited about the future. Thanks for your videos.
Thanks Gerald
Me too
I've shifted focus and will now replace Elementor with Gutenberg
The core reasons are page load speed, bloat, and being locked in to specific plugins.
As soon as I can do anything myself rather than use a 3rd party solution, then I'm in
The idea of being tied into a paid service which then hikes price, or vanishes, is too great a risk.
Would still like to use more CSS and SCSS instead of Gutenberg but this isn't the WordPress way
I think we have to get into it, even as blind screen reader users. But the Gutenberg team really has to sit down and get some of the workflow stuff ironed out, especially for non-mouse users, like keyboard only users. While each block individually may work great, the stuff that glues them all together, well, doesn't glue it all together quite yet. That's a part of what makes it so difficult to transition still. I am blind myself and a screen reader user.
Paul Charlton used my answer, mostly. The hardest part for me was getting used to it and weaning myself off of the pagebuilder I am used to using.
Here's to the Gutenberg future, for better or worse. So far, mostly better. For better or worse, the whole WordPress landscape will be different in a few years.
It sure will be different David, it's going to be an interesting ride
i like the blocks. I don't like the new structure of building websites with the "FSE". If you use a blank template, you have to fill it in and try to make it look like something worth clicking on. If you use a premade template, you're stuck with boring full width templates that don't work well for blogging, and these templates are so bland in structure. I get that this whole new editing thing is supposed to make websites more scalable across devices, but as far as FSE goes, I don't care for that. I do love the reusable blocks feature. That makes it simple for me to add a block to all of my pages and posts where I want site-wide updates to happen.
For me YES! Hated it at first but now use it all the time for building new sites.
Hi Keith, i think many people have been on your journey
Thanks for this video Jamie! It’s encouraging to see experienced professionals embracing Gutenberg
thanks Carlos 🙏
Gearing up on Gutenberg. Great to see all those experts and their opinion. I subscribed to this channel because I think you are the real expert here. So keep going so I eventually can use Gutenberg too.
Great tks Heinrich 🙏 Love the phrase 'Gearing up on Gutenberg'
From someone who has no idea what they are doing, I’m able to make a website that’s looks ok .and seems to have a end product that does what I want from my site that can only improve over time 👍
that's great to hear Rowan 👍
I remember how much it was hated - not just in the last 2 years but from the start when they changed from the classic theme to blocks, devs were moaning about it. I guess the difference is how it's become more of a default. As a user and designer who sometimes needs to tweak/code my site, I'd say broadly yes but with caveats - namely they keep fritzing around with the Gallery block, breaking any simple code I put on it to style it, or even recently in the last year totally changing how you get access to the options
Also why is Captions STILL broken (if you add a caption to a page, it doesn't get added to the image settings, you have fo dig all the way into the image settings to add it, and then hope it shows on the page - quite often for Galleries you have to re-add the image for the caption to show).
So I think blocks are very powerful, but they still look quite clunky unless you want simple clean coloured blocks, and the ability to reliably style them is a way off - I see they have added that as an 'experiment' but they really need a sort of defined API or structure to do this, and it needs to be in core. I use Automattic's themes for decades back to modding Kubrick, and I know logical structure is NOT their strong point! Matt M and team seem to change things on a whim and go 'tough', As a user, that's annoying.
Like BobWP I am a podcaster as well, and yes have been using Gutenberg since it came in....I think for simple stuff it's great, but it leaves a lot to be desired for essential functionality you need when it changes randomly from version....
I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the changes but I'll keep chugging along since you all think it's great.
I hope Gutenberg plug can have many more options available for configuring the layout designs. For helping multi environments (industries) on content management like Blog, Press, Brands, Stores, Agencies, Sports, etc...
WP suffers from action delayed compared to other platforms and this has led to the growth of other CMS, for example Shopify or others. (just install and compare).
It is a shame that many plugins that are available become outdated, many ideas that should be reused for the WP community become abandoned in time and the users unable to use them. We should have adaptation and reuse as a form of digital circular economy. As with real products there is recycling and reuse.
If we buy plugins, and more plugins, we have other CMS competing and with better performance at all levels. By only having access to basic functions we are behind in time compared to what other designers or programmers can offer with other platforms.
I hope the Gutenberg team will be able to better transform the plugin with more options in order to improve the use of Wordpress and certainly the whole community will appreciate it. Otherwise slowly many people and industries will change platforms and get used to other things.
This remember me why initially Drupal and then Joomla CMS (some years ago) get stuck in time, and other CMS like WP advance. Now I have some many friends working with other CMS that I just feel that maybe time to adaption is to come...
There could be some rules like:
- If a plugin is not updated in 2 major WP updates, for security reasons;
- If a plugin is not updated for 1 year;
- If the developer or the company dies;
- If the developer or company decides to donate the code to the WP Dev community;
These situations should revert the code (or idea) in favor of WP Dev community for the core application.
Great work. Hats off buddy.
Thanks a lot for including me.
My pleasure, thanks for taking part 🙏
Two years building sites with Divi and I don't like it. It's that disatifaction that lead me to want to learn how to make websites with core Wordpress going forward, but I haven't found trying to build with Gutenberg that great an experience so far. I've been trying to create my first themes from scratch and things just don't work quite the way they're supposed to. Crucially the biggest issue is that when I google issues I'm having i don't find much which I suppose speaks to the newness of developing this way.
Wow - Jamie - thanks for the Video it's amazing.....And yes: it is just another great job, i really love this channel, you provide the best content. keep it up ...Your Channel covers all the great topics that me ( and many many other wordpress-users from all over the globe) are interested in Gutenberg, Full-Site-Editing (FSE), Block-Theme, Query-Loop and lots of others. Just awesome! Hats off to you - your videos are really inspiring me!! 😳♥♥♥
i'm glad that i found your videos...now i'm decided to watch all your videos. Thanks for your contribution❤
I always periodically return to your videos in complete awe... lol I
your ideas - creating videos are literally one of the best thing I've seen for a very long time. ♥♥- and i would love to see at least one new video from you each week ;)
Thanks Martin, that's really great to hear 😀
Thanks for this video. Very informative. There are a few comments/questions from my side ...
Q1 Do you foresee that GB Blocks will replace plug-ins in the future?
Q2 SQL developers will know what SQL-injection is. Is it possible that we could have the same threat, i.e. injection of rouge blocks?
Q3 I would like to have a block wherein QR codes are displayed, has anyone tried it?
Q4 There are plug-ins that display weather forecasts and tidal times. Is there a working block that does the same?
I see a definite future in Gutenberg blocks.
I don’t know why I didn’t see any of the problems with Elementor before I built my website with it and 48 posts! Now I am trying to add Ezoic and seeing how it slows things down. Can you tell me: if I very slowly work on one post at a time, converting to Gutenberg, but leave the pages as they are, will this improve my site speed with Ezoic ? Ezoic doesn’t tell you up front that this will be a problem and while I was researching pagebuilders trying to figure out how to do this on my own, I never heard one bad comment mentioned about Elementor. I also have Astra which is supposedly an additional “problem.”
Yup that’s a fine approach 👍
I have my website built with WP pagemaker.. Can I still build new pages in Gutember and have both types of pages or it is one or the other?. thanks.
I am going to use the WordPress Gutenberg Block Editor in a couple of years. Up til now I find it way to buggy!
ive been using since 2020 gutenberg, im learning a lot ... less is better ... fast and very seo friendly .... elementor is very heavy and now they got lot of errors
Yup agree
Very good video!
thank you 🙏
That is a total UN team you've assembled. What do you think about Jmag theme? Is a great theme that supports Gutenberg.
Why Gutenberg hasn't any hover option?
It does now :)
@@jamiewp May be you are a busy person.if you can, suggest me a source for add hover iin gutenberg(free). thanks 💜
@@shsomrat7836 hi, if you use the latest version of the plugin you should see it :)
@@jamiewp ok,i looking.
It just isn't flexible enough for me. I want to create a fancy navbar but the limitations rn don't make that possible.
Cool - what’s fancy ?
I'm in with Gutenberg!
Good to hear 👍
Thank you.
From a developer's perspective, 2024, Gutenberg remains a NO (or a cautious yes) despite improving a lot since its launch. I agree with Paul Charlton that it doesn't work without third-party plugins. Mobile customization options simply don't exist. Really limited flex / grid controls. Important panels like dimensions are hidden when they should be obvious. For non-developers, it looks good and works okay - you can build something, but nothing special design-wise.
Well clearly you’re only asking this question to those who are already pro Gutenberg and not general Wordpress site builders and WP designer advocates. I think Gutenberg still too basic without true styling options etc
Hi, there's not universal acclaim if you watch the full video.
I agree! Still too basic!
Seems to be a highly opinionated response in favor. I'll be contrary and say a hard NO. Having used classic for at least 7yrs. the move to Gutenberg never made sense - based on personal theming and back-end dev experience.
There are plenty that agree with 5million+ classic editor plugin installs, and likely several more million relying on 3rd party builders.
First thing I do on any site is install classic editor. I then use 3rd party builders, which focus on more intuitive layout creation. A layout builder which is more tightly integrated with the theme makes both content and styling more straightforward.
Gutenberg is probably better for non-professionals seeking a free layout builder. However, it is not well-implemented IMO. Gutenberg is a more opinionated core editing experience, and they should at least continue to support the classic editor plugin.
I agree. These comments reflect and echo-chamber (Twitter-like...) of designers and developers. Ask clients who actually buy a WordPress website and have to figure out Gutenberg to make their own edits.. . how they feel about Gutenberg... hell, some ask for a refund, I get "WTF is this??!!" and then they sign up for a Squarespace or Weebly website instead, where at least the editor looks like something they can intuitively figure out and wrap their brains around. Way to go, WordPress...
NOT YET
Custom blocks plugins and Block patterns, this is all I sell now.
Interesting - how do you sell block patterns?
@@jamiewp I start with any custom block development needs and then build block patterns from core and custom blocks for default content and available layouts similar to picking a template in a post or page, but all layouts, aka block patterns, are available from the block editor as well. The idea is ONLY develop custom blocks IF core blocks do not fit the need. Then build all page layouts as block patterns using core and or custom blocks. Add default content as block patterns by post type, whatever, etc... in an ideal case, I'm simply styling blocks into a theme, rather than building a theme. Outside of the header and footer, the page body will be block patterns and if your custom block renders using a php function, it will dynamically update existing posts to the current layout pattern. Hope this makes sense 👍
I gave an honest comment and it was removed oh well.. It's a no for several reasons that I am apparently not allowed to post.
Hi, sorry about that. It wasn't me, it's youtube unfortunately. They've been randomly deleting comments on peoples channels for a few months now - I promise you, I would never do that.
Save the best for last. HA!
😀
Where did you find these people. Its a stacked deck. Gutenberg is a slap in the face to the "actual, real" developers - coders and a gift to slackers and pretenders that call themselves developers. If G is all that, why are some of the most popular plugins those that prevent the updates to G, to the tune of 400,000 downloads. The core committee should have split the teams in two in the beginning. One to support the true Wordpress and the other for Gutenberg.
Why do you say " gift to slackers and pretenders that call themselves developers."? I don't understand that comment?
Gutenberg will be the downfall of Wordpress, and I believe it has already begun. As if... security vulnerabilities, plugins updates, core updates, theme updates, PHP versions... aren't enough, the business that decided on WordPress then has to learn this bizarre Gutenberg Editor.. not many here are talking about the actual customers who buy these websites from designers, they overwhelmingly hate Gutenberg. People here are so invested in Wordpress, it's just a very bad and needlessly expensive option full of headaches for most people.
Most of the opinions are by those building products around Gutenberg, so ...
I hate Gutenberg. Seriously many of the features are half-baked The UI is also very confusing for a newbie. The workflow is terrible. The layout features are terrible. I can't make it spacing correct and it doesn't even do paragraphs spacing correctly.
I'll stick with my page builders for now. At least its predictable on how the web page layouts are going to look like.
Been using WP since 2006, still find Gutenberg convoluted and bloated. Spend more time in code view, maybe because I started with notepad and HTML in 1994.
Still using classic editor 😂😂