WordPress 5.0 was released today. This is a major version that introduces the new editor instead of the TinyMCE. In this post, I’d like to address a few important things regarding this update and tell you what to expect next from ThemePatio.
What’s Going On?
The new editor codenamed Gutenberg was added to the core today. It doesn’t only replace the old editor but also changes the way you create content with WordPress. The main difference is that it is block-based. In the new editor, everything is a block. Paragraph, heading, image, button… Each block can have its own set of options. And we finally have columns!
What Will Happen to Your Site?
This is all shiny and new, but what happens to my existing content, you may ask. The good news that the new editor doesn’t shouldn’t break anything. If you open any of your posts, you’ll see that the content appears in a single block that mimics the old editor. You have an option to convert it to individual blocks but you don’t have to.
New editor also adds a few new elements you can use in your posts and pages like cover images, pull-quotes, buttons and some more. Support for these elements has already been added to Maker and Counter and will shortly be added to Integer.
What If You Don’t Like The New Editor?
If you are skeptical about this new editing experience or have a lot of custom-built meta boxes or anything else that relies on the previous editor, you have an option to keep it. Just install the Classic Editor plugin and use the same interface for creating posts that you are used to.
What’s Next?
Despite the hiatus surrounding this release, it opens up new opportunities for theme and plugin creators. I’m working on a new theme that will be a beast. Here’s an early screenshot of it.
Apart from that, I’ll keep working on updating my current themes to add support for all new elements that were introduced with WordPress 5.0.
To wrap it up, if you haven’t updated your site to WordPress 5.0, please do so and explore the new possibilities it offers. If you don’t want to use the new editor, install the Classic Editor plugin and keep creating content with it. Till the next time!