I started on WordPress, had a few years break from WP pursuing React, Symfony and Python, but now I’m back into it for my partner’s shop and some other work.
I used to do everything by hand, I remember when header.php, footer.php and index.php were mandatory files. I couldn’t figure out something so I looked into the basic themes and noticed there were no such files, but instead they were .html files, with a weird syntax like
<!– wp:group {“align”:”wide”,”style”:{“spacing”:{“padding”:{“top”:”20px”,”bottom”:”20px”}}},”backgroundColor”:”base”,”layout”:{“type”:”constrained”}} –>
<div class=”wp-block-group alignwide has-base-background-color has-background”
Had no idea what that was, so I asked Copilot, and apparently it’s Gutenberg.
I was here when Gutenberg came up, but never used it, we used the good ol’ HTML/CSS integration at my first job.
Is Gutenberg the new favoured way to go for WordPress websites ? Like is it **the** standard that most agency or contractor will use ? If so, will Woocommerce support my old-fashioned way of doing things ?
[ad_2]
The old way is still valid, but there is now something called FSE, search “WordPress FSE” and you’ll be able to figure out how this syntax and HTML work.
Gutenberg is the default editor for WordPress. A large ecosystem of frameworks and builders has grown up around WordPress. You have many options now. You can use the default Gutenberg, or try one of the builders that are available. WooCommerce is compatible with Gutenberg and most builders.
Classic themes are still a thing. But Blocks are here to make the editing experience better for users. WordPress moving in this direction benefits users while adding a learning curve for developers.
You can still build classic themes. You can build Themes that are all blocks. There’s also a halfway point where you build a ‘hybrid’ theme, which is essentially a classic theme with the standard layout templates like, header.php and footer.php but uses blocks for the rest of the site to build pages, posts etc
Ohhh and try not to get frustrated. It’s very disjointed at times.
This new Gutenberg and FSE experience is well an experience you’ll have to try for yourself.
And if you end up disliking that entirely dont be afraid of using the ‘Classic Editor’ plugin or even the ClassicPress fork that removed it all to make it leaner.
YMMV of course and I personally am really trying to ‘experience’ it.
It’s the future. Either get onboard with it now or later.
https://fullsiteediting.com is a great resource.
Also ACF blocks.
Gutenberg is what WP uses by default. However…
You can also use something like [underscores](https://underscores.me/) (skeleton/starter theme) and make your own theme the “old fashioned” way. And… it works just fine with Gutenburg for the main content. I’m just putting this out here if you want to go this route. But… if the site is already entirely built on Gutenberg, then I guess there’s no sense in reinventing the wheel.
If you have a React background, you can also look into using headless WordPress with React.js. But it’s a pain in the butt to setup. However… it could be an avenue to look into depending on your comfort level.
Lastly, you can also still use the classic editor if you don’t want to use Gutenberg at all.
The point I’m trying to make is that not everyone is married to using Gutenberg.
Honestly I may be in the minority but I hate working in vanilla Gutenberg. Now Kadence blocks or Greenshift is a different story but just plain old Gutenberg makes me feel like it’s 2014 again