WordPress 5.0, The Gutenberg Editor goes live

WordPress 5.0 was released today, and with it comes the new Gutenberg editor. Coming from a developer’s perspective, I have a list of gripes about Gutenberg*, but controversy aside, I’m beginning to enjoy the editing experience on this blog:

Adding images is easy

Adding images to your posts and pages is easy with “image” and “gallery” blocks. As an example, here are some photos from our recent trip to Vero Beach, FL:

Composing in Gutenberg is growing on me

Initially, I was turned off by trying to compose content in Gutenberg. However, it’s getting easier. As the newness wears off, the interface is less distracting. But I wonder what everyone else will think.

So far the discussion about Gutenberg has mainly been within the confines of the WordPress community. With WordPress currently powering 32% of the web, casual users of WordPress may be in for a shock when they upgrade to 5.0. Granted, if you prefer the old editing interface, you can install the Classic Editor, but my suspicion is that option may be lost on many.

WordPress 5.0 is a big deal

WordPress 5.0 stands as a *key* release for the world’s most popular content management system. The new editor will either usher in a new era of content management, giving creators more freedom than ever, or it will mark the decline of WordPress due to a mass user revolt. I’m hopeful that it’s the latter, but I’m highly interested to see the response from everyone in the coming days and weeks.

*My gripes about the new Gutenberg editor:

• For my clients who manage their own content, Gutenberg gives them more tools to create bigger messes. Lately, I’ve found that my clients prefer having trimmed down editing interfaces, Gutenberg goes against this trend.
• Gutenberg has issues with accessibility.
• Overall, the WordPress community feels like they haven’t been heard well by the team developing Gutenberg.
• Bloat – I haven’t checked this site since upgrading to 5.0, but the last time I checked, Gutenberg adds several frontend styles and scripts which must be dealt with if you want your site to load quickly.