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WordPress 5 and Gutenberg | What are the Pros and Cons ?

WordPress 5 and Gutenberg: our verdict !

The new interface is not so great, but there is a lot of room for improvement!

We definitely start to see Gutenberg‘s power. We think its strength comes from the fact that you can integrate “blocks” via plugins. Thus you can develop blocks like “Caroussel” and activate them if you need them for a certain customer / website. Noneless, we do not recommend developing blocks within a website.

The use of blocks is especially interesting in the context of a reusable widget on several sites / pages, but it is not really worth it if it is not used often (better use the custom fields of Meta Boxes in this case).

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The Advantages of Gutenberg:

  • New slick and standardized interface
  • Classic editor is still available
  • Ability to structure the content in a desired order (for example, put an image gallery before the text)
  • Integration of galleries via a new block, rather than inserting a shortcode in the editor
  • Possibility of editing the parameters of an image on the same page (in the sidebar with the block of the selected image)
  • Ability to hide the sidebar to have more space to enter the text content
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Ability to switch between several editing modes (full screen, full page, etc.) for the editor
  • Drag & drop interface to move blocks
  • The publishing interface stretches according to the size of the content
  • Ease to reuse components across pages and sections of the site
  • Ability to use the basic blocks to display the list of categories, recent publications, table, etc. without having to develop anything on the side.
  • Possibility to improve the “blocks”.

 

The Disadvantages of Gutenberg:

  • Categories and taxonomy are displayed very slowly: sometimes, more than 5 seconds are needed to display the list of 4-5 categories
  • The accordions are all paired, which can lead to confusion if there is a lot of them one after the other and contents in open accordions
  • The development of blocks is still complex so it is difficult to justify the time spent rather than using meta boxes (quick to configure and use)
  • The double-sided sidebar may be confusing for some people (2 tabs)
  • The classic editor is simplified (fewer options)
  • Location of the excerpt in the very tiny sidebar is hard to read and see. It should have been on the main page.
  • Management of WPML languages ​​at the bottom of the sidebar is not emphasized enough, unlike before where it was at the top of the sidebar
  • A double scrollbar (main + sidebar) in addition to the page scrollbar may be confusing (at least not practical)
  • Too many options for users with limited knowledge
  • Too easy to break the templates’ layout by changing colors, font sizes, etc.
  • Complex to use to add / modify “blocks”. Better use the classic editor.

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