The Rise of Gutenberg: How WordPress's Built-in Editor Is Changing Web Design

Introduction to WordPress Gutenberg Editor is a must when you start with WordPress development or want to learn about the platform. Since it's been introduced, it has become so important that not knowing or understanding Gutenberg Editor is like missing out on knowing the fundamentals of WordPress.

Nowadays, developers are using Gutenberg Editor for various purposes, including:

• Display a checklist.

• Customize a heading.

• Embed a YouTube video on a WordPress site.

It reduces the effort and time required for development significantly. This also leads to saving money to some extent. That is why many freelance bloggers choose WordPress. You'll learn much about Gutenberg Editor in this article. 

What is the Gutenberg Editor in WordPress?

The Gutenberg Editor helps build websites with minimal effort and time constraints. Primarily, Gutenberg was a name given to the new WordPress site development paradigm. Gutenberg was specifically designed to focus on improving four major WordPress functionalities, including: 

1. Collaboration 

2. Multilingual

3. Editing 

4. Customization

WordPress version 5.0 launched Gutenberg as the first appearance of Gutenberg in WordPress in 2018. Its immense utilization and popularity led it to become the default website editor on the WordPress platform. 

Gutenberg Editor is an appropriate addition for its block customization functionality. It led to the division of WordPress components into blocks. You can add a block to insert paragraphs, images, lists, videos, and several other facilities. You can also add a block, rearrange, and even delete it if not required. Everything happens without writing a single code, which minimizes the development time, cost, and effort. 

Get Started With The Gutenberg Editor

Start with the Gutenberg editor development by logging into WordPress and accessing the editor through the following steps:

1. Open the WordPress dashboard.

2. Click on the Posts option on the left panel.

1. Select Add New under Posts. It will have a Gutenberg Editor in full screen. 

On Gutenberg’s interface, multiple block options, tools, and webpage editing mechanisms are visible. Click the plus (+) icon button in the upper left corner to view the block elements. 

Gutenberg will provide you with a wide variety of blocks for different purposes when you click on the Toggle Block Inserter (Plus icon button). These blocks include:

• Blocks for text

• Block for Media

• Blocks for Design

• Widget Blocks

• Theme Editing Blocks

• Embedding Blocks 

The Gutenberg WordPress block editor interface

There are three main parts of the Gutenberg editor interface:

Content: Content takes up most of the space. You’ll see a visual preview of how it will look on the front end of the site. It’s not 100% correct, but it gives a pretty good idea of the final design.

Top toolbar: Insert new blocks, undo or redo, and access other vital settings with the help of the toolbar on top.

Sidebar: The sidebar contains two tabs: the Post tab and the Block tab. You configure post-level settings like categories, tags, featured images, etc. using the Post tab. 

With the Block tab, it shows the settings of the selected block. 

Click on the “gear” icon in the top-right corner to hide the sidebar and create a more immersive writing experience. Click on the “gear” icon again to bring back the sidebar.  

Essential Formatting Options

A floating toolbar appears when you click on any block to make basic formatting choices for your blocks. 

There are essential formatting options for formatting regular text:

• Add formatting, like inline code, strikethrough, and subscription.

• Insert links

• Add bold or italics.

• Change alignments

Make basic formatting choices from the floating toolbar. For instance, you want to insert a link into your content. First, select the specific text you want to link, then click on the toolbar to open the link insertion options. 

Gutenberg Keyboard Shortcuts

You can speed up your workflow and craft great content with Gutenberg keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts are a set of key combinations that help you perform various tasks in the WordPress block editor without any menus or buttons. 

Below is a list of some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts. You can also find these shorts in the WordPress block editor by clicking on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner. Then, click on the keyboard shortcuts from the menu. Switch Ctrl with Command ⌘ for all the keyboard shortcuts if you are using macOS.  

Global Shortcuts

• Switch between visual and code editors: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+M

• Turn on distraction-free mode: Ctrl+Shift+\

• Activate full-screen mode: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+F

• Navigate to the next part of the editor. Ctrl+ Shift+Alt+N

• Navigate to the previous part of the editor. Ctrl+Shift+ Shift+Alt+P

• Navigate to the nearest toolbar: Alt+F10

• Select all text when typing: Press again to select all blocks. Ctrl+A

• Clear selection: Escape (esc)

• Open the command palette: Ctrl+K. 

Block Shortcuts

• Move the chosen block up: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+T

• Move the chosen block down: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Y

• Duplicate the selected block. Ctrl+Shift+D

• Delete the selected block. Shift+Alt+Z

• Insert a new block before the chosen block: Ctrl+Alt+T

• Insert a new block after the chosen block: Ctrl+Alt+Y 

Text Formatting

• Strike through the highlighted text: Shift+Alt+D

• Turn the highlighted text into inline code: Shift+Alt+X

• Convert the selected heading to a paragraph: Shift+Alt+0

• Make the highlighted text bold: Ctrl+B

• Make the highlighted text italic: Ctrl+I

• Insert a link to the highlighted text: Ctrl+K

• Remove a link: Ctrl+Shift+K. 

Add a List

1. Click the Toggle Block Inserter (button with the plus icon). 

2. Drag and drop the List block on the screen under the Text block components. 

1. The Gutenberg Editor allows you to write content for the list.

1. Add the content to the list. Place it wherever you want it to.

This list will be treated as a single block. You can arrange it at any point on the webpage. You can also delete and modify it at any time. 

Pros and cons of Gutenberg

Pros:

• Gutenberg offers a visual design background.

• Unified block system, not requiring the use of shortcodes to embed content.

• Gutenberg is a core feature, leaving you not to worry about compatibility issues.

• Gutenberg outputs are cleaner.

• Lightweight 

• Loads faster than some designs made with a page builder. 

Cons:

• Each paragraph is a separate block that can be a bit unwieldy for Gutenberg users. 

Final Thoughts 

Gutenberg Editor has been doing lots of service for web designers since 2018. Lots of improvements in the block editor have also been made since then. With the move towards full site editing, the Gutenberg block editor is likely to become an even more important part of WordPress. 

In this article, we covered different aspects of Gutenberg editor that you must know to add more diversity to your WordPress website design. If you are not ready to use it, you can permanently disable it from your website and use the classic editor. However, Gutenberg will keep growing, so it is hard to miss out on the things that it brings to the website. We hope our efforts will help you understand the Gutenberg editor! 

WordPress Gutenberg FAQ

Is Gutenberg free?

Yes, Gutenberg Editor is free. It is part of the core WordPress software. The editor comes preinstalled in WordPress 5.0 and higher. Upgrade to the latest update or install the Gutenberg editor plugin if you are still on an older CMS. 

Is Gutenberg Editor good for SEO?

Gutenberg encourages clean, semantic HTML markup, which helps search engines understand the content structure, so it’s good for SEO. Images and headings—essential for SEO best practices—that block editor makes easy. You can also integrate with popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO.

Do I need Gutenberg if I have Elementor?

Both act as page builders, but their usage is different. Elementor is for website design, while Gutenberg is for content creation. You can use the block editor to embed Elementor into any page.

How are blocks and widgets different?

Blocks are components used to create posts and pages in the block editor. Widgets are features used in sidebars and footers, like designated areas.