Gutenberg 16.0: A Step Towards a Unified Editing Experience
WordPress users, rejoice! The latest update to the Gutenberg plugin, Gutenberg 16.0, was released today, and it comes with a game-changing feature: page management inside the Site Editor. This new feature is the first step towards a more unified experience of editing both content and design, making it easier and faster to create a website without leaving the editor. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the new features and improvements in Gutenberg 16.0.
Page Management in the Site Editor
The most significant improvement in Gutenberg 16.0 is the addition of page management inside the Site Editor. Users can now create new pages and view page details in the sidebar, which is similar to editing a page in the block editor. This new feature keeps the process inside the flow of design editing, making it easier to see what the final result will look like and reducing the overall cognitive load of switching between editors.
According to Automattic-sponsored core contributor Nick Diego, “This means you can practically build out a website without leaving the Site Editor, which speeds up the site creation process.” This is a significant improvement that will save users time and effort.
Details Block
Another major improvement in Gutenberg 16.0 is the stabilization of the Details block, which is no longer under the Experimental flag. The Details block is a simple block that includes a summary as part of the block itself. This implementation was scaled back to be more straightforward, making it easier for users to add details to their content.
Command Center
The Command Center is another major feature that has come out of the experimental stage in Gutenberg 16.0. The Command Center is an extensible quick search for jumping to other pages or templates inside the editor. Its API is now public, opening up the possibility for developers to create custom commands. This feature will be available in the next release of WordPress.
Other User-Facing Highlights
Aside from the significant improvements mentioned above, Gutenberg 16.0 also includes several other user-facing highlights, such as:
– The ability to drag and drop blocks into the Reusable Blocks list.
– The ability to add a background color to the Columns block.
– The ability to add a custom icon to the Social Icons block.
– The ability to add a caption to the Image block.
Conclusion
Gutenberg 16.0 is a significant improvement to the Gutenberg plugin, bringing page management inside the Site Editor and stabilizing the Details block and Command Center. These improvements will make it easier and faster for users to create a website without leaving the editor. If you’re a WordPress user, we highly recommend updating to Gutenberg 16.0 to take advantage of these new features and improvements. Check out the release post for more details on all the enhancements, bug fixes, and tooling, accessibility, and performance updates included in Gutenberg 16.0.
