Master the Gutenberg WordPress Editor Today

WordPress is constantly evolving, and one of its biggest shifts recently has been the introduction of the Gutenberg WordPress editor. Understanding Gutenberg is essential whether you’re still using the Classic Editor or are just starting with WordPress. This new block-based editor has changed how users create, manage, and design content, making it more intuitive, visual, and flexible.

Whether you run a blog, a business site, or an online store, preparing your website for Gutenberg can enhance your editing experience and streamline your workflows. In this guide, we’ll walk you through what Gutenberg is, how to get your site ready, what to check for, and what tools to use to make the most of this modern editor.

What is Gutenberg?

The Gutenberg WordPress editor is a visual, block-based content editor introduced with WordPress 5.0. It replaces the older Classic Editor with a more modular approach, allowing users to create pages and posts using blocks. Each paragraph, image, heading, button, or gallery is a block, and you can move them around with ease.

This structure makes it easier to design complex layouts without coding. It’s especially helpful for users who want greater control over their content’s appearance and functionality without relying heavily on page builders or external plugins.

Let’s dive deeper into the specific advantages and challenges of Gutenberg to understand its impact on the WordPress ecosystem.

That is how the interface of TinyMCE looks.

Here is what the creators of Gutenberg have produced.

Differences between the Gutenberg and the Classic Editor

Here’s a clear breakdown of the difference between the Block Editor (Gutenberg) and the Classic Editor:

1. Editing Experience

• Classic Editor: Works like a traditional word processor with a single content box for everything—text, images, shortcodes, etc.
• Gutenberg (Block Editor) utilizes a block-based system in which each element, such as a paragraph, image, heading, or list, is treated as a separate block that can be moved, edited, or styled individually.

2. Layout Control

• Classic Editor: Limited layout options unless you use shortcodes or HTML manually.
• Block Editor: Offers full layout flexibility with drag-and-drop features, reusable blocks, and columns. It does not require any coding knowledge.

3. Visual Editing

• Classic Editor requires users to preview the content to see how it will appear on the front end.
• Block Editor: What you see in the editor closely matches what visitors will see, making it more intuitive.

4. Extensibility

• Classic Editor: Relies heavily on shortcodes and widgets for added features.
• Block Editor: Enhanced with block plugins that add advanced content elements like testimonials, pricing tables, sliders, and more.

5. Performance and Future Support

• Classic Editor: Still supported through a plugin but no longer the default and may be deprecated over time.
• Block Editor: Actively developed as the future of WordPress editing, with ongoing updates and new features.

In short, Gutenberg gives you more control, flexibility, and design power without needing technical skills. It’s the editor WordPress is building around for the long run.

The 3 Stages of Gutenberg’s Evolution

Gutenberg’s transformation into WordPress’s default editor happened in three major phases, each building on the last to shape today’s modern editing experience.

Phase One: Core Integration
The journey began with Gutenberg’s integration into WordPress 5.0, replacing the Classic Editor. This phase introduced the revolutionary block-based editing system, offering more flexibility and visual control. A major focus was ensuring backward compatibility and a smooth transition for existing users.

Phase Two: Feature Expansion
Once integrated, the next step was refining the user experience. Developers enhanced existing blocks, added support for reusable templates, and improved performance. Gutenberg started evolving from a post editor into a more robust design tool.

Phase Three: Full-Site Editing and Beyond
In its latest phase, Gutenberg now powers Full-Site Editing (FSE), allowing users to customize headers, footers, and entire page templates using blocks. The vision is to make Gutenberg a complete, no-code website-building platform inside WordPress.

Installation

In the near future, the installation process for Gutenberg will be standard. You should find it on the market using the dashboard. Then install the plugin and activate it.

Try working with posts. Open ‘Posts’ and click on ‘Add New.’

Gutenberg’s Blocks

Historically, TinyMCE provides a user with one field for content editing. With Gutenberg, you can use multiple blocks to edit and structure your publications. As a result, you will be able to edit any site content.

When it comes to third-party plugins, Gutenberg holds the content rendered. You, as a third-party plugin developer, will have the chance to present your custom blocks and explain their integration with Gutenberg.

You get widgets, buttons, tables, texts, video content, and images working with the editor. With it, you can add content of all types and edit it using blocks. Manipulating the blocks is easy. Two arrows allow you to move the block with a single click. Choose the blocks and use them to move them.

Furthermore, Gutenberg’s controls allow one-click access to block settings. You can also remove a block right away.

Surely, Gutenberg is the only tool to manipulate these blocks correctly. They are invisible to browsers and don’t work within HTML. The experience a user gets while working with Gutenberg is similar to using Medium’s tools.

Interface

Here is what you get.

• A is for ‘New Block.’
• B is for Undo and Redo buttons;
• C is for the ‘Document’ tab. Using the sidebar, it is possible to change content visibility, featured images, status, tags, and more.
• D is for the settings panel;
• E is for post preview and publish or update buttons;
• E is the space where you can add the blocks.

How to Create a Sample Post?

Follow these steps to get a basic article with Gutenberg and its content types.

First, write your text using Gutenberg or copy it to the editor. Your next step will be hovering over the text and clicking the vertical dots. You will see them on the right. Then click on the ‘Convert to blocks’ button that is in the displayed drop-down

Now you transform text into the clean blocks that one can easily set up.

Your next step will be creating a non-textual block for a picture. Click on the ‘Plus’ button and choose your pic. You can choose the one you will see in the Media Library or add your image. After completing this step, please upload the image by dragging and dropping it from your computer.

The image will now appear in Gutenberg’s layout.

Your third step will be adding a quote. To achieve it, go to ‘Blocks’—‘Pullquote’—or search to find it.

Next, add a new pull-quote block to enter your text.

Finally, the fourth step in your process will involve adding a video. By tradition, you will need to add a new block. Go to the ‘Embeds’ tab and choose ‘YouTube.’ In this section, you need to enter the link to the video that you want to upload.

It’s time to click the publish button and introduce your post to the audience.

Blocks

After all, you may want to try all of Gutenberg’s content blocks. Let’s see what they are! Pressing the ‘+’ shortcut, you can see four tabs. Each of them consists of content blocks.

There is a ‘Recent’ tab to see the latest content blocks you have used.

Furthermore, there are ‘Blocks’ tabs to see a full collection. You can group these elements into the following categories:

• Common blocks include video, audio, image, heading, gallery, paragraph, and quote list.
• The formatting blocks include classic text, code, pull quotes, verse, preformatted text, tables, and custom HTML sections.
• Text columns make up each layout block. Separator, buttons, and ‘more.’
• There are widgets that include shortcodes, categories, and the latest posts.

Next to blocks, you will see the ‘Embeds’ tab. It allows you to add videos in different ways.

As the tab’s name says, ‘Saved’ shows users their favorite blocks to further the working process.

Customization

To make a long story short, every piece Gutenberg provides its user comes out of the box. There are unique sets of settings. One can regulate them effortlessly to get the very best appearance. Still, some of the settings should be mentioned here.

To begin with, a user gets control of the content of all the blocks in the actual editor’s body.

Additionally, you can work with the benefits of a new settings bar. It applies to basic text and allows you to style it quickly. As soon as you move your cursor around the block, this settings bar will appear.

Would you like to go through more advanced customization? Therefore, tap into the settings under the ‘Block’ tab.

With the help of this easy-to-use feature, a user will need a single click to do an action. You can enrich the post’s caption with a drop cap, select the needed style, etc.

If they need to add a custom class to an item, skilled users have already become accustomed to working with HTML code. However, using Gutenberg, you can skip this depressing action! Being truly writer-friendly, the editor has blocks that do not require looking into HTML to format content. It is possible to work with third-party objects by simply choosing the needed block and entering the class in the ‘Additional CSS Class’ field.

As you can see, this attention-grabbing editor makes content editing simpler. Being user-friendly and intuitive, Gutenberg contains all the features we were waiting for from WordPress. Finally, managing posts can be as easy as ABC. WordPress users are not the only ones who can use Gutenberg.

Easily integrate the GS Team Members plugin with the Gutenberg editor for a seamless editing experience. To start, follow this step-by-step guide: Gutenberg Integration Guide.

Worth reading: How to Use GS Logo Slider in a WordPress Gutenberg Editor?

FAQ

Conclusion

Adopting the Gutenberg WordPress editor is more than just staying current with WordPress trends. It’s about unlocking a flexible, scalable, and future-proof content editing experience that benefits both beginners and pros.

Whether you’re redesigning your site or just starting out, preparing for Gutenberg ensures your website looks great, runs smoothly, and keeps visitors engaged. Embrace blocks, explore reusable layouts, and simplify your content creation process.

Ready to get started? Update your site, test your theme, install a few block plugins, and enjoy the freedom that the Gutenberg WordPress editor offers.