How The Gutenberg WordPress Update Will Affect You

By James Ward, 17th June 2018

WordPress is one of the largest and most common website platforms in use today. For many people it is the only experience they have using a website backend or creating online content. That is why the latest WordPress update is so important. It is called Gutenberg and it is a huge change from the traditional WordPress updates. To help you understand more about what is coming, we put together this blog.

What Will Gutenberg Do?

The goal of Gutenberg is to turn WordPress from a blogging platform to a full CMS. This will allow people to design and build larger and more complex websites without needing a developer or designer. In practice that means users will have the ability to drag and drop assets and control the look and feel of the site from a dashboard. That would make WordPress far more accessible to small business owners and other potential users who may not have the knowledge base to build what they need in the current iteration of WordPress.

What Are The Drawbacks?

The main worry of most developers and other WordPress experts is backwards compatibility and plugins. Updating any CMS can cause problems but there is serious concern that Gutenberg will be particularly damaging to older WordPress sites. This is because Gutenberg is a complete overhaul of the platform which means it affects every aspect of WordPress. When everything is changing, making old solutions work on a new platform is tricky at best. After speaking to our developers they said the main worry is that people will update to Gutenberg without understanding the ramifications and end up severely affecting their website. Then it could take the equivalent of a site rebuild to put everything back in working order.

What Are The Advantages?

The main advantage of Gutenberg is that it offers a DIY website building platform and CMS. That means anyone can build a professional looking website and run it using a simple but powerful content management system. This more usable solution may also mean the need for fewer plugins and other additions that can cause security problems down the line. In essence Gutenberg is easier to use but more powerful than previous WordPress versions.

What Should I Do About Gutenberg?

The update has not launched yet but it is expected soon. If you currently have a WordPress site, you cannot be forced to upgrade. However at some point, WordPress will stop supporting your older version. That means they will not patch security holes or do other necessary maintenance. Before this happens it would be wise to speak to a developer or web agency about upgrading your site professionally. That way you can be sure your website will not be negatively affected.
If you are considering building a WordPress site it might be better to wait until Gutenberg launches so you can avoid the problem entirely and build on the new CMS. Alternatively you can speak to a web agency or developer to help you create a site that can be more easily upgraded when Gutenberg launches.

If you are worried about any issues surrounding Gutenberg, Plug & Play can help. Call us today to learn about our support service and how we can make the new WordPress update work for you.

 

Related Articles

Get ready to pay for Google maps

How to tackle Google mobile speed updates

How to improve usability in WordPress