{"id":47,"date":"2018-09-23T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-23T09:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmays.local\/?p=47"},"modified":"2023-11-13T14:59:59","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T19:59:59","slug":"why-wordpress-needs-gutenberg-the-future-of-page-builders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmays.local\/why-wordpress-needs-gutenberg-the-future-of-page-builders\/","title":{"rendered":"Why WordPress needs Gutenberg (& the future of page builders)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WordPress is the largest CMS in the world, powering ~1\/3 of all websites<\/a>. The WordPress editing experience hasn’t changed much in over a decade and Gutenberg now aims to completely reinvent it. That’s a big deal.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It won’t be easy, but here’s 1)<\/strong> why it’s worth it and 2)<\/strong> what it means for page builders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The wild west<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The WordPress ecosystem has been trying to improve the site editing experience since before plugins entered core in WordPress 1.2 (2004)<\/a>. There have been page builders, theme frameworks, front-end editors, etc. all trying to improve the WordPress experience.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like every meaningful advancement, there are these wild west days of churn to find something that works. There have been a lot of great tools and learnings, but there has also been a lot of\u00a0fragmentation across dozens of page builders<\/em>, theme frameworks, etc. that don\u2019t work well together.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been around WordPress for a while you\u2019ve seen some cringe-worthy examples of this. For example, a site with a bloated “multipurpose” theme…using a page builder\u2026and using WooCommerce or some similar monstrosity. It\u2019s a mess.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we have page builders, theme frameworks, shortcodes, custom post types, and more? All to fill the gap<\/strong> between what WordPress core does and what users want.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Users Want vs. What WordPress & Page Builders Do<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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WordPress is a broken system<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The WordPress ecosystem is built around a broken system<\/em>\u00a0with bloated themes, widgets, shortcodes, custom post types, menu items, page builders, etc. These\u00a0DO NOT<\/strong> exist because they\u2019re the best way to build a website.<\/em> They DO<\/strong> exist because they\u2019re compensating for WordPress\u2019s shortcomings in fulfilling users’ needs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/em>Gutenberg aims to standardize<\/strong> and add these foundational elements<\/strong> that WordPress lacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gutenberg-ization: Everything is a Block<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While experienced users may be used to this (like you get used to a bad knee and don\u2019t notice limping<\/em>), it\u2019s a bad experience<\/strong> for new users and it\u2019s holding WordPress back.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why WordPress needs Gutenberg.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Will Gutenberg kill page builders?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is a question I see asked a lot. The answer is yes, but not how you think.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TL;DR<\/strong> \u201cpage builder\u201d is a description of \u201chow<\/em>\u201d page builders work, not \u201cwhat<\/em>\u201d page builders do from a jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) perspective. There will always be a market for the what<\/em>. It\u2019s only<\/span> the how<\/em> that\u2019s changing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, page builders provide a flexible interface (modules, drag & drop, etc.) that gives customers advanced customization beyond<\/em> WordPress core. \u00a0The flexible interface is only relevant because it enables<\/em> the customization.<\/strong> The customization is what customers want.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Page builders had to provide a flexible interface in order to provide customization. Gutenberg is changing this.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To reiterate, the only<\/strong> reason page builders provided the interface (via their own frameworks) was because WordPress didn\u2019t. They had to<\/em> provide the interface in order to give users what they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a sense, Gutenberg frees page builders<\/strong><\/em> to focus on what customers actually pay them for: advanced customization<\/em> beyond what WordPress core does (or will ever do<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Page builders will evolve into customizers…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the next few years as Gutenberg develops we\u2019ll see page builders migrate from their old (own) frameworks to Gutenberg and evolve from page builders into customizers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This should provide a major advantage<\/strong> as they can redeploy resources from maintaining (and supporting) their own frameworks to focus on building the best customization experience<\/strong> in innovative ways.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gutenberg allows page builders to focus on what customers actually pay for: advanced customization beyond what WordPress core offers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But will pure customization be a big enough market for customizers (page builders) to thrive in the future?  Oh, yeah!  <\/strong>Here’s why:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Gutenberg will be in 100% of WordPress installs<\/strong> 5.0 and later–far that more any page builder today.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. A more flexible, easier to use core editing experience will only accelerate WordPress growth<\/em>, meaning a larger TAM (total addressable market) for customizers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Customers are divinely discontent<\/a><\/em>. Their expectations will continue to rise as they always have. Only\u00a0page builders<\/del> customizers that leverage Gutenberg and focus resources on improving\u00a0the customization experience will meet these growing expectations.
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  4. Bloated multipurpose themes will die<\/em><\/strong> out as functionality shifts out of themes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    There will be thousands of new opportunities to make money with WordPress<\/a>.<\/strong>The future is bright for those who adapt.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    …and some won’t evolve at all<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There will also be page builders that fail to make the transition. They\u2019ll try to stay relevant<\/em> by adding “Gutenberg compatibility\u201d with their old page builder frameworks. This is like adding “electric compatibility” to gas-powered vehicles–it misses the point.<\/strong> \u00a0Perfect reasoning from wrong premises.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But we can\u2019t fault page builders for behaving this way. Switching to Gutenberg when you have a\u00a0paying\u00a0customer base<\/strong><\/em> using your old framework seems counterintuitive. Companies are supposed to leverage<\/em> their advantages, not destroy them, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They’re sticking to what made them successful in the past,<\/em>\u00a0oblivious that it’ll doom them in the future. Sometimes you have to disrupt yourself<\/strong> before somebody else does.\u00a0<\/em>The hard part is knowing when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is the classic problem with incumbents.<\/strong> For example, despite being one of the first to mobile, Microsoft was too focused on what made it successful in the past<\/em>\u00a0and ported Windows to mobile<\/a> (made Windows mobile compatible) rather than thinking mobile-first like Apple and Android. \u00a0Sound familiar?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    On resistance to Gutenberg<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There\u2019s resistance to Gutenberg in the community, primarily by existing WordPress users used to the way things are.<\/em> If you\u2019re an existing WordPress user (especially a freelancer or agency) it can be scary<\/strong> to think about how this could impact your business. Some reasonable questions and concerns are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n