Until a quiet announcement last week, WordPress 5.0 was scheduled for release today. If you haven’t heard of WordPress 5.0, though, now is the time to pay attention.
The New “Block Editor” in WordPress 5.0
WordPress 5.0 isn’t a normal new version of WordPress. Instead it includes a brand new way of editing your Posts and Pages.
This new editor—code-named “Gutenberg” during its development—is best referred to as a “block editor”. Instead of writing all your content in one big chunk of text and media, each paragraph, image, and everything else is a separate little “block” with its own powerful formatting and functionality options.
It’s easier to show rather than tell, so take a moment to play with a public demo of the WordPress 5.0 editor or watch this brief video introduction:
Note: This video shows an older version of the editor. The final version will differ in a number of small ways.
Upcoming WordPress 5.0 information on Nonprofit WP
Luckily, most of the information on this site remains as true as ever. The structure of WordPress isn’t changing, nor are the principles for finding a plugin, choosing a theme, hiring a consultant, or publishing a vibrant blog! If you’ve followed best practices, your site is less likely to break and you’ll have options to take advantage of the new tools.
But that doesn’t mean this update won’t have a huge impact on how you use WordPress. Content editing is probably what you spend most of your time doing in WordPress, and that’s what this update impacts. To that end, you can expect a few new articles and pages on this site in the next month or two.
Specifically, you can expect critical information about:
- Testing your site with the new editor before updating.
- Best practices for getting started with the new block editor.
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Things to Do Right Now
Even before testing your site with the new editor, here are a few actions to take and key pieces of information to know.
Install the Classic Editor plugin now to keep the old editor
For at least the next 3 years, you will be able to use the old WordPress editor you’re used to it. To defensively prepare for WordPress 5.0 and defer use of the new editor, install the Classic Editor plugin immediately.
Don’t plan to rely on the old editor forever, but it’s probably a good idea to wait at least a few months after WordPress 5.0’s launch before using the new editor.
If You Use WooCommerce…
For those of you using WooCommerce to power an online store, you’ll need to be extra careful. Your site must have WooCommerce v3.5.1 installed before upgrading to WordPress 5.0.
Review Your Plugins & Theme
This is a great moment to review your plugins and theme. Head back to where you downloaded them and see what you can learn about support for “WordPress 5.0” or “Gutenberg.” Don’t hesitate to contact the authors directly so they know people care about compatibility with this version!
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