I ❤ WordPress.
Wait, don’t we all love WordPress to a varying degree. But why?
As I started with mtwoblog.wordpress.com I liked it since it was so easy to get started. You just had to visit wordpress.com and register your site to get started.
As I moved to a self-hosted WordPress site, I realized the power of plugins – the work of talented folks who have developed software to make our lives easier. This time it was the ready-made plugins and themes that fascinated me.
Afterwards, I started out as a WordPress developer. I remember my first task, building a theme with Underscores. Overwhelmed at first I took Morten’s course on Lynda. That was when I realized how much effort has been put into building Underscores. This time it was the collective effort, namely the 1000-hour head-start that we had that got me to fall in love with WordPress. In other words, the power of open source struck me.
Having used React for my final year project at College, I wanted to try something with it. The WP REST API plugin had come out. Excited by what it could do, I tinkered with it by installing it in localhost. That was when we were bootstrapping a startup. We struck upon a great idea – to build our agency’s website with React and WordPress. We launched our website with the WP REST API plugin, two days before the REST API was baked into core. This time, it was the power of the REST API that captured my heart.
Coding and writing on this platform (occasionally), I figured out I loved to explain how I did things in writing. I wrote about building a WordPress theme and about building a WooCommerce-based mobile app. I soon realized WordPress has helped me become a (slightly) better writer.
Enter Gutenberg
Have you felt that WordPress is facing a tough competition with the advent of site builders like Wix and SquareSpace? Have you thought that using Beaver Builder or Visual Composer somehow doesn’t feel WordPressy?
Gutenberg is your answer.
Automattic has thought about a new builder from the ground up. It is easy and extendable at the same time. Adding a block to your post is a breeze. This is a quote block:
My own personal dream is that the majority of the web runs on open source software.
Matt Mullenweg
A Gallery? No problem.
An embed from Instagram? Not an issue:
Conclusion
I showed you some of the things that Gutenberg is capable of. I am in the process of building Gutenberg blocks and I will share how you too can get started.
Finally, the reason why I now love WordPress is the power it has given us. Users are able to use an array of blocks to create content to their desire. Developers are able to use their skills and creativity in coding away custom blocks. The possibilities are limitless. Or so I hope.
I personally feel WordPress has a great future and I consider myself blessed to be part of that journey. This post of course was written with Gutenberg, and I will continue writing with it in future!
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