The block editing principle is what drives many drag and drop environments such as WIX or Squarespace and WordPress page builders like Beaver Builder, Divi or Elementor. In block style editing each element within a page is rendered as a component that can be positioned via a drag and drop process that approximates how the page will look on the front end.
Block based content editing has been in WordPress since the end of 2018 and available via a plugin before that, but adoption from the community was slower than anticipated and many site owners reverted back to the classic editor. In fact, while it was announced several years ago that the Classic Editor plugin would be left unsupported as of 2021 it continues still in 2023.
Unlike WordPress page builders, Gutenberg is part of the WordPress core code and is an integral component in the future development of the overall project. Initially Gutenberg blocks could only be used in the main content area of a page but today it can be used to build and modify every aspect of a WordPress site.
The default block collection available with a standard installation contains blocks for inserting text, media, layout, embeds, post queries, and site ID information – which provides all the essential building blocks used in a website.
The real power of block editing is that content blocks can be nested inside of layout blocks and that combination can be moved (or saved) as a combined unit.
Widgets / Template Parts
WordPress has always allowed for the placement of instances of universal content in regions of pages where the editing of these regions is done in a single place for every instance. In classic WordPress, sidebar, footer and sometimes header content is controlled via the widget panel and in FSE themes the widget panel has been replaced by template parts. Either way these regions all use the block editor and give the site editor the ability to efficiently maintain universal site content and navigation.
Reusable Blocks
Reusable blocks use a similar concept as widget/template parts in that they are universal elements which can be inserted into any area where Gutenberg is active.
Block Patterns
Block Patterns are groups of nested blocks that can be inserted into any Gutenberg region, but unlike reusable blocks they are not designed to be universally edited but rather to be used as layout templates which are intended to be unique in each instance.
Additional Gutenberg Information
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Making Reusable Blocks more obvious in the editor
One of the better Gutenberg features is the Reusable Block, but for the moment they are too easy to edit directly in the post interface rather than in the “manage reusable block” section found at (site root URL)/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=wp_block.
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Custom Gutenberg blocks with ACF Pro
As of about a year ago ACF Pro includes an option to apply the “location” rule of an ACF group to a block
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Creating a Block Pattern Plugin
While the Block Pattern Builder Plugin is a fantastic innovation, as of the writing of this article (5/22/20) there is no JSON export as found in reusable blocks – which means that while the pattern exists in the site where you built it, it isn’t easily portable to another site.
