The Limitations of Gutenberg

So, I’m actually really enjoying the editing experience in Gutenberg. It’s really, really well done, especially considering what a mess the process looked from the outside.

Many of the elements are really well-implemented, and while I’m writing, the interface really truly gets out of the way. I like it for generic content (you know, text and images).

So here’s my issue.

What happens when I want to do anything remotely complicated? If I’d like to, say, put a background behind some text, I can do that (not an image, but fine):

Here’s a background behind text

If I’d like to put a background behind a heading, that’s fine, too, and with many more options, using the pretty-cool cover block:

… but then it breaks down. When I’m building a site for somebody, I’m going to have lots of layout challenges that can’t be resolved with the sorts of preset tools Gutenberg offers. I can’t reasonably build new, real, Gutenberg blocks for each one, because building new Gutenberg blocks in React is incredibly time-intensive, and there’s not enough ROI for a client to pay for that sort of development time.

And I don’t really want a full page-builder either. If I install a full page builder, then every time a user does anything, they’ll inevitably break the site on mobile.

So I’m building something in-between, an addon for ACF (implemented like this) that will automatically register Gutenberg blocks to do all of the things I like to do and allow for me to add standardized options for many of the blocks. A shout-out here as well to Bill Erickson, whose adoption of ACF as a semi-page-builder helped get me started down this path about two years ago.

Enter my new semi-page builder

If I’d like text with a background behind it, even grouped together, my new plugin (I’m calling it Gutenberg Sections for now) can do that, with all of the sort-of standard options that you’d expect from that.

… so far, I’ve only built the most commonly-used of these blocks (all of them have background image and background video capabilities, along with smart defaults to, for example, turn text white if there’s a background image).

• Fullwidth (a generic wrapper block with options and a TinyMCE editor). Page-height support. See above
• Two column (because for how good Gutenberg is, the columns functionality truly sucks). You can add optional content both above and below this one. See below
• Checkerboard (an image extending to the edge of the screen next to text) See below
• Featured items (set the number of columns, add optional text above above and below, and feature as many items as you’d like, complete with images). See below
• Video background: just like the fullwidth section but with background video capabilities (all sections now have these capabilities)

Two-column sections

For example, there’s no reasonable way at present to take text like this, drop it next to an image or a video, then vertically center the whole thing.

Checkerboards

Because sometimes it’s nice to pull images all the way to the edge of the screen while keeping content centered in both directions.

Featured Items

A layout allowing for us to feature some bullet points in a more attractive way.

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And there are some planned sections:

• Checkerboard (half/half images and text. I call this a checkerboard, but I have no idea what the design pattern is really called. But I use it all the time). Done
• Featured items (text above, then support for linked images, headings, brief descriptions, and buttons). Number of columns will be adjustable. Done
• Slick slider (will allow for full-height support).
• Background slider (only the background moves). Considering giving all sections these capabilities

So, if you’ve made it this far and are interested in trying this out for yourself, give me a shout in the comments or use my contact form.

I’d love to hear what you think and get your ideas.