Top picks for block-compatible WordPress themes & plugins
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Updated April 29, 2024
Key takeaways:
- Block-compatible themes and plugins enhance Gutenberg’s functionality, offering pre-designed blocks and templates.
- They support Full Site Editing (FSE), allowing complete site customization using blocks.
- Block patterns, predefined layouts, can be found and customized within the Block Editor.
- Astra, GeneratePress, Neve, OceanWP, Kadence WP, and Blocksy are among the top Gutenberg-compatible WordPress themes in 2024.
What are block-compatible themes and plugins in WordPress?
Block-compatible themes and plugins in WordPress are specifically designed to integrate and enhance the Gutenberg editor’s functionality. They provide users with pre-designed blocks and templates, facilitating an efficient and intuitive website-building process without requiring design skills.
Where can you find block-based patterns in WordPress?
In WordPress, block-based patterns can be accessed directly within the Block Editor. By clicking the ‘+’ icon to open the block library and navigating to the ‘Patterns’ tab, users can browse through various categories and select patterns to insert into their posts or pages, customizing them as needed.
Table of contents
What are block-compatible themes and plugins?
Block-compatible themes or block-enabled themes and plugins are designed to work easily with the block-based editor in WordPress, also known as Gutenberg. These themes and plugins are optimised to take advantage of the new editor’s features, such as the ability to create custom blocks for different types of content. This means that when you use a block-enabled theme or plugin, you’ll have access to a wide range of customization options and tools that make it easy to create engaging and interactive content.
When using a block-compatible theme or plugin, users will be able to create custom layouts and designs using the block editor’s drag-and-drop interface. This allows web designers to add and arrange different types of content, such as text, images, videos, and more, to create a unique and personalised design. Block-compatible themes and plugins also often include additional features, such as customizable layouts, responsive design, and SEO optimization, to help you create a professional-looking website that attracts and engages your audience.
What are block themes on WordPress?
Block themes on WordPress are new types of themes that are specifically designed to work with the block-based editor, also known as Gutenberg. These themes are built from the ground up to take advantage of the editor’s features and capabilities, allowing users to create custom and unique designs for a website. Unlike traditional themes that rely on templates and shortcodes, block themes use a new approach that’s centred around blocks, which are reusable pieces of content that can be easily arranged and customised to create a wide range of layouts and designs.
With a WordPress block theme, users can create custom blocks for different types of content, such as headings, paragraphs, images, videos, and more, and arrange them in a way that’s visually appealing and easy to navigate. Block themes also often include advanced features like customizable layouts, responsive design, and SEO optimization, making it easy to create a professional-looking website that attracts and engages an audience. Overall, block themes on WordPress offer a new level of flexibility and creativity, allowing you to build a website that’s truly unique and reflects your brand’s identity.
Full site editing (FSE): They support Full Site Editing, a feature that allows users to edit all parts of their website, including headers, footers, and sidebars, using the block editor. This provides a unified and seamless experience for site building.
Block-based templates: Unlike traditional WordPress themes, these use block-based templates. This means every element of the page, from the layout to the individual components, is a block. This modular approach offers greater customization and design flexibility.
Global styles and settings: These often come with a global styles interface, enabling users to easily apply styles consistently across their website. Users can change fonts, colours, and layout settings that are applied globally.
Compatibility with patterns: These templates are designed to work seamlessly with patterns, which are pre-designed sections or layouts made of various blocks. Users can insert these patterns into their pages and customize them as needed.
Responsive and adaptive design: With a focus on blocks, these templates are responsive and ensure that websites look good on all devices. Blocks can be designed to adapt their layout and size based on the screen size.
What is a wordpress block pattern?
WordPress block patterns are predefined layouts composed of various blocks, such as text, images, and buttons. These, integrated into the WordPress Block Editor, offer users an efficient way to create complex layouts with. Each pattern can be customized, allowing modifications in text, images, and colours. This ensures design consistency across a website. Block patterns can be contributed by both WordPress developers and the community,.
Where to find block based patterns
In WordPress, block patterns can be found within the Block Editor when you are editing a post or a page. To access these patterns, follow these steps:
- Open the block editor: Create a new post or page, or edit an existing one in your WordPress dashboard.
- Access the block library: Click on the ‘+’ (plus) icon, usually found at the top left corner of the editor or within the content area, to open the block library.
- Navigate to the patterns tab: Within the block library, you’ll find a tab labeled ‘Patterns’. This tab showcases all the available block patterns.
- Browse and select: You can browse through various categories. When you find a pattern you like, click on it to insert it into your post or page.
- Customize as needed: After inserting the pattern, you can customize individual blocks within the pattern to suit your content and design needs.
The availability and variety of block patterns depends on the active theme and installed plugins, as some add their own unique designs to the library.
The 6 best Gutenberg-compatible WordPress themes in 2023
- Astra Theme
Known for its speed and seamless integration with Gutenberg, Astra Theme provides an array of customisation options that are all compatible with Gutenberg blocks. Astra Theme - GeneratePress
GeneratePress prioritises performance and usability, offering a clean and efficient design that aligns well with Gutenberg’s block editor. GeneratePress - Neve
Neve is a lightweight, flexible theme with an emphasis on speed. Its wide range of customisation options and Gutenberg compatibility make it a user-friendly choice. Neve - OceanWP
OceanWP is a versatile and highly extendable theme that works beautifully with Gutenberg, making it a great fit for any type of website. OceanWP - Kadence WP
Kadence WP stands out with its robust Gutenberg-compatible features, such as custom blocks and templates, providing a remarkable amount of design flexibility. Kadence WP - Blocksy
As its name suggests, Blocksy has been designed with Gutenberg in mind. It offers a range of unique design options that fully harness the potential of Gutenberg blocks. Blocksy
What is the difference between a theme and a plugins?
The main difference between a WordPress theme and a plugin lies in their purpose and functionality. Here are the key differences between the two:
WordPress theme: A WordPress theme is a collection of template files that determine the overall design, layout, colors, navigation, and other visual aspects of your website. Themes control the appearance of your site and can alter its layout and visual style. There are two types of WordPress themes: free and premium
WordPress plugin: A plugin is a piece of software that runs on top of WordPress and can be used to add new features or functionality to your website. Plugins change the way WordPress sites work and enable them to perform new tasks. They can be activated or deactivated individually without affecting the core functionality or design. Plugins can be found in various types, including security, SEO, performance optimization, and more.
Compatibility checker plugin
There is a plugin called Plugin Compatibility Checker by Dinesh Pilani that can help you check the compatibility of your plugins with the latest stable version of WordPress before performing an update. It displays all the information about your plugins on one page, including the current running plugin version, the latest release of the plugin version, and whether or not they are ready to update with the latest version of WordPress. The plugin also provides a filter to check if a plugin is activated or not and displays the total number of issues resolved in the last two months.
Another plugin that can help you check compatibility is the WP Engine PHP Compatibility Checker. This plugin can be used by any WordPress website on any web host to check PHP version compatibility. It will scan the theme and plugin code installed on your WordPress site and give you back a report of compatibility issues for you to fix.
MaxiBlocks template library free page builder
The MaxiBlocks template library is a free page builder and block library for WordPress. It offers a no-code visual page builder with a vast collection of ready-made templates, block patterns, and SVG icons, allowing users to create responsive and fast-loading webpages. The library includes over 1,800 patterns, 128 page templates, and 13,400 SVG icons, providing a wide range of options for website creation. The MaxiBlocks plugin is designed to work seamlessly with the Gutenberg editor, and it is compatible with the majority of WordPress themes, enabling easy integration into existing websites. The plugin is open source and offers unlimited sites and downloads, making it a versatile and user-friendly solution for website creation
How to choose the right block-compatible theme for your website?
When choosing a block-compatible theme for your website, it’s important to select one that is designed to work well with the WordPress block editor and reflects your brand identity. Take the time to read reviews and ratings, and make sure the theme offers key features such as customization options, responsive design, and SEO optimization.
Factors to consider for selection
Choosing the right block-compatible theme for your website involves considering several factors. Here are some steps to follow:
- Full block editor integration: A block-compatible theme seamlessly integrates with the new editor, allowing you to create and customize your website.
- Block styles and variations: A block-compatible theme offers a range of predefined styles and variations, allowing you to easily customize the appearance This includes customizing colours, typography, spacing, and other visual aspects specific to each type.
- Responsive design: A block-compatible theme is responsive, meaning it adapts and displays well on various devices and screen sizes. It ensures that your website looks great on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices, providing a consistent user experience across different platforms.
- Customizable block templates: A block-compatible theme may provide a selection of pre-designed templates that you can use as a starting point for creating specific sections or layouts. These templates help you save time and effort in designing your website by offering ready-made designs for headers, footers, call-to-action sections, woocommerce and more.
- Block-ready widget areas: A block-compatible theme includes widget areas that are compatible. These widget areas allow you to add elements within them, giving you more flexibility in designing and organizing your website’s content.
- Theme settings and customization options: They typically provides a range of settings and customization options through the WordPress Customizer or a dedicated options panel. These options allow you to personalize the appearance and behaviour of your website, including colours, fonts, layouts, menus, woocommerce, portfolios and more.
- Support for additional block plugins: While the core WordPress editor offers a variety of options, a block-compatible theme may also support other popular plugins. These plugins expand the functionality of the editor, providing additional options for things like testimonials, sliders, galleries, pricing tables, and more.
- Performance and SEO optimization: A well-designed theme considers performance and SEO best practices. It ensures that the code is clean and optimized for faster loading times, which can positively impact your website’s user experience and search engine rankings.
- Regular updates and compatibility: A reliable theme receives regular updates to address any compatibility issues with new versions of WordPress or editor updates. Regular updates also help to ensure security, bug fixes, and compatibility with popular plugins.
- Documentation and support: They should includes comprehensive documentation that guides users through the installation, setup, and customization process. It may also offer support through forums, documentation, or direct contact with the theme developers, enabling users to resolve any issues they encounter.
For advanced developers
- Custom block development: A block-compatible theme may provide tools, hooks, and documentation to facilitate the development of custom blocks, allowing developers to create their own unique designs with custom functionality and appearance.
- Theme APIs and hooks: A block-compatible theme can expose APIs and hooks that developers can leverage to extend and modify the theme’s behaviour, enabling them to add custom functionality or to integrate with third-party plugins or services.
- Child theme support: Allowing developers to create separate variations that inherit the parent theme’s functionality, ensuring that customizations and modifications can be implemented without affecting the core functionality of the parent.
- Code quality and standards: Advanced developers value themes that follow best practices, adhere to industry standards, and have clean and well-structured code, making maintenance, customization, and integration with other plugins or frameworks easier.
- Accessibility and usability: A block-compatible theme that prioritizes accessibility ensures that the overall design are accessible to users with disabilities, including support for keyboard navigation, screen readers, and adherence to WCAG standards.
- Performance optimization: Advanced developers seek themes that are optimized for performance, ensuring fast loading times and website speed by minimizing HTTP requests, and implementing caching techniques.
- Integration with development tools: A block-compatible theme that integrates with popular development tools, such as code editors, version control systems, package managers, and build tools, streamline the development process and enhances productivity.
- Extensive documentation: Comprehensive and developer-friendly documentation is crucial, covering all aspects of theme development, including APIs, hooks, template structure, and any custom functionality provided by the theme.
- Developer support and community: Access to support channels, like forums or dedicated communities, is valuable for advanced developers to seek assistance, share knowledge, and collaborate with others working on the same theme.
- Compatibility with third-party libraries and frameworks: Advanced developers often rely on external libraries or frameworks in their projects. A block-compatible theme that is compatible with popular libraries like React, Vue.js, or CSS frameworks like Bootstrap or Tailwind CSS facilitates integration and development workflows.
Resources
- The WP Rollback plugin offers the ability to revert any theme or plugin back to a previous version, straight from your WordPress dashboard. This handy tool ensures safety and flexibility when managing updates or solving compatibility issues. WP Rollback Plugin
- This link leads to a call-to-action post from the WordPress Team, inviting developers to create experimental themes that work with Full Site Editing (FSE). It’s an opportunity to stay updated with the latest trends in theme development and contribute to the WordPress community. Call for Experimental Themes
- The Full Site Editing focus from the Design Team Handbook provides an overview of the evolving capability to edit all parts of your site using Gutenberg blocks. It’s a resourceful guide for understanding and adapting to this exciting feature in WordPress design. Full Site Editing
- This article on the WordPress.org Core provides a preliminary roadmap for the WordPress 6.0 version. It gives an insight into the upcoming features and improvements, helping you prepare and adapt to the evolving WordPress platform. Preliminary Roadmap for 6.0
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are block-compatible themes?
A: Block-compatible themes are WordPress themes optimized for the new site editor.
Q: Why are block-compatible plugins important?
A: Block-compatible plugins enhance the user experience and enable dynamic content creation without coding.
Q: What should be considered when selecting a block-compatible theme?
A: Consider Full Site Editing (FSE), speed, customization, and plugin compatibility.
Q: Which page builders are recommended for use with block-compatible themes?
A: Block-compatible themes work with the new Editor, but if you prefer page builders, consider Elementor and Beaver Builder.
WordPress itself
Official Website
wordpress.org – This is the official website for WordPress, where you can download the software, find documentation, and learn more about using it.
WordPress Codex
codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page – This is a comprehensive documentation resource for WordPress, covering everything from installation and configuration to specific functionality and troubleshooting.
WordPress Theme Directory
wordpress.org/themes – The official WordPress theme directory is a great place to find free and premium WordPress themes. You can browse themes by category, feature, and popularity.
maxiblocks.com/go/help-desk
maxiblocks.com/pro-library
www.youtube.com/@maxiblocks
twitter.com/maxiblocks
linkedin.com/company/maxi-blocks
github.com/orgs/maxi-blocks
wordpress.org/plugins/maxi-blocks