This document discusses the evolution of the author's experience with the Gutenberg editor for WordPress. It begins with an overview of the author's background in WordPress. It then covers the initial challenges of using Gutenberg when it was first introduced. The document outlines tips and tricks for using different block types effectively. It also notes areas for further improvement. Throughout, it provides examples from the author's own journey in learning to use and appreciate the capabilities of the Gutenberg editor.

1. Gutenberg:
How I stopped
worrying and learned
to love the block

2. Laura Byrne-Cristiano
I have been using WordPress
since 2006.
Writer and Marketer
I have written content for
hundreds of WordPress sites
Currently, I am a content
specialist at Bet Hannon
Marketing
2
You can find me at @NewYorkerLaura

3. “Gentlemen, you can't fight in here!
This is the War Room!
---Dr. Strangelove
3
 Not a Development Talk
 Not a Design Talk
 No,I don’t work at Modern Tribe…They have a great white
paper…I guess we watched the same movie.

4. “
“ Colonel! Colonel, I must know
what you think has been going on
here!
4
You want to know what I think?
---Dr. Strangelove

5. At first it was very, very beta…
“It’s important for WordPress to eat its own
dogfood. Projects like Gutenberg aren’t going
to progress as fast as they need to without
sufficient adoption. WordCamp sites are a great
testbed for Gutenberg since the content creators
come in many different forms.”
--Aaron Jorbin, Fall 2017 5

6. “Sir! I have a plan!”—Dr. Strangelove
6
I’m all for checking it out, and being a crash
test dummy so to speak.
This is a really neat idea! It would be really
cool if we put something at the bottom of the
posts created with Gutenberg that says
something like “Created with Gutenberg.”
I’m a team player. Let’s do it!
I think we should do it, setting the example to the other
camps is one thing we have a responsibility to do… turn it
on!

7. “Well boys, we've got three engines
out, we've got more holes in us than
a horse trader's mule.
---Dr. Stranglove
7
24 Hours Later

8. 8

9. ““ I don't think it's quite fair to
condemn the whole program
because of a single slip up.
---Dr. Strangelove
9

10. Flash Forward March 2019
So things have changed…
10

11. My turning point…the Word Doc from hell
11
◈ 25 hiking trails
◈ 12 fonts
◈ 50 links
◈ Bizarre spacing
◈ And this is before we get to the 100 dead fish and
playful otter photos

12. “
Based on the findings of the report,
my conclusion was that this idea was
not a practical deterrent for reasons
which at this moment must be all
too obvious.
---Dr. Strangelove
12

13. Tips…Text
◈ Google Docs
◆ Bulletpoints
◆ H tags
◆ Sometimes extra space at front or end of
block
◈ Verse block
◈ Code block
13

14. Tips…Photos and Video
◈ Align
◈ Align within a block
◈ Very easy alt text and captioning
◈ Galleries
◈ Social Media…more than your icons!
◆ Two ways of doing this
◆ Facebook extra step
14

15. Blocks I Must Have
More
◈ Stops content from
eating the page
◈ Make your message
fun
Separator
◈ Great for white
space
◈ CSS to Stylize this.
Block Quotes and Pull
Quotes
◈ What’s the
difference
◈ Stylize
15
Button
◈ Make your message
fun
◈ Stylize in CSS
Slide Deck
◈ Site such as Slide
Share
Media and Text
◈ Slightly different
look than inline
image

16. The Ultimate…The Reusable Block
16
◈ Time saver
◈ Can edit
◈ Can inline an image
◈ You can do just about anything you want with it.

17. Room for Improvement
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◈ Email
◈ Just fixed the Gravity block
◈ Image sizing
◈ Code editor
◈ Double check on publishing
◈ Scheduling is an odd UX
“ I want you to remember one thing, the folks back home is a countin' on
ya, and by golly we ain't about to let 'em down.
---Dr. Strangelove

18. Other Incidental Data and Resources
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◈ Gmail interface
◈ New Learners
◈ Gutenberg Times
◈ Google it

19. 19
THANKS!
Any questions?
You can find me everywhere at
@NewYorkerLaura