Embracing the Future: How WebDevStudios Is Leading with WordPress Block Themes

At WebDevStudios, WordPress isn’t just a tool; it’s at the heart of everything we do. As a leading WordPress agency, we’ve always recognized the power and flexibility that WordPress brings to the table. It allows us to craft digital experiences that stand out. Now, this includes the launch of our own WordPress Block Theme.

Since 2008, we’ve been building websites that not only meet but exceed our clients’ expectations. Our team stays ahead of the curve by adopting the latest WordPress innovations. This ensures our clients benefit from cutting-edge features and a platform built to last.

Our mission is your success. We accomplish this by creating custom solutions that truly fit each client’s unique needs. This includes developing new (or custom-built) plugins, enhancing themes, and tailoring designs.

Embracing Change: Block and Site Editor as the Foundation

We are always looking for ways to push the boundaries of what WordPress can do. That’s why we’ve fully embraced WordPress Block Themes that bring the Block Editor and Site Editor’s visual editing capabilities to the forefront.

The introduction of the Block Editor was a game-changer! It shifted away from the classic, text-based editor to a more intuitive, modular approach. Now, creating complex layouts with text, images, videos, and other media is as simple as stacking blocks together.

This shift has made WordPress more accessible, empowering everyone—from beginners to seasoned pros. Anyone can craft rich, dynamic content without writing a single line of code. The Block Editor isn’t just an upgrade; it’s become the new standard for building and maintaining websites.

WordPress didn’t stop there.

Building on the Block Editor’s success, the Site Editor takes things a step further. It extends visual editing capabilities to the entire website design. With the Site Editor, users can design and customize every aspect of their website. That includes headers, footers, templates, and individual page elements. All of this is done directly within WordPress through a cohesive visual interface.

This evolution has turned WordPress into a powerhouse of flexibility. Users can achieve professional-grade designs without third-party page builders or heavy custom coding. By embracing WordPress Block Themes that are fully compatible with both the Block and Site Editors, we’re unlocking the full potential of WordPress. This means we can continue to deliver visually stunning and highly functional websites that meet the modern demands of our clients.

WebDevStudios Block Theme

We have always maintained our own theme framework for our client work. The framework we’ve been using for years is called wd_s, which is a starter theme that we forked from Automattic’s _s.

It served us well for several years, building themes the PHP way. We watched as the WordPress Block Editor evolved and the Site Editor became a reality.

In late 2023, we realized that our ol’ standard theme framework wasn’t going to cut it anymore. We faced three choices: updating wd_s to support modern WordPress capabilities, creating our own WordPress Block Theme, or selecting an existing theme currently on the market.

Ultimately, we created our own WordPress Block Theme. At first, we drew inspiration from Brian Gardner’s Powder theme. But we quickly realized that, while a very solid theme in its own right, it wasn’t set up for what we needed in our developer toolkit to keep in line with how we work.

WDS BT stands for WebDevStudios Block Theme.

WDS BT can be found in our WDS BT GitHub repo. We also set the theme up on a demo site, which allows us to showcase it when we talk to our clients about WordPress, Block Themes, Block Patterns, and more.

WDS BT is a product of the hard work of our engineering team, spearheaded by JC Palmes, Engineering Manager. A big thanks goes to JC for all her hard work and dedication in making our new Block Theme come to life!

Stylish and Tailored for WordPress

WDS BT is a stylish block theme tailored for WordPress that features native blocks and compatibility with the Site Editor. With a contemporary aesthetic, an intuitive interface, and seamless integration with the WordPress Block Editor, WDS BT ensures a polished and adaptable framework across all devices.

It’s crucial to understand that WDS BT is crafted as a foundational theme rather than a parent theme. This difference affords users a flexible starting point for customization.

Standard Development Tools Included

We equipped it with essential tools like NPM, Node, Composer, and Sass. These tools enable us to:

• Register block styles.
• Override or customize core block styles.
• Create block variations.
• Use mixins for responsive media queries.
• Implement Stylelint for consistent SCSS styles.
• Automated Versioning process designed to increment the BUILD number automatically upon merges to the main branch.
• Built-in WDS Block Template Creation Script

Full Design System Baked In

We created a full design system integrated into the theme, a departure from what we did with wd_s. This ensures that all core blocks and default templates have consistent styles. Normally, theme frameworks are plain and without much styling built into them.

However, for WDS BT, we wanted a starter theme with standard, consistent, and default styling for all core blocks out of the box. These default styles will provide a foundation for customizing client projects moving forward.

Manage Design at Scale

A design system is like the blueprint for your digital product’s look and feel, providing a set of guidelines, standards, and specifications that help you manage design at scale. It’s a framework that brings together design principles, patterns, and best practices, enabling designers and developers to create a consistent user experience across your entire website or product. Organizations use design systems to keep their digital products consistent, efficient, and scalable—whether it’s a website, app, or software interface.

What Makes Up a Design System

1. Design Tokens: These are the basic building blocks—like color palettes, typography, and spacing—that define your product’s visual style.

2. UI Components: Consider these as reusable puzzle pieces, like buttons, input fields, modals, and navigation bars. They’re designed to work together, allowing you to build complex user interfaces efficiently.

3. Patterns and Templates: Design patterns are tried-and-true solutions for common usability challenges, while templates are pre-built layouts for specific pages or screens.

4. Guidelines and Documentation: This is the instruction manual that includes design principles, usage guidelines, coding standards, and examples. It ensures everyone involved in the project is on the same page and knows how to use the design system effectively.

5. Tools and Resources: These are the libraries, design files, code snippets, and other resources that make it easy to implement the design system in your projects.

Why a Design System Matters

• Consistency: It standardizes visual elements and interaction patterns, ensuring your product feels cohesive no matter where the user goes.

• Efficiency: A library of reusable components and patterns speeds up your design and development process, cutting down on repetitive work.

• Scalability: As your product grows, a design system makes it easier to add new features and content without losing that consistent look and feel.

• Collaboration: A design system creates a common language for designers, developers, and stakeholders, making collaboration smoother and more effective.

Design systems aren’t static. They’re living, breathing tools that evolve as your product, technology, and user needs change. Keeping a design system relevant requires ongoing maintenance and governance. This ensures it continues to serve its purpose as your product grows and adapts.

Block Themes and Modern WordPress Development

Block Themes are changing the game, bringing a more unified and visual approach to site-building in WordPress. They make it easier for everyone—from users to developers—to create and customize websites without the hassle.

A Block Theme uses Blocks for every part of your site, from navigation menus to headers, content, and footers. These themes are designed to take full advantage of the latest WordPress features, letting you tweak and customize your site’s key elements without ever needing to switch themes.

Unlike old-school themes that leaned heavily on PHP templates and custom theme options, Block Themes are built almost entirely with blocks. This means you can edit nearly every aspect of your site’s design and content right through the Block Editor, giving you a more intuitive and visual design experience.

Some Key Features of Block Themes

1. Site Editor: Block Themes are designed to support the Site Editor in WordPress, allowing users to customize all parts of their site directly in the editor. This includes headers, footers, post templates, and more without editing theme files or using custom code.
2. Block-Based Templates: Instead of PHP templates, Block Themes use block-based templates. These templates are made up of Blocks and can be edited visually through the site editor.
3. Theme.json Support: Block Themes utilize a theme.json file. This configuration file allows theme developers to define custom settings and style options that can be used throughout the theme, including colors, typography, layout controls, and Block settings.
4. Global Styles and Settings: Users can globally customize styles and settings across their entire site, including fonts, colors, and layout configurations, directly within the WordPress admin interface.
5. Accessibility and Responsiveness: Many Block Themes are designed with accessibility and responsiveness in mind, ensuring that sites are accessible to all users and work well on various devices and screen sizes.
6. Simplified Theme Development: For developers, creating a Block Theme can be more straightforward than creating traditional themes. It relies on Blocks and a theme.json configuration, reducing the need for complex PHP coding and allowing for more direct manipulation of the site’s appearance.

Block Editor

Here’s a breakdown of what makes the Block Editor so powerful:

1. Block-Based Editing: The Block Editor is all about Blocks. Every piece of content—text, images, or videos—is a block you can easily add, arrange, and style. This gives you total control over how your posts and pages look and feel.

2. Wide Range of Blocks: Out of the box, the Block Editor comes loaded with various Blocks, from basic text and images to more complex elements like tables, columns, and embeds. This means you can build rich, dynamic layouts without touching a line of code.

3. Custom Blocks: For those who want to go a step further, developers can create custom Blocks that extend the editor’s capabilities even more. These Blocks can be tailored to fit specific site needs, bringing in custom functionality and designs that align perfectly with your vision.

4. Live Editing Experience: The Block Editor provides a true WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) experience. As you build your content, you see exactly how it will appear to your visitors, making real-time adjustments and tweaks. This live preview helps you ensure everything looks just right before hitting publish.

5. Block Patterns and Templates: The Block Editor also supports Block Patterns and templates, as well as predesigned Block layouts you can drop into your content and customize. This is perfect for quickly building complex layouts without starting from scratch.

6. Accessibility and Usability: The Block Editor is designed with accessibility in mind, making it easy for users of all skill levels to jump in and start creating. It adheres to web accessibility standards, ensuring a smooth, user-friendly experience for everyone.

7. Site Editor: With the evolution of the Block Editor, the Site Editor now lets you use Blocks to edit not just posts and pages but also site-wide elements like headers, footers, and sidebars. This brings everything together, offering a more holistic, intuitive site-building experience.

The Block Editor represents a major leap forward in creating and managing content in WordPress. Furthermore, it’s designed to be visual, intuitive, and flexible, empowering both beginners and experienced developers to craft engaging web content and layouts with ease.

Patterns

In WordPress and the Block Editor (Gutenberg), “patterns” are like ready-made block layouts that you can drop into your posts and pages. These Patterns are essentially collections of Blocks that are already arranged in specific ways to create a certain design or functionality.

The beauty of Patterns is that they simplify the content creation process. Instead of building complex layouts from scratch, you can just insert a Pattern and customize it to fit your needs. It’s a fast, efficient way to get your desired design without all the heavy lifting.

The Lowdown on Patterns in WordPress

1. Predefined Layouts: Patterns offer ready-made designs that combine different Blocks into a cohesive layout. These can be as simple as a row of buttons or as complex as a full-featured contact section with text, images, and a form—all setup and ready to go.

2. Time-Saving: Patterns are a huge time-saver. Instead of adding and configuring each Block individually, you can drop in a complete Pattern and tweak it to fit your needs. It’s a fast track to creating visually appealing and functional layouts without the hassle.

3. Customization: While Patterns come with predefined layouts, they’re fully customizable. You can add, remove, or adjust any Block within a pattern to match your content and design preferences, giving you the flexibility to make it your own.

4. Consistency: Patterns help keep your design consistent across your site. Using the same Pattern for similar sections on different pages ensures a uniform look and feel, making your site feel cohesive and polished.

5. Theme and Plugin Integration: Patterns can come from your WordPress theme, plugins, or even the WordPress core itself. This means when you switch themes or install certain plugins, you might get access to new patterns specifically designed to enhance the theme’s or plugin’s functionality.

6. Community Contributions: WordPress developers and designers can, and have, create and share their own WordPress Patterns with the community. The WordPress Pattern Directory is a treasure trove where you can find and import patterns created by others, opening up even more design possibilities for your site.

7. Ease of Use: Inserting a Pattern into your post or page is a breeze. Just browse through the available patterns in the Block Editor’s Pattern Library. Preview what you like, and insert it with a click. It’s that simple.

Patterns in WordPress are all about making content creation more flexible and user-friendly. They give everyone—from beginners to pros—the tools to create professional-looking layouts without needing to be a tech wizard or a design guru. It’s all about democratizing web design, making it easier and more accessible for everyone to build beautiful, functional websites.

Full-Page Patterns (Layouts)

Full-page Patterns are like having a complete, ready-to-go page layout at your fingertips. Unlike smaller Patterns that might only cover a specific section (like a header, gallery, or testimonial), these are full-blown page templates. They come with everything you need—think hero sections, About sections, services, contact forms, and footers—all laid out for you in one cohesive design.

Full-Page Patterns Are a Game-Changer

1. Comprehensive Layouts: They offer a full layout solution for an entire page, combining multiple sections and content Blocks. This means you can skip the grunt work and quickly have a fully structured page up and running.

2. Variety of Uses: Whether you need a landing page, an About page, a contact page, or a portfolio, full-page Patterns have you covered. They give you a quick way to add and customize content for any purpose, so you’re not starting from scratch.

3. Customization: Although full-page Patterns have a predefined layout, they are fully customizable. You can tweak, add, or remove Blocks to fit your content and style. Make it your own while still saving time.

4. Theme Integration: Many WordPress themes include a selection of full-page Patterns, ensuring they blend seamlessly with your site’s design. This keeps your website looking consistent and polished without extra effort.

5. Time-Saving: Full-page Patterns give you a head start, providing a structured foundation that speeds up the page-building process. You can roll out complex layouts quickly without compromising on quality.

6. Inspiring: If you’re stuck on page design ideas, check out full-page Patterns for inspiration. They show practical examples of how to combine Blocks effectively, helping you create effective layouts.

Full-page Patterns make the WordPress Block Editor even more powerful. It is easier than ever to create professional, well-designed pages without needing a ton of design or development know-how. It’s all part of WordPress’ mission to make web design more accessible and efficient for everyone.

Global Settings & Styles (theme.json)

The theme.json file has also changed the game for WordPress themes. It offers a streamlined way to manage a theme’s appearance and behavior, especially in the Block Editor (Gutenberg).

Introduced in WordPress 5.8, this configuration file lets theme developers set up default styles, settings, and configurations. This provides more control over the design and functionality of a WordPress site without needing a ton of custom code.

Here’s what theme.json can do:

1. Define Global Styles: With theme.json, you can set global styles that apply across your entire site, from colors and typography (fonts, sizes, weights) to layout settings. This ensures your site maintains a consistent look, regardless of the content you add.

2. Configure Block Settings: Developers can define default settings and styles for specific Blocks. You can control how they look and behave right out of the box. You can even decide which Block options users see in the editor or hide certain settings altogether.

3. Control Color Palettes and Gradients: Want custom color palettes or gradients available in the Block Editor? theme.json lets you set these up, making it easy for users to apply your brand’s colors throughout the site.

4. Manage Typography Options: theme.json allows you to specify custom typography options, like font sizes, families, and line heights, which users can easily apply through the Block Editor.

5. Customize Layout and Spacing: From one file, you can control the site’s overall layout. Control content sizing, spacing, and Block supports, like padding and margin.

6. Enable or Disable Block Features: theme.json allows you to globally enable or disable Block features like custom backgrounds, color settings, or link colors.

7. Simplify Theme Development: theme.json simplifies the development process by centralizing much of the theme’s design and functionality settings. It reduces the need for extra CSS and PHP, making it easier to implement and maintain design standards.

8. Enhance Theme Consistency: The theme.json file ensures that your site’s look and feel remain consistent. It maintains this consistency even as users customize and add content with the Block Editor.

The introduction of theme.json is a big step forward in making theme development more efficient and user-friendly. It empowers theme developers to create flexible, consistent designs. At the same time, it gives users the tools to customize their sites without disrupting the design system.

Conclusion

At WebDevStudios, WordPress is more than just a platform—it’s the heartbeat of everything we do. We’re all about pushing boundaries. WebDevStudios believes in embracing innovations like Block Themes, Block and Site Editors, and robust design systems. We aim to build beautiful, functional, consistent, and scalable websites.

Our WDS BT WordPress Block Theme proves our dedication to crafting tailored solutions that meet each client’s unique needs. We maximize WordPress’ potential in every project. As WordPress evolves, we’re right there with it, ensuring that every site we build is ready for the future. By partnering together, let’s create a digital experience that lasts and impresses.