Let’s break down WordPress, its Full Site Editing (FSE), and Gutenberg, and then dive into a humorous explanation and the impact on search and marketing.
Written By Tommy Wrenn, Lead Strategist + Creative Director for ArmoredGate.com + TommyWrenn.com
WordPress, Gutenberg, FSE, Blocks, and Themes: A Quick Overview
- WordPress: A popular open-source Content Management System (CMS). It powers a significant portion of the web, allowing users to create and manage websites without needing to code.
- Gutenberg (Block Editor): Introduced in WordPress 5.0, Gutenberg replaced the classic editor with a block-based system. This means content is created using individual “blocks” for text, images, videos, and other elements.
- Full Site Editing (FSE): Built upon Gutenberg, FSE extends the block system to the entire website, including headers, footers, and templates. This gives users greater control over the design and layout of their sites without needing to edit code.
- Blocks: Reusable content elements that can be added, rearranged, and customized within the editor. Examples include paragraph blocks, image blocks, heading blocks, and more complex blocks like galleries or forms.
- Themes: Templates that provide the basic design and structure of a WordPress site. FSE introduces “block themes” specifically designed to work with the block editor, allowing for greater customization through blocks.
Impact on Search, Marketing, and Site Categorization
- Improved Content Creation: Gutenberg and FSE make it easier to create visually appealing and engaging content, which can improve user engagement and SEO.
- Better Site Structure: FSE allows for more flexible and semantic site structures, which can improve search engine crawling and indexing.
- Increased Accessibility: The block editor encourages the use of semantic HTML and accessibility best practices, which can improve the user experience for everyone.
- Faster Development: Block themes and the block editor can speed up website development, allowing marketers to launch campaigns more quickly.
- Impact on Categorization: While the core categorization methods (like categories and tags) remain, FSE allows for more granular control over page layouts and content organization, potentially leading to more nuanced search results in the future as search engines adapt.
Explaining WordPress FSE to Your Grandma (or Anyone Non-Digital)
Hey Grandma, Your Website is Now Legos!
Okay, imagine your old website was like a pre-built dollhouse. It looked nice, but if you wanted to move the furniture or add a new room, you needed a contractor (a web developer) and a lot of money.
Now, with this newfangled “WordPress Full Site Editing” thing, your website is like a box of Legos!
Remember Legos? Those colorful bricks you used to build spaceships and castles? Well, now your website is made of similar “blocks.”
- The “Text Block”: This is like a big, flat Lego brick where you type your words. You can make the words big or small, bold or italic, just like choosing different Lego colors.
- The “Picture Block”: This is where you put your photos. It’s like a special Lego brick with a little window to show off your cat pictures.
- The “Header Block” and “Footer Block”: These are the top and bottom parts of your website, like the baseplate of your Lego creation. You can put all sorts of blocks in them, like your address, phone number, or even a funny joke.
So, instead of calling a contractor every time you want to change something, you just grab your “blocks” and start building! Want to move your cat picture from the left side to the right? Just drag and drop the “Picture Block”! Want to add a new page about your prize-winning zucchini? Just add some “Text Blocks” and “Picture Blocks”!
It’s that easy! Even you, Grandma, can do it! (Probably. Maybe with a little help. Okay, maybe a lot of help. But the idea is there!)
The “Internet Search People” (Search Engines)
Now, these “Internet Search People” (we call them search engines) are like inspectors who go around looking at all the Lego castles (websites). They like it when the castles are well-organized and easy to understand. With these new “blocks,” it’s easier to build neat and tidy castles, which makes the “Internet Search People” very happy. And when they’re happy, they show your castle to more people!
So, there you have it, Grandma. Your website is now Legos. Go build something awesome! (And maybe call me if you get stuck.)
This humorous approach simplifies the technical aspects and makes the concept more accessible to a non-technical audience. It emphasizes the ease of use and the benefits for both content creators and search engines.
