WP Perspectives Issue 19: Dynamic Data Solutions for the Site Editor
What’s the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.
Nicholas Negroponte
Dynamic WordPress and the Site Editor
Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of the WordPress project, takes every opportunity to promote Gutenberg and often implies that page builders will be replaced by the Site Editor. Many willing site builders have jumped into the Site Editor only to be lost and/or feel that the experience is too unpolished for regular use. Therefore, the above quote seems apropos. However, there are indications that things are changing and we may be seeing the Site Editor coming out of its cocoon. The indicator I’m looking at is that a number of Gutenberg block plugins have released Site Editor support for custom fields.
Why does this matter? Core WordPress supports custom fields, but core does not provide a way to display them. The “theme builder” or “site builder” feature of page builders came to the rescue and enables the creation of templates for Custom Post Types, but this has been a premium feature. Now with the Site Editor this functionality is built into core.
Block Collection and Theme Pairs
I’ve noticed that there is a positive synergy when block collections are paired with a theme from the same developer. There are built-in assumptions about how things will work and subtle integrations that enhance the experience. Take note of these pairings below.
Block Collections Supporting Custom Fields in the Site Editor
Here is the list of block collections that have dynamic data support and that have official support for the Site Editor. They are listed in order, more or less, by best support for dynamic data features to lightest support for them. There are nine solutions in the list, which I have grouped into three tiers.
Top Tier
- Cwicly / Cwicly Theme
- Greenshift / Greenshift Theme
- JetEngine
The defining characteristic of the top tier is extensive support for dynamic data features. Otherwise, each of the offerings is rather unique.
- Cwicly is a standout in the entire list as having the best support for dynamic data features. In this regards, it is in the same top class as Bricks and Oxygen. Like those two page builders, Cwicly has a higher learning curve. Also like Bricks and Oxygen, Cwicly has extensive and coherent support for CSS classes, CSS variables, and CSS layout and styling options. Cwicly only support ACF and includes the Pro version in its install.
- Greenshift is not too far behind Cwicly in dynamic data features, but its options are less coherent. Greenshift supports most custom field plugins. In addition to good support for dynamic data, Greenshift is a very large block collection, divided into several “block packs,” and has an extensive number of animation features. Of the three in this tier, it is the easiest to learn, though still harder than those in the middle tier.
- JetEngine isn’t a traditional “block collection.” It is a plugin for creating Custom Post Types, custom fields, and custom taxonomies, along with an extensive and impressive set of advanced dynamic data features and utilities. It support ACF and its own JetEngine custom fields. JetEngine includes a small set of blocks for displaying custom fields.
- Cwicly and Greenshift both have their own block theme, but Cwicly’s is just a reset that relies on the Cwicly plugin for layout and styling, while the Greenshift Theme is a full block theme with expected Site Editor style sets and theme.json features.
Middle Tier
- Kadence Blocks
- Stackable Blocks
- GenerateBlocks
- Spectra Blocks / Spectra One
- Otter Blocks / Neve FSE
A defining characteristic of the options in the middle tier is that they try to hit a balance between usability, easy styling, and advanced features. This makes them attractive to a wide-range of users and a favorite for agencies and freelancers.
- Kadence has a Repeater Block.
- Kadence, Stackable, GenerateBlocks and Spectra each has some sort of flexible query loop option.
- The GenerateBlocks Grid and Query Loop combination is the most flexible of this tier with some ability to customize the query.
- In this tier, Stackable supports the most custom field plugins and has the strongest support for block display conditions.
- GenerateBlocks is the only one of entire list that has some support for custom fields in the free version.
- GenerateBlocks has only a limited number of blocks and a somewhat minimalist philosophy.
- Though Kadence Blocks and GenerateBlocks are officially supported for the Site Editor, they are from developers who have themes in the top 10 list of classic themes, but those developers have not yet fully committed to the Site Editor and still steer users to their Classic themes.
- Stackable and Spectra have more style options for the Site Editor, especially Spectra, which has a large block collection and leverages its own Spectra One theme
- Spectra and Otter have companion themes, which give them a leg up in the Site Builder, but the Spectra / Spectra One combination has more theme type options.
Lowest Tier
- The Plus Blocks / Nexter FSE
The Plus Blocks has a very large number of stylish blocks with their own preset layouts which mimicks large Elementor widget collections. However, it only supports a very limited range of custom fields.
A block collection to keep an eye out for, is Maxiblocks. It doesn’t yet have support for custom fields, but they are working on adding this, along with a block theme. At that point I imagine it will be in the same group as The Plus Blocks.
Discussion and Conclusions
There are nine block collections that support the Site Editor. That is a good showing, and many of them are also from well known and well respected developers in the WordPress ecosystem. There is also a good range of functionality targeting different customer niches and use cases: from a relatively smaller group of more hardcore developers and power users, to the large middle group looking for the wide range of applicability, to those wanting blocks with lots of easy predefined layout and style options. This looks healthy.
Just as with the initial release of Gutenberg, the release of the Site Editor was rocky, it faces a lot of opposition, and at this point it still needs a few more rounds of fixes and enhancements to be widely accepted. This is the counter weight that tempers broad enthusiasm for these nine solutions and which no doubt is slowing their adoption. Still, most people are optimistic that the Site Editor will eventually “get there.”
Recently Published
- ACF 6.2: Built-In Bidirectional Relationship Fields and Option Pages – It is great to see the regular enhancements to ACF.
- Public Service Announcement: Using Stripe with WordPress and Securing Your Site Options – Notes about security your Stripe API Keys.
- Top 20 Most Popular Block Collections – Most of theme support dynamic data.
- Meta Box Frontend Submission: Creating a Contact Form – Can your custom field plugin do this?
- What Is Happening With Kadence? – The updates to the Kadence Blocks plugins brought a number of minor glitches that annoyed users.
- How to Add Post Content in the Kadence Theme Builder – How to add the Post Content Block when creating templates.
- Second Look at Builderius Pro – At the one year anniversary, another look at this new and promising builder.
- ZipWP Another Big Step in WordPress Site Building – ZipWP is Brainstorm Force’s AI enhanced website generator. They are integrating it with Astra and all their plugins.
- Using the Core Framework with Gutenberg and Cwicly – The Core Framework in action – how to and what to expect.
- Walkthrough of the Everest Backup and Migration Plugin – A new pro backup and migration plugin.
- Fluent Forms vs Bit Form: Performance and Other Considerations – An update to the comparison made 2.5 years ago.
- First Look at Admin and Site Enhancements Pro – I love seeing talented developers produce great plugins.
- The FluentBooking Scheduling Solution – A new booking plugin from the makers of Fluent Forms.
- Comparing ACF vs Meta Box Performance – Checking the performance of two popular custom field plugins.
- Meta Box: Creating a Custom Post Type Plugin – Turn your Meta Box settings into a stand-alone plugin.
- LatePoint Appointment Scheduling for Your Business – Yet another booking solution. This one is pretty mature.
- Astra Pro Site Builder: Walk-Through and Review – Finally Astra Pro got theme builder / site builder functionality.
- The New Kadence Repeater Block – A new advanced block from Kadence.
- First Look at the Kadence Advanced Query Loop Block – Another new advanced block from Kadence.
From Around the Web
- Syed Balkhi Interview – A very frank and interesting discussion between Syed Balkhi and Spencer Forman about Awesome Motive and how WordPress org is run.
- Battle of the Page Builders – Here is a good discussion between Dave Foy and Josh Hall. Talking about page builders and Bricks.
- How to Import ACF fields Using WP All Import – Here is a good tutorial from the Oxygen team on how to import ACF fields using WP All Import. This is a good one to bookmark.
- Pricing to Maximize Profits – This is a very interesting discussion about WordPress pricing and how to maximize profits.
Deals
I recommend Admin and Site Enhancements Pro (ASE). It is a plugin by Bowo who’s known as being a talented developer who creates very useful utility programs that are well coded. ASE is one of those plugins. There’s a free version of ASE and a pro version has just been released. There are 39 free modules, 6 free modules that have pro enhancements, and 6 pro modules. These modules provide functionality often found in a plugin or a code snippet, and many people find that ASE replaces 2 or 3 other plugins.
Pro features include functionality like Duplicate Posts, Admin Menu Organizer, Media Categories, Admin Column Organizer, and a Code Snippets Manager. There are annual and lifetime packages. The Pro launch pricing is still available.
What’s Up Next
I still have a couple of Elementor websites, but due to the continuous security issues I am moving them to other builders. I am also eagerly awaiting Cwicly’ upcoming Tailwind integration which I want to try out as soon as it is ready.
Thank you for reading. I’d like to hear what you have to say about the newsletter content and what you are excited about. Feel free to comment or send me an email through the contact form.
David McCan
December 8, 2023
I’ve been using WordPress since 2010, migrating a community hand written site to the twenty-ten theme.
I have never used a site builder, preferring to write code and understand template hierarchy. I think of web developers as those marvelous people whose fingers and brains think code similar to how I sign my name, and I am certainly not one, but a basic knowledge of html, css and php and digging around in WordPress core gives a good basis for sound websites.
I remember investigating site builders, and working out that Beaver Builder output much and leaner cleaner html than Elementor.
They seemed to be the leaders at the time, but div soup was not for me.
I have watched WP just get better and better and grow up when custom post types and custom fields were introduced.
While it has taken a while, the new editor has proven to be the next significant improvement that will take WP forward.
Blending custom fields and the new editor always meant that the need to be able to write custom blocks to work within the new editor would be a necessary skill, or find a very good system to work with.
You are completely correct in speaking about the “number of Gutenberg block plugins have released Site Editor support for custom fields.” and the way this rounds out the new site editor.
“Learning javascript deeply” was not on my to do list, so after plenty of investigation I settled on Generate Press and Generate Blocks. It has proven to be a good choice.
I keenly await the time when Generate Press is migrated to a full block enabled theme, but the as a hybrid theme, it is a good comprise between a classic theme and a full block theme.
Yes, a little div soup is included, but that can be balanced against having a good workflow, and a system that by design is lean and fast.
Yes, with WordPress, being willing to work with a bit of code turns one into a power user and makes a lot of difference. Given your background, GenerateBlocks is a good choice. There is enough to get the job done, but not much bloat.
I too have resisted the option to become a WP react block creator. I like programming, but it hasn’t appealed to me. I understand that Pinegrow allows you to create stand-alone blocks using PHP. I subscribed over Black Friday and hope to get it a try at some point. Or there are options like Meta Box blocks or Blockstudio, which have a plugin dependency, but are fairly straight forward.