After I first tried the block types function in WordPress, I used to be impressed. As a theme creator, it was a easy means of permitting customers to pick a design-related class with out them really needing to know what was taking place beneath the hood. In that first week or so, I hit the issue that many others had. I needed to mix two or extra courses/types to supply a variety of person choices.
This was again in late 2018 or early 2019 — across the time of the WordPress 5.0 launch. Others have requested the capability to mix types since, and Keith Devon, the co-founder of Highrise Digital, introduced the difficulty up once more by way of Twitter final week. Nonetheless, these a number of requests have by no means resulted in a change to the core code.
This snail’s tempo has been useful. Leaping too early on some options when others have but to mature can create pointless legacy baggage.
Over the previous couple of years, I’ve reassessed my place on combining block types. Because the editor has developed, there’s a clearer imaginative and prescient rising round what choices customers can have. Whereas I initially needed to mix block types, I’m not so positive anymore. The first purpose for that is that core has already made many out of date by way of block choices, and it’ll proceed to take action with different controls sooner or later. When WordPress itself handles this, it creates a normal that every one themes can depend on.
With a kind of ardour initiatives I’m constructing in my free time, I presently have six types for the Picture block:
- Rounded
- Flip: Horizontal
- Flip: Vertical
- Polaroid
- Polaroid: Tilt Left
- Polaroid: Tilt Proper
There are occasions when mixing and matching a few of these may make sense. For instance, the Flip: Horizontal type suits properly with all of the others and wouldn’t trigger points when mixed. I might additionally go overboard by including decisions to fulfill each doable variation.
Some combos would break down totally or not be aesthetically pleasing. For instance, the Rounded type doesn’t work properly with the Polaroid types. Nonetheless, these are easy types that hardly scratch the floor of what’s doable.
Most of those will not be block types that I might wish to ship with a theme. For instance, the Rounded type might simply be dealt with by way of the WordPress-supported border-radius possibility. The Polaroid type is only a fancy title for some padding and a box-shadow on the picture. These are all normal design options that ought to ultimately be part of the bottom editor expertise.
At present, themes that ship such types are filling within the gaps the place WordPress has but to take action. Within the brief time period, theme authors should cater to their person base. Nonetheless, down the highway, WordPress ought to supply a extra sturdy set of instruments that cowl the fundamentals. There actually isn’t any purpose for each theme to have a special, non-standard slug (i.e., class title) for primarily the identical block types (e.g., Polaroid vs. Framed vs. Borders). It creates cross-theme compatibility points that we should always keep away from when doable.
Block types are helpful for introducing fast strategies for reaching these basic design choices, however I’m what they need to be for the long run. If core WordPress evolves to the purpose the place it makes most of those types out of date, what ought to theme authors do with the function?
That’s the place extra specialised block types make sense. The aim is similar: fill within the gaps that WordPress leaves open.
One instance that might be robust to duplicate with easy design choices can be a tag/label type for the Tag Cloud block, as proven within the following screenshot.
I even have a Capsule Define type for a similar block:
Clearly, these two types wouldn’t work collectively. Making a system the place customers might select each would lead to some problematic outcomes. The extra advanced any two block types turn into, the extra seemingly they are going to battle with one another.
Proper now, it’s too early to decide to a multi-select function for block types. We have to let this factor play out a bit and provides the core design instruments an opportunity to catch up. We are able to reevaluate when many of the blocks packaged with WordPress have a broader set of styling choices.
At that time, it could even make extra sense to start utilizing block variations, an API that permits builders to preconfigure block attributes. If a strong set of design choices exist, it could be easy to supply a number of mixtures out of the field for customers.
Within the meantime, I want to see a reevaluation of the UI for block types. Shaun Andrews has an in-depth piece, Pondering By means of: Switching Block Kinds, that explores varied choices on how we might iterate on it.