Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WordPress, questioned why a revamp of the WordPress homepage and obtain web page took weeks to nearly end when the identical mission would take one particular person solely hours to finish utilizing an internet site builder platform like Wix or Squarespace.
What occurred is {that a} group of WordPress contributors determined to revamp the WordPress house and obtain pages utilizing the WordPress block editor as a showcase for what could possibly be completed with the brand new editor.
Everybody commenting on the proposal expressed that it was an amazing thought to make use of the WordPress block editor.
However a month later, Mullenweg questioned why it took a workforce of WordPress builders weeks to create simply two pages.
He wrote that he had a tough time imagining one particular person taking longer than a day to complete the mission with Software program as a Service (SaaS) web site builder platforms like Wix or Squarespace.
Mullenweg wrote:
“…it’s such a primary format, it’s onerous to think about it taking a single particular person greater than a day on Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, or one of many WP web page builders.”
The implication of his assertion is evident.
WordPress Block Editor
The block editor, often known as the WordPress Gutenberg Editor, was launched in 2018. Nonetheless, it wasn’t till 2021 when a major function of full website enhancing, the template editor, was launched as a part of WordPress 5.8 and the template editor.
Extra components of the whole website enhancing expertise adopted over the months.
The objective of the block editor is to modernize WordPress and make it simple for anybody to put in and begin constructing an internet site quick.
The block editor is the way forward for WordPress, but it surely’s not fairly completed because it continues to be improved upon.
WordPress House Web page Revamp
On July eighth, 2022, a WordPress contributor (and worker of Automattic) introduced the kickoff of a redesign of the official WordPress.org homepage and obtain web page, with the proposal of doing it utilizing WordPress’ block editor.
The block editor is a part of the WordPress initiative to modernize it and make it simple to design web sites with out studying code.
The concept was to showcase the WordPress block editor.
The announcement was effectively obtained.
One WordPress contributor commented:
“I’m very excited to see this mission blossom for WordPress.
…Leveraging the homepage as a spot to showcase all the pieces fashionable, revolutionary, and empowering, that WordPress will be, could be a beautiful goal.
In different phrases, with WordPress, you possibly can mainly do something – construct something.
I’d like to see the design showcase the modernization of the location editor and format capabilities – even going as far as to do issues many haven’t seen earlier than.”
One other posted:
“I’m tremendous enthusiastic about this mission!”
Another person wrote that it was an effective way to showcase the editor and the WordPress group:
“The largest alternative I’m seeing, on the Homepage particularly, is a extra cohesive WordPress story.
Except for the ability of the software program itself and what it could possibly do, there’s the entire group of individuals which were coming collectively commonly to share in a motion.”
All of the feedback had been constructive and upbeat.
Then about eight days later, Mullenweg criticized how lengthy it not too long ago took to revamp the WordPress Information web page and famous that this mission mustn’t take as lengthy to finish.
He posted:
“This could take per week or two to launch, not months, and probably the most fascinating half would be the stats and suggestions after launch, and any subsequent iterations we make from there, not an extended course of earlier than.
The /information redesign took a criminally very long time.
We have now a whole lot of .org to revamp, and a whole lot of amassed cruft for instance within the navigation proper now — we will’t take too lengthy on anyone half.”
One Month Later… Mullenweg Criticizes Tempo of Challenge
A month glided by because the workforce labored collectively creating the 2 pages, and on August 1st, they shared an replace in a submit titled, Growing the redesigned House and Obtain Pages.
The submit is a cheerful replace on all of the progress that has been made on the nonetheless incomplete redesign.
Eight days later, Mullenweg kicks off the dialogue by criticizing the trouble, commenting:
“This isn’t a very good use of time, nor does it additional the precise objectives of a brand new homepage or obtain web page, and now we have higher locations to spend our improvement time.”
The developer who’s main the redesign defended the tempo of progress, writing:
“That’s lower than three weeks from design to launch and I’m very pleased with the collaborative work the workforce has been capable of do. The brand new theme is nice. The groups concerned have constructed an impressive theme in file time. I feel individuals will adore it.”
Others additionally posted help for the progress.
Mullenweg criticized the tempo of the redesign:
“33 days since mission kickoff doesn’t really feel fast to me, however I feel it’s price diving deeper into not attempting to show Figma designs right into a theme rapidly (once more although, that needs to be hours not weeks)…”
He subsequent expressed his imaginative and prescient that this needs to be progressing quicker:
“You can think about a world the place as an alternative of taking greater than a month to launch a single design, which means a most charge of below 12 of those we might do in a 12 months, we made 20-30 designs up entrance, ideally with very totally different approaches and replica, and centered our improvement time on measuring the success metrics of every method, then iterated from there.”
He then in contrast the slowness of growing on WordPress to how briskly it’s on SaaS web site builder platforms:
“…On the ‘hours not weeks’ to implement — it’s such a primary format, it’s onerous to think about it taking a single particular person greater than a day on Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, or one of many WP web page builders.”
Lastly, he advised utilizing the prevailing code method:
“So, if we’re simply doing a prettier model of the identical factor, make these adjustments in place with the prevailing code method rapidly and transfer on to one thing greater worth.
If you’re attempting to additional WP itself, you want a basically totally different method.”
Response To Criticism
The response on Twitter ranged from sarcastic digs at WordPress to help for the workforce engaged on the redesign.
The proprietor of WordPress complaining (to his volunteers) {that a} block theme takes too lengthy and they need to simply replace the customized HTML of their present theme… Welcome to the final 5 years of block enhancing @photomatt!https://t.co/mI4zKBnO6T
— Brian Coords (@briancoords) August 11, 2022
33 days from kickoff to launch is fast in any enterprise mission.
— John Locke 🐝 (@Lockedown_) August 11, 2022
Wow. Did Matt simply nuke block themes on the whole? That was very regarding.
— Hendrik Luehrsen (@hluehrsen) August 11, 2022
However some supported Mullenweg:
I gotta say I’m with @photomatt right here. 33 days for a gentle relaunch of two touchdown pages, web page builder or not, is … rather a lot.
I too have used static php/html for load heavy pages. That being stated, devs operating free on their very own, it occurs in each mission. No biggie, me thinks.
— Peter Carqueville (@PCarqueville) August 11, 2022
Is WordPress Inferior To SaaS Web site Builders?
Mullenweg’s remark seemingly reiterated the WordPress imaginative and prescient that improvement needs to be quick and simple.
From that perspective, 33 days to recreate an current design could possibly be seen as lower than supreme.
May it’s that SaaS web site builders like Wix, Duda, and Squarespace have already surpassed WordPress?
Featured picture by Shutterstock/Luis Molinero
