Over the past few months, I’ve been diving deep into what people really think about WordPress’ block editor – Gutenberg.
I thought this was going to be a fun project.
I analyzed over 340 opinions from platforms like Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and WordPress.org. I also spoke with developers, colleagues, and other professionals in the WordPress community to get a well-rounded perspective.
The goal was to understand how people feel about the block editor in 2024. When it first launched at WordCamp Europe in 2017, the initial reaction was curiosity, which quickly turned into disappointment. That reputation has been hard to shake ever since. However, I’m noticing a slight shift.
For instance, take this chart:
What it shows is the ratio of 1-star to 5-star reviews over time for the standalone Gutenberg plugin.
As you can see, we were really close – really close(!) – to a tipping point, but negative reviews have started creeping up again.
So, is the block editor actually improving, or are users starting to get frustrated again?
Depending on how deep you want to go, I have two choices for you:
💪 “I’m interested in the whole thing! I want to see all the opinions, plus the potential implications for the WordPress ecosystem as we know it.” → Go to the main post on Themeisle
🤩 “I just want a compilation of some interesting/ridiculous/insightful/surprising comments.” → Keep reading
Now, the chart I showed above tells just part of the story. While the percentage ratio of negative to positive opinions is what it is, it’s also important to note that Gutenberg has been getting significantly fewer reviews each year. In 2024, for example, only 37 reviews have been added so far (eight months into the year at the time of writing).
Given that early reviews came in much larger numbers, it’s difficult to say with confidence whether the WordPress community has been enjoying Gutenberg more (or less) over time. What we can say for sure, though, is that people aren’t any less passionate about it.
🤩 Here are some of the most interesting opinions I found (according to my subjective assessment).
