We’ve been talking about the WordPress 5 Gutenberg release. Well options to begin implementing aspects of the inevitable WordPress 5.0 software are available with the new 4.9.8 release.

After a few delays, WordPress 4.9.8 was released on 8/2/2018. This release includes the option to add the Gutenberg editor, and it provides a very enticing button to do just that:

Our recommendation is that you do NOT press the shiny “Install Gutenberg” button unless you have tested your site and know exactly what you are getting into. 99.9% of sites will not have had the chance to fully test since it was essentially just released in this format.

The screen they show you can be confusing at first, as it makes it look like you have to do something right away, you in fact do not need to do anything and you can safely hit dismiss and use WordPress normally. You will eventually need to take action but for right now, simply ignore both Gutenberg and the Classic Editor plugins. We recommend the following strategy, and we will be working with our clients to ensure that this path is taken:

1. Update to WordPress 4.9.8 following your standard update procedures, and dismiss the message shown above.
2. Install and activate Gutenberg in a testing environment and review the changes it makes. The primary goal initially is to make sure that Gutenberg does not break your site.
3. If no issues are encountered, move on to step 5.
4. If Gutenberg breaks your site, then identify what breaks and develop a plan to address the issues as quickly as possible.
5. If Gutenberg does not break your site, get familiar with the way it works in your testing environment and when you are comfortable, install and enable it on your live site.

We will be working with all of our clients to help ensure a seamless conversion to WordPress 5.0 and Gutenberg. We are looking forward to all of the new features and functionality that are on the way, but need to make certain that people take a methodical approach when rolling it out. The changes really are very very significant.

To get a look at the features check out the WordPress.org site

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