Amazing insight into the evolving landscape of WordPress and its challenges! It's refreshing to hear a comprehensive perspective that covers the experiences of website owners, developers, and web designers. Your commitment to understanding and adapting to these changes, even when they're frustrating, is commendable. Looking forward to the live session with Jonathan Jernigan and your future content. Keep up the great work! 👍🖥
Thanks for the kind words. When I hear developers, freelancers, and agency owners complaining about WordPress in groups I have to force myself to remember that WE are not the target audience for the platform, we are just the people who implement it.
Terrific video, Adam. Very interesting times in the WP world. Looking forward to your videos on FSE vs page builders. I'm still unsure of what can and can't be done with FSE.
I’m actually surprised at how much can be done with FSE and custom blocks. In some (many!) cases it’s harder than with Classic Themes, but haven’t run into any real show stoppers yet. Of course I’ve only created 10’ish or so FSE themes and none of them were truly complicated.
I couldn't agree more with you. I feel the same frustration, as a "designer". Sometimes I think Matt declared war to agencies and developers (all kind of developers...)
It sure feels that way. Of course, I doubt it’s as malicious as that. My guess is that they aren’t hearing from agencies and freelancers, so they are blind to our needs. The large companies, React developer community, and backend dev communities are the ones that are most active in their official channels so they are the ones with the voices. I think Matt even said something similar a week or so ago when he asked that agencies and freelancers take our needs the proper channels instead of just complaining on social media.
@@AdamLoweIOYou are right: "declare war" is too much. "Don't care at all" is a better definition. I am wondering if Matt asked for proper channel and he mean it OR he will just go on fighting Wix and its clones, period. Agencies and developer, part of the WordPress echo system are often competing with each other so it could be difficult to have a proper channel grouping their voices. I still think that on his (Matt's) path there will be many casualties: freelancers, small agencies, big agencies and even big developer companies that, in the last years, did contribuite a lot to the success of WordPress. I hope I am wrong :)
@@PierluigiFerrara I can't believe Matt Mullenweg (and team) has let UI "slip" the way they have, with the actual implementation of blocks and FSE. There are so many things that could be improved usability-wise. That's my own biggest pet-peeve with WP anno 2024.
Adam - its amazing! 🚀I wanna truly thank you for making this for us all. 🙏🙏🙏😊👍🏻You've put a huge amount of time and effort into making it, is so useful! Thanks SO MUCH!!
There are so many missed opportunities for them to improve the user experience. As for this example, I have to imagine it’s difficult for them to decide what to code into the CMS and what to leave to developers to add. For example, a snippet to duplicate posts is only about 70 lines long or it can easily be added as a plug-in from the repository. I’m hoping their “canonical plugin” concept will get implemented and make this better.
@@AdamLoweIO Good to see the return of features like being able to add custom fonts as a native feature in the upcoming Wordpress 6.4. But the amount of simple stuff that requires external plugins sometimes can be frustrating.
Adam - thats just awesome - your vids are very inspiring 😳📷 and each of your vids - is amazingly packed with ideas and tips😍 sensational 👏👏💥 🎆💥🎆 i really love your approach - to say - WordPress is designed for everyone… Just not for us:
I actually did a UA-cam live with Jonathan Jernigan last friday where we discussed this. (ua-cam.com/users/liveRbF54uKQryo?si=arguDfWuTNUMXBHU). -- Long story short, FSE is hard to do with core blocks only and I think Pinegrow is well positioned to create custom blocks to help make Block Themes easier. I've been doing this since WP 5.9 and it's been going well.
Hey Adam, I like your content. John Lydgate - “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.” “designed for everyone.” is like saying anyone can use a hammer. Both are true, but what can you do with that hammer?
“Designed for everyone” may work for simple and tools like a hammer or pencil. It may even work for software like a word processor. But WordPress is complex and specialized software with a relatively narrow use case. I think they’d be much better off my defining their target audience. Of course, doing that doesn’t make for a very catchy marketing phrase.
@@AdamLoweIO Agreed, but another way of looking at it is “Designed for everyone” to do what? I think we are looking at “Designed for everyone” to build websites. But some users just want to add blog posts, testimonials, photos etc.
I feel the complete opposite of the opinion of this video. I thought Gutenberg was trash when it first came out and it confused people because of the classic editor and the UI of the old WordPress but I think in recent updates with full editing they really took it to another level and developers are going to have it a lot easier because they can set up things and then the client won’t screw up the site.
It sounds like we may actually be on the same page. Gutenberg has a lot to offer (React) developers, as you mentioned. And new things like Partially Synced Patterns are going to deliver more options for content editors. It's the web designers, and a lot of small agencies with very front end development experience, who are being left behind by Core WordPress. Thankfully, page builders like Oxygen and Bricks fill that gap so they aren't using end-user tools like Elementor, but WordPress isn't doing much to bridge that gap between designer and developer.
Word press absolute shit for normal people unless ya doing something very very special ya average joe dont need it and not to mention being hacked ..i never ever been hacked by square
I agree with a lot of what you are saying. WordPress tries to position itself as a "friendly" and "approachable" system, especially with all the effort they are putting into the block editor, but it still doesn't come close to the ease of use that platforms like Wix and Squarespace have. That said, WP does have the advantage of being a product where you own your own data and aren't reliant on a SaaS platform. It's also extremely flexible for developers, so chances are that you can buy a plugin or build just about anything you can dream up. But again... that's not something that a "normal person" who just wants a quick website would be able to easily figure out.
Amazing insight into the evolving landscape of WordPress and its challenges! It's refreshing to hear a comprehensive perspective that covers the experiences of website owners, developers, and web designers. Your commitment to understanding and adapting to these changes, even when they're frustrating, is commendable. Looking forward to the live session with Jonathan Jernigan and your future content. Keep up the great work! 👍🖥
Thanks for the kind words. When I hear developers, freelancers, and agency owners complaining about WordPress in groups I have to force myself to remember that WE are not the target audience for the platform, we are just the people who implement it.
This is such a well written and accurate summary of the reason and approach taken by WP in response to market competition. Nicely done 👍
Terrific video, Adam. Very interesting times in the WP world. Looking forward to your videos on FSE vs page builders. I'm still unsure of what can and can't be done with FSE.
I’m actually surprised at how much can be done with FSE and custom blocks. In some (many!) cases it’s harder than with Classic Themes, but haven’t run into any real show stoppers yet. Of course I’ve only created 10’ish or so FSE themes and none of them were truly complicated.
I couldn't agree more with you. I feel the same frustration, as a "designer". Sometimes I think Matt declared war to agencies and developers (all kind of developers...)
It sure feels that way. Of course, I doubt it’s as malicious as that. My guess is that they aren’t hearing from agencies and freelancers, so they are blind to our needs. The large companies, React developer community, and backend dev communities are the ones that are most active in their official channels so they are the ones with the voices. I think Matt even said something similar a week or so ago when he asked that agencies and freelancers take our needs the proper channels instead of just complaining on social media.
@@AdamLoweIOYou are right: "declare war" is too much. "Don't care at all" is a better definition. I am wondering if Matt asked for proper channel and he mean it OR he will just go on fighting Wix and its clones, period.
Agencies and developer, part of the WordPress echo system are often competing with each other so it could be difficult to have a proper channel grouping their voices.
I still think that on his (Matt's) path there will be many casualties: freelancers, small agencies, big agencies and even big developer companies that, in the last years, did contribuite a lot to the success of WordPress.
I hope I am wrong :)
@@PierluigiFerrara I can't believe Matt Mullenweg (and team) has let UI "slip" the way they have, with the actual implementation of blocks and FSE. There are so many things that could be improved usability-wise.
That's my own biggest pet-peeve with WP anno 2024.
Really great video - frustratingly accurate, as well!
Adam - its amazing! 🚀I wanna truly thank you for making this for us all. 🙏🙏🙏😊👍🏻You've put a huge amount of time and effort into making it, is so useful! Thanks SO MUCH!!
Thank you so much, Martin. It takes a lot of time and effort, so I really appreciate the feedback.
Nice summary. Will be join to the session as well.
2023 we still don't have a native feature to duplicate/clone a post in WordPress.
There are so many missed opportunities for them to improve the user experience.
As for this example, I have to imagine it’s difficult for them to decide what to code into the CMS and what to leave to developers to add. For example, a snippet to duplicate posts is only about 70 lines long or it can easily be added as a plug-in from the repository. I’m hoping their “canonical plugin” concept will get implemented and make this better.
@@AdamLoweIO Good to see the return of features like being able to add custom fonts as a native feature in the upcoming Wordpress 6.4. But the amount of simple stuff that requires external plugins sometimes can be frustrating.
Agreed 100%
Adam - thats just awesome - your vids are very inspiring 😳📷 and each of your vids - is amazingly packed with ideas and tips😍 sensational 👏👏💥 🎆💥🎆
i really love your approach - to say - WordPress is designed for everyone… Just not for us:
What do think about pinegrow and WP in the near future? I mean once WP goes FSE...
I actually did a UA-cam live with Jonathan Jernigan last friday where we discussed this. (ua-cam.com/users/liveRbF54uKQryo?si=arguDfWuTNUMXBHU). -- Long story short, FSE is hard to do with core blocks only and I think Pinegrow is well positioned to create custom blocks to help make Block Themes easier. I've been doing this since WP 5.9 and it's been going well.
Interesting perspective!
Hey Adam, I like your content.
John Lydgate - “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.”
“designed for everyone.” is like saying anyone can use a hammer. Both are true, but what can you do with that hammer?
“Designed for everyone” may work for simple and tools like a hammer or pencil. It may even work for software like a word processor. But WordPress is complex and specialized software with a relatively narrow use case. I think they’d be much better off my defining their target audience. Of course, doing that doesn’t make for a very catchy marketing phrase.
@@AdamLoweIO Agreed, but another way of looking at it is “Designed for everyone” to do what?
I think we are looking at “Designed for everyone” to build websites. But some users just want to add blog posts, testimonials, photos etc.
Yeah, the "designed for everyone" thing is a genius marketing message, isn't it?
Truly good job!
I feel the complete opposite of the opinion of this video. I thought Gutenberg was trash when it first came out and it confused people because of the classic editor and the UI of the old WordPress but I think in recent updates with full editing they really took it to another level and developers are going to have it a lot easier because they can set up things and then the client won’t screw up the site.
It sounds like we may actually be on the same page. Gutenberg has a lot to offer (React) developers, as you mentioned. And new things like Partially Synced Patterns are going to deliver more options for content editors. It's the web designers, and a lot of small agencies with very front end development experience, who are being left behind by Core WordPress. Thankfully, page builders like Oxygen and Bricks fill that gap so they aren't using end-user tools like Elementor, but WordPress isn't doing much to bridge that gap between designer and developer.
Subscribed. Useful video.
Agreed!
i wanted to put 100 likes on that one !
Word press absolute shit for normal people unless ya doing something very very special ya average joe dont need it and not to mention being hacked ..i never ever been hacked by square
I agree with a lot of what you are saying. WordPress tries to position itself as a "friendly" and "approachable" system, especially with all the effort they are putting into the block editor, but it still doesn't come close to the ease of use that platforms like Wix and Squarespace have. That said, WP does have the advantage of being a product where you own your own data and aren't reliant on a SaaS platform. It's also extremely flexible for developers, so chances are that you can buy a plugin or build just about anything you can dream up. But again... that's not something that a "normal person" who just wants a quick website would be able to easily figure out.