Last week we opened up limited access to a revolutionary array of new site editing tools that will transform how you create, edit, and update the look and feel of your WordPress.com website by leveraging easy-to-use drag and drop functionality.
Today we’re excited to announce that the wait is over. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling these new tools out to all of our customers. Here’s what that means for you.
Exciting Features Included in This Release
List view for dragging and dropping your content
Until now, you’ve been able to create and customize the key content on your posts and pages by dragging and dropping blocks into any arrangement and style you can think of.
Full Site Editing takes that same idea a giant leap further.
The headers, footers, menus, and other elements of the page previously only editable behind the scenes are now at your complete control via the block editor you’re already used to using. That means you can drag, drop, and visually edit any and all parts of your site without a line of code or an admin dashboard in sight.
Any page, any post, any way
With the new Site Editor, you’ll also be able to take total control of the look and feel of specific page templates. From your home page to individual posts, your 404 page to your blog archive, FSE gives you quick, granular control of the design of each and every element of your site.
Instant visual feedback
Speaking of granular control, the integrated Styles tool gives you an easy-access way to make subtle or site-wide changes using an intuitive suite of visual design tools. From your global color palette to fine-tuning your typography, building out a beautiful, consistent look and feel is now an instantaneous, hands-on experience.
What this means for you
You’ll be pleased to hear that you don’t need to take any action at all, whether you have an existing site or are about to create a new one. You’ll be able to continue editing your site in exactly the same way you always have by choosing not to use the new block themes.
For new sites
In the coming days, all new sites will give you the chance to choose a theme that takes full advantage of the new Full Site Editing experience. We’ll be rolling out new resources, guides, and help docs to get you up to speed, fast.
For existing sites
Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out the ability to switch your existing site over to a theme that will give you access to these features. This won’t be automatically switched, so watch out for an announcement and the details on how to access these new tools.
The WordPress.com advantage
If you follow the wider Open Source WordPress project, you might have heard of ‘releases’ or ‘versions’ of WordPress. Full Site Editing incorporates the tools and features added to WordPress in the latest release, WordPress 5.9, which went out on January 25th.
As the fastest WordPress managed hosting provider on the planet, WordPress.com includes everything you’d expect from WordPress 5.9 hosted elsewhere, with blazing fast site speeds and specialized integration into our platform to help ensure that all of our users have a great first experience with these exciting new features from day one. We’d love to hear what you think of the new experience and are always on hand to answer any questions you have as you make the switch.
Ready to get started?
We’re dedicated to helping you get the most out of the new Site Editor experience.
If you’re eager to get started, you might find these extra resources a great next step:
- Check out a great overview of Full Site Editing in action in the official WordPress 5.9 intro video
- Keep an eye out for our upcoming webinars on Full Site Editing.
- Check out some of the detailed deep-dive content in our support docs.
