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WP Gutenberg Development Tutorial

Learn how to make a custom Gutenberg block from scratch!

This is a working WordPress plugin. You can activate it on your site and test it.

We made three versions of each chapter:

  1. Plain JS - No compilation needed and only using Gutenberg library.
  2. JS with HTM - No compilation needed but using HTM Library to write React template with string concatenation.
  3. JSX - need to compile using node packages.

This tutorial is sponsored by wpTips.dev - WordPress tutorials for developer.

Differences Between Versions

The main difference is how you write the React template. Here's an overview of each:

Plain JS:

const el = window.wp.element.createElement;
const { RichText } = window.wp.blockEditor;

return (
  el(RichText, {
    tagName:"h2",
    value: atts.content,
  })
);

JS with HTM:

const html = window.htm.bind(window.wp.element.createElement);
const { RichText } = window.wp.blockEditor;

return html`
  <${RichText}
    tagName="h2"
    value=${atts.content}
  />
`;

JSX:

import { RichText } from '@wordpress/block-editor';

return (
  <RichText
    tagName="h2"
    value={atts.content}
  />
);

Which One is the Best?

In my opinion, the choice is either HTM or JSX. Plain JS is a mess when you have lots of elements.

Here are the pros and cons of them:

HTM:

  • (Pro) Easier to get started. Doesn't need to install any additional software.
  • (Con) Harder to debug since the error console can't detect which line is problematic.
  • (Con) Harder to find information online since most of them are using JSX.

JSX:

  • (Pro) Simpler, cleaner, and lighter (minified) code.
  • (Pro) Can support older browser after compiled.
  • (Pro) More commonly used in Gutenberg community compared to ES5.
  • (Con) Can take a while to setup, especially if you're not familiar with NPM.

In conclusion, it's about speed and scale of the project.

How to Compile JSX

  1. Download and Install NodeJS.

  2. Open command prompt / terminal in this directory and run the command npm install.

  3. During development, run the command npm run dev to automatically recompile everytime we save any changes.

  4. After finished developing, run the command npm run build to minimize the compiled code.

Enqueuing HTM Library

If you want to use HTM, don't forget to enqueue the library. You can find it in /dist/htm.js.

add_action('enqueue_block_editor_assets', 'my_enqueue_htm');

function my_enqueue_htm() {
  $dir = get_stylesheet_directory_uri();
  wp_enqueue_script('htm', $dir . '/js/htm.js', [] , null, true);
}

Table of Content

  • Tutorial 0 - JavaScript ES5 Syntax (Optional)

    If you are not too familiar with the new JavaScript syntax, start here.

  • Tutorial 01 - Single Field

    Create a block containing a single input field with rich formatting.

  • Tutorial 02 - Multiple Fields

    Make a block for Cooking Recipe with 4 fields: Title, Image, Ingredients, and Steps.

  • Tutorial 03 - Custom Toolbar

    Learn how to add custom buttons into the Toolbar.

  • Tutorial 04 - Custom Sidebar (Inspector)

    Learn about adding field and buttons into the Sidebar.

  • Tutorial 04b - More Inspector Controls

    Learn about various type of built-in controls:

  • Tutorial 05 - Nested Blocks

    Create a block containing Heading, Paragraph, and Image blocks by default.

  • Tutorial 06 - Dynamic Block

    Create a block to show latest X posts of selected category.

  • Tutorial 06b - Static to Dynamic

    Transform the Cooking Recipe from Tutorial 02 into dynamic block.

  • Tutorial 07 - Link Popup

    Create a Popup to add link

If you spot a mistake or want to request a topic, let me know in Issues

Learn more about Wordpress at our tutorial site: wpTips.dev