Hallway Hangout: Extending blocks with custom design tools

In a few weeks, @greenshady and I will host a casual conversation about how you can create custom design tools for blocks from a theming perspective.

Based on Justin’s latest article series for the WordPress Developer Blog, you will learn when to move beyond the BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Styles APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. and create your own custom controls, such as an emoji-based icon picker for the Separator block!

We will also discuss the current limitations of theme development and how block development can be used to extend block themes.

If you’re interested in joining, the Hallway Hangout will happen on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at 1:00 PM CST (18:00 UTC). The meeting link will be shared through the Learn WordPress MeetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area. group. RSVP for the event to access the link. Everyone is welcome, but if you have begun building block themes for clients or are interested in block theming, this session is especially for you.

Recording

Notes

The Hallway Hangout was attended by 44 community members, including facilitators @ndiego and @greenshady. 

Justin gave a presentation on his “Beyond Block Styles” article series, followed by a brief Q&A. Questions were asked and answered throughout. The following resources were shared during the event:

• Part 1:
  • Beyond block styles, part 1: using the WordPress scripts package with themes
  • Scripts Package
• Part 2:
  • Beyond block styles, part 1: using the WordPress scripts package with themes
  • Block Styles API
• Part 3:
  • Beyond block styles, part 3: building custom design tools
  • Block Edit Filter Hook
• The complete tutorial series 
• The GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ repository for the tutorial series
• Justin’s personal WordPress theme, where he experiments with custom functionality
• The Curating the Editor experience with client-side filters article contains code snippets that can help you target specific blocks and implement functionality based on user capabilities.
• The link to learn more about Contributor Day at WCUS
• The WordPress 6.3 release page

Props to @greenshady for review.

#block-based-themes, #hallway-hangout