Celebrating 1,000 Block Themes in the themes repository!

I’m happy to share news about a major milestone in the WordPress community: the addition of 1,000 block themes in the themes repository. This showcases the growing popularity of 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.-based design and empowering theme authors.

The Rise of Block Themes

The first block theme to go live was Armando, crafted by Carolina Nymark (@poena).

As of October 22, 2023, there are 536 block themes live, and since January 1, 2024, that number has risen by an impressive 457. This rapid growth reflects the community’s enthusiasm for block-based design, making it easier than ever to create unique, tailored experiences online.

Celebrating Top Theme Authors

The achievement of 1,000 block themes would not be possible without the dedicated efforts of talented theme authors. Here are the top 10 contributors to the WordPress theme ecosystem:

  1. Automattic – 116 themes
  2. Creta Themes – 41 themes
  3. VW Themes – 39 themes
  4. WPRadiant – 35 themes
  5. pewilliams – 34 themes
  6. CozyThemes – 32 themes
  7. CodeYatri – 30 themes
  8. Catch Themes – 29 themes
  9. Superb Addons – 28 themes
  10. themegrovewp – 27 themes

These authors have played a crucial role in expanding the block theme landscape, offering users a diverse array of styles and functionalities to choose from.

What’s Next for Block Themes?

The themes team would like to see more block themes. We expect an influx of innovative designs and functionalities. Whether you’re a developer, designer, or site owner, the potential of block themes offers exciting opportunities for creativity and customization.

We encourage everyone to dive into the themes repository and explore the vast selection of block themes available. Whether you’re starting a new project or looking to refresh an existing site, there’s a block theme waiting for you.

Join the Celebration!

If you have your favourite block theme, comment below. Or if you’re building any block theme and planning to submit in the WordPress themes repository, we also love to listen to that. Comment down below.

Happy WordPressing!

Thank you @acosmin for collecting the data and reviewing the post.

#block-themes, #block-based-themes, #full-site-editing, #themes-team

Themes team meeting agenda for September 10, 2024

The Themes Team holds meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays every month. For this month, the first meeting is set to take place on September 10.

Meeting Details:

(You need WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. and you need an account to participate. View here how to make a WordPress Slack account.)

Alongside the scheduled agendas, we dedicate time at the end of each meeting for an open floor session, where you are invited to ask questions or share any themes-related updates.

We strongly encourage all members and anyone interested in the themes to join in. If there are specific topics you’d like to see included in the agenda, please don’t hesitate to add them in the comment section below.

Meeting Agendas

  1. Weekly updates
  2. Update 4 letters for min prefix length
  3. Twenty Twenty-Five theme development
  4. WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. US 2024
  5. Open Floor

I am looking forward to seeing you at the meeting!

#agenda, #meeting, #themes-team

Proposal: changes to the themes team

https://make.wordpress.org/themes/ states:

“The primary focus of the team is to help theme authors transition to 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.-based themes.”

Let’s bring that in with the description of what the team does and their priorities.

The current issues:

  • The name of the team’s SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel doesn’t fit anymore: the team is no longer called the Themes Review team, but the slack channel is still called #themereview. This creates confusion for contributors, especially in the context of contributor days and general onboarding.
  • Team competencies have expanded: so far, the main task of the team members has been reviews. With the advent of block themes, the queues have become much shorter, and not many reviewers are needed anymore. Some team members have moved on to participate in theme-related tasks such as creating new default themes, helping maintain past default themes, and also contributing to community themes. Some have created patterns or even moved to focus on easing the gap between classic and block themes with work in the editor itself. All of this combines to focus on helping those creating themes move and grow in using block themes.
  • The need for visibility of an expanded team: If the team’s competencies expand, onboarding new theme members allows for a greater diversity of profiles. We want to collaborate closer with the design team, coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. editor team and empower designers to collaborate and contribute.

What now?

The next steps we recommend are:

  • Rename Slack channel to #themes.
  • Meetings:
    • Continue to have a team meeting focused on theme reviews. This remains an opportunity for theme authors to ask questions about submitting their themes.
    • Begin to have a weekly bug scrub for default themes on Monday afternoons at 14:00 BST.
  • Team reporting:
    • The team will continue to report stats on the number of submitted and closed themes, reviews, and emails…
    • Default theme stats will be reported each month at the end of the month.
  • Team reps:
    • Team reps don’t need to cover all the new areas of focus of the team, but hopefully, this change will encourage people from outside the scope of reviews to volunteer as representatives in the future
  • Encourage contribution days to have theme tables to embrace this new focus.
  • Update the team handbook to reflect the changes.

Let’s discuss this proposal and see what the rest of the missing pieces here are.

This post was a collaborative effort of @acosmin @poena @kafleg @luminuu @desrosj @shivashankerbhatta @karmatosed @onemaggie

Props @chanthaboune for pre-publish review.

Themes team meeting agenda for April 23, 2024

The themes team convenes on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. The second meeting for this month is scheduled for April 23.

The meeting takes place in the #themereview channel on WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. and you need an account to participate.

Channel: #themereview | Time: Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 15:00 UTC

In addition to the predetermined agendas, we allocate time at the end for an open floor session where you are welcome to ask questions or share any themes-related information.

We highly encourage all members, as well as anyone with an interest, to participate. If you have specific agenda items you would like to include, please feel free to add them in the comment section below.

Meeting Agendas

  • Weekly updates
  • Bug scrub session on bundled themes
  • Open Floor

I am looking forward to seeing you at the meeting!

#agenda, #meeting, #themes-team

Themes team meeting agenda for April 09, 2024

The themes team convenes on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. The first meeting for this month is scheduled for April 09.

The meeting takes place in the #themereview channel on WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. and you need an account to participate.

Channel: #themereview | Time: Tuesday, April 09, 2024, 15:00 UTC

In addition to the predetermined agendas, we allocate time at the end for an open floor session where you are welcome to ask questions or share any themes-related information.

We highly encourage all members, as well as anyone with an interest, to participate. If you have specific agenda items you would like to include, please feel free to add them in the comment section below.

Meeting Agendas

  • Weekly updates
  • Open Floor

I am looking forward to seeing you at the meeting!

#agenda, #meeting, #themes-team