{"id":31416,"date":"2023-11-02T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhblog.dream.press\/blog\/?p=31416"},"modified":"2025-05-21T18:23:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T01:23:18","slug":"wordpress-full-site-editing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-full-site-editing\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Complete Guide to WordPress Full-Site Editing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Customizing your WordPress<\/a> website\u2019s appearance is one of the best ways to control your site\u2019s image and tailor it to your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And today, it\u2019s more customizable than ever thanks to a (relatively) new feature set known as Full Site Editing (FSE). The new official name is Site Editor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this introduction brought with it a completely new interface to master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who haven\u2019t yet made the switch to using FSE, we\u2019re happy to report the updates are pretty user-friendly and incredibly useful \u2013 That\u2019s not to say it won\u2019t take you some time to familiarize yourself with everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll help you do that by taking a closer look at WordPress FSE, including what it entails, why it\u2019s such a big deal, how to make the switch, and how to use it to create or update your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Full Site Editing In WordPress?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Full site editing is a feature set in WordPress that includes several tools to make the design process easier for site owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among these tools is the Site Editor, which functions like that of the block editor (aka Gutenberg editor), which was its precursor and with which you may already be familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using this new Site Editor, you can use drag-and-drop blocks to customize most parts of your site from a single interface, including page templates. This is an upgrade from the former multi-step process that required you to bounce all over WordPress to customize your site and even occasionally write CSS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Gutenberg<\/h3>\n

Gutenberg is the name for the Block Editor project in WordPress. A lot of WordPress developers and enthusiasts use the terms Gutenberg Editor and Block Editor interchangeably.<\/p>\n \n Read More <\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll soon dig into how you can start using FSE and taking advantage of some of its best components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, some background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FSE was the second phase of WordPress\u2019 Gutenberg project<\/a> and was released in WordPress version 5.9<\/a> in early 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first phase was the block editor<\/a>, which launched with the WordPress 5.0 update<\/a> in 2018. It introduced the concept of using blocks to design the layout of your blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about the Four Phases of Gutenberg in the WordPress Roadmap<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The block editor uses segments called Gutenberg blocks. These blocks refer to units of markup with different functions. With each block, you can insert new elements into your posts, such as paragraphs, headings, images, lists, and videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With FSE and an updated block-based theme<\/a>, Customizer is replaced, and the Site Editor builds upon the block functionality and makes it applicable to your wider site, not just your content. This enables you to customize more aspects of your site\u2019s appearance and layout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when you\u2019re using FSE, you will be able to use blocks in your site\u2019s template and change its overall layout. Additionally, FSE will enable the application of global styles<\/a> that you can use to create design rules across multiple pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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