The introduction of the Gutenberg block editor has been the single biggest change in the WordPress ecosystem in recent years, if not ever. It gives unprecedented powers and possibilities to users and editors, especially when it comes to easily styling and editing more complex content.
But with great power comes great responsibility. While having all these freedoms is great for most people there also is another side to it: Out of the box the editing interface has become way more complex, keeping content editing simple and separate from design decisions has become more difficult while new ways of shooting your own foot have appeared. Since the editor is still under heavy development the last year has been an uphill struggle for those looking for a more slimmed down, personalized editing experience.
So what can we do about it when building WordPress sites? We’ll have a look at what options there are to configure, change, reduce or remove features of the editor to simplify the editing experience according to your particular needs. All in the name of re-calibrating the balance between features, complexity, freedom and ease of use.