Last week, Riad Benguella, an influential WordPress developer, reached out to the community on Bluesky to ask about their “quick win” wishlist for the Gutenberg block editor. He sought straightforward improvements rather than complete overhauls, leading to an overwhelming response from developers who shared insights and suggestions for enhancing the editor’s functionality.

In this recap, I will summarize the suggestions made, focusing on those associated with existing GitHub issues and highlighting five particularly interesting features. Finally, I will address suggestions that were mentioned without linked GitHub issues.

Suggested features with related GitHub issues

Approximately 18 suggestions were made in total, with around 11 of them connected to existing GitHub issues. While some suggestions were closely related, the prominent requests included:

• Organizing pattern files in sub-folders
• Adding theme.json presets for Border Radius
• Allowing block instance custom CSS
• Fixing full-width template displays in post editors
• Enabling HTML tag changes in the Separator block
• Allowing columns to stack in mobile view
• Introducing an “Additional CSS Class” field in the link inserter
• Improving the Table block with merge/unmerge cells functionality
• Exploring options to hide blocks in List View
• Enabling filterable and sortable tables
• Adding min and max width settings for responsive columns

My personal favorite suggestions

Among the many suggestions, five caught my eye for their potential impact:

1. Border radius presets in theme.jsonA pull request is already in progress for this feature, which would allow developers to define standard rounded corner sizes in themes. UI challenges remain, ensuring intuitive controls.

2. Reopen discussions on link CSS classesDevelopers have long missed the ability to add CSS classes to inline links from the classic editor. This feature is under review again, sparking positive anticipation.

3. Table block improvementsThe ability to merge cells in the Table block is a longstanding community request that remains unaddressed. While basic functionality for pasted content exists, substantial development is needed for seamless merging directly in WordPress.

4. Pattern organization through subfoldersA pull request under review would enhance organization by allowing patterns to be sorted into subfolders, an exciting development for theme developers.

5. Block-specific custom CSS controlsDiscussion is ongoing regarding how to implement custom CSS for individual blocks while balancing content maintainability and customization options.

The non-Git suggestions

In addition to the GitHub-related suggestions, several noteworthy ideas emerged without associated issues:

• Default styling opt-out: A suggestion was made to allow blocks to opt out of inherent default styling, with Riad committing to create a GitHub issue for it.

• Column background opacity and gradient controls: This suggestion focused on refined design controls, though it did not receive a formal response.

• SlotFill for dashboard icons: A request for a SlotFill in the Site Editor’s dashboard icon was noted but received limited follow-up.

• Block style variations with settings: While confirming existing related issues, Riad shared a workaround for adding styling features through packs.

• Synced patterns from plugins and themes: An acknowledgment of this request indicated ongoing considerations but advised that it’s a complex feature requiring time.

• Shortcode block registration: A developer’s suggestion related to giving existing shortcodes clearer attributes was unintentionally overlooked, making it a potential area for future discussion.

• View site functionality in the full site editor: There’s a noted inconsistency in navigation between the block editor and the full site editor concerning the “View site” links, leading to discussions around user expectations versus technical architecture.

Final thoughts

The engagement from the WordPress community during this chat highlights their enthusiasm for enhancing the platform. Many suggestions may seem small individually, yet collectively they represent a commitment to continuous improvement of Gutenberg.

Are you a WordPress developer? What features would you like to see implemented in the WordPress core? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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