You would think that the WordPress group would listen to their users, but they are not. Ignore the community at your peril WordPress.
If you don’t know, you are reading this blog using the WordPress open-source software. I have been using it for years.
Matt Mullenweg introduced the Gutenberg editor to us in June 2017. It changes how we compose our blog. I hate it. But since 2018 they have made it the default editor, making the “Classic Editor” a plugin.
There are “5+ Million Active Installations” of the “Classic Editor.” This means that many if not most of the WordPress community, don’t like the Gutenberg Editor.
But do you think that Matt Mullenweg and the team are rethinking their choice? No way, they are doubling down on their “block” headedness (pun intended).
In the newest update, they have now taken away “Classic Widgets” in WordPress and replaced it with a “Block-Based Widgets Editor.” And again, I hate it.
In order to get back your “Classic Widgets,” you have to install a plugin created “By WordPress Contributors.” This is the official plugin. It already has “50,000+ Active Installations.”
ClassicPress
Now here is the kicker. Both the Classic Editor plugin and the Classic Widgets plugin “will be supported and maintained until at least 2022.” After that, who knows? It will either be up to the community to support the plugins, or it will be time to move to a new blogging platform.
Is there another blogging platform with all of the features of the old WordPress? Yes, there is one that was just launched. It is called ClassicPress. Their website says, “Love the simplicity of the WordPress classic editor? So do we. With the familiarity that the classic editor and ClassicPress provide, you can easily create a solution that meets your needs.”
I am not ready to make the leap, but I am thinking about it and watching the ongoing development of ClassicPress. Maybe they can scar WordPress into doing the right thing.