Hello there. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?!
I’m long overdue for a post and it’s not for lack of topics or stories, but quite the opposite. Much has taken place since my last post, in which I attempted to revive the blog. The dilemma arises from choosing what to relay here! But let’s get on with it, shall we?
The most obvious choice of topics would be the current state of the site. Yes, Matt and WP have SOTW. I have SOTS. So let’s break down what is going on here!
In short, I’ve converted QuiteVisible from a hybrid theme over to a block theme. More specifically, a Full Site Editing (FSE) theme.
What exactly does that mean?
The End of The Beginning
I won’t go into any great explanation about my past relationship with the Genesis framework except to say that I loved it ,and that it helped feed the kids and put a roof over our heads.
But the times they are a changin’ and so is the WordPress ecosystem.
Knowing that WordPress was moving full steam ahead with Gutenberg and block-based web design, I wanted to get out in front of that as well, but was reluctant to abandon the Genesis project. Now, to be completely honest here, my strong sentiments about StudioPress and Genesis wasn’t all irrational exuberance.
I had, in fact, previously purchased a lifetime developer’s license that entitled me to all premium themes + plugins past and future for eternity and beyond. I was determined to milk that for all it was worth.
Problem was, that I quickly learned Genesis as I knew it was pretty much gone.
Maybe a New Beginning?
What I did find, and start to rebuild on, was the Genesis Block Theme. While the theme does indeed utilize blocks and patterns to put the site together, it retains the file structure of traditional themes. Meaning that the theme.json and html template system is not yet in use.
This is also evident from the absence of the site editor when Genesis Block Theme is active.
Whether or not StudioPress will actually develop the Genesis Block Theme into an FSE theme remains to be seen. The theme’s home site indicates that it will, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Frost is going to be the flagship FSE theme for WPEngine/StudioPress moving forward.
A Frosty welcome
This now brings us to where we are: converting QuiteVisible into an FSE site using Frost.
Prior to moving forward with the change(s), I had just finished building out a Woo site from the ground up using the Frost theme. Many lessons were learned and would be applied to the rebuild.
One of the things that occurred to me towards the end of the SSC site build was not necessarily needing the Genesis Blocks plugin. But blocks like the Advanced Columns block and Container block still proved useful, so it will remain in the toolbox for the time being.
But saying goodbye in general to Genesis, just seems inevitable.
Jetting Into The Future
There is definitely more to share about what I learned in the process. But I will post those on another site that seems more appropriate for the subject matter.
In closing, I do want to mention one of the plugins that has really become an anchor in recent site builds. It’s not new, and one that I’ve utilized, albeit sparingly, in the past. And that is Jetpack.
Jetpack has put together a suite of tools that I have come to value, the more I use them on sites. The JetpackCRM module in particular seems more robust, the more I use it. And that’s just the free version.
Other tools finding their way into my regular workflow and worth a mention are:
I’m Just Getting Started
And there you have it! A quick rundown of what’s going on with the site. No doubt, the endless tweaking will continue, but I’m happy to say that we should be a bit settled into a solid foundation for some time.