What is Gutenberg in WordPress 5.0?

Gutenberg in WP 5 is a the new post / page editor. This is a visual editor that replaces the traditional post / page editing experience, and it’s going to completely change the way you use WordPress (for better or worse).

Other changes are coming in WP 5.0 as well, such as the new Twenty Nineteen theme and a variety of other bug fixes. However, for anyone that runs a website using WordPress, the important part that you need to know about is the new Gutenberg editor.

WordPress has released a handbook for the new Gutenberg editor that you can read here: WordPress 5.0 Gutenberg Handbook

Why is it a big deal if my site automatically updates to WP 5.0?

If your site is not prepared for the 5.0 update and it automatically upgrades on it’s own (which most hosting accounts are configured to do), it can potentially cause irreversible damages to your site. The reason why is that version 5 and specifically the Gutenberg editor is going to break a lot of existing themes and plugins that you currently use on your websites.

Once that update happens, if you use a theme or plugins that are not compatible, it can potentially cause all kinds of issues with your site. Once WordPress updates to the Gutenberg editor, you will not be able to undo those changes either, which is why it is critical to take action before this update happens to ensure your sites are safe.

In addition to that, there are new features with Gutenberg that will likely add content to your live website without you doing anything. Nobody likes waking up to see that their live websites have changed on their own, but that is exactly what is going to happen to all WordPress site owners on November 19th if they do not take action immediately.

Website Hosting matters with WordPress 5.0 Coming

Unfortunately, a lot of website hosts are not aware that WP 5.0 and Gutenberg are coming. They’re also not aware that this update can cause irreversible changes and potential damage to all WordPress sites if they are not properly prepared.

If you haven’t heard anything from your web host yet about this change and are concerned about what it could do to your sites, Iron Ally Hosting can help.

Iron Ally is 100% prepared for the upcoming Gutenberg update:

  • All automatic major version updates for WordPress are disabled.
  • All accounts will be automatically backed up on November 18th to be safe. In the event that anything goes wrong on your sites, Iron Ally can completely revert those changes for you.

If you join Iron Ally Hosting before 11:59pm EST on November 14, 2018, we can migrate your websites to our servers BEFORE WordPress 5.0 comes out to ensure your sites are protected too.

Sign up for Iron Ally Hosting through the page below to take advantage of our huge Black Friday discount (the discounted rate is locked in for future account renewals too):

» Protect Your WordPress Sites with Iron Ally Hosting

What to do BEFORE November 19, 2018

You need to make a decision for each of your WordPress sites and take action before November 19th (make sure it’s done by the 18th to be safe). You need to decide if you want to allow your sites to update to version 5.0 or not. You also need to decide if you want to use Gutenberg if you’re going to update to version 5.0.

Ultimately, if you have use a theme or ANY plugins that make changes to the WordPress editor and/or your live page content, you should NOT use WordPress 5.0 to be safe and if you do use it, do NOT use Gutenberg.

In all cases, unless you are using Iron Ally Hosting, you should make a backup of all of your websites before November 19th to be safe. This is the ONLY way to revert WordPress 5.0 upgrade changes after they happen, so this is the ONLY 100% guaranteed way to protect your sites.

If You Do NOT Want WordPress 5.0

1. Never manually update WordPress (Dashboard -> Updates).

2. Ensure automatic major version updates are disabled on your hosting account for all WordPress installations. The exact instructions vary from one hosting company to the next (if you are using Iron Ally Hosting, the major version updates are disabled for you so you do not have to worry about it). If your host uses Softaculous, you have to visit the listing of WP installations, edit the details for each site and manually uncheck the box for major version upgrades.

If You Want WordPress 5.0 without Gutenberg:

1. In WordPress, go to Plugins -> Add New. Search for the ‘Classic Editor’ plugin and install and activate it. This disables Gutenberg when your site updates to version 5.0. However, this adds a setting to the Settings -> Writing page in WordPress for the classic editor – if this setting gets changed to enable the ‘Block editor’, the Gutenberg will get enabled anyways (just leave the setting alone).

2. After that plugin is installed, you can manually update to WordPress 5.0 or allow the automatic update to occur on November 19th.

If You Want WordPress 5.0 with Gutenberg:

1. You have to ensure that the theme and all plugins you are using on the site are updated to a new version that is stated to be compatible with WordPress 5.0. If any of your site software isn’t compatible, you should avoid this update (you could make a backup of your sites and attempt it anyways to see what happens, since you roll back the site with the backup).

2. Starting on Nov 19, 2018, you can manually update to 5.0 or allow the automatic update to happen if it is enabled on your hosting account.

UPDATE
WordPress has announced that they are pushing back the release of 5.0 until November 27, 2018, so this gives you a little more time!

Don’t Want to Worry About WordPress 5.0?

Just join Iron Ally Hosting before 11:59pm EST on November 14, 2018 and we can migrate your hosting account before 5.0 and Gutenberg releases. As an Iron Ally Hosting customer, we guarantee your websites will be safe from this update and will fix your sites for you if anything goes wrong.

Even better, we are currently offering extremely discounted rates for 12 and 36 month hosting plans, so now is a great time to join.

» Join Iron Ally Hosting Here