Education logo

How To Use Gutenberg To Make A WordPress Theme

I can say for sure that Gutenberg is one of the most important changes to WordPress in the last few years. In WordPress version 5.0, a block-based editor called Gutenberg was added. It has fundamentally changed how we make and manage content in WordPress.

By Sumeet ShroffPublished 3 years ago 4 min read

Gutenberg has given the world of theme creation a new way to make WordPress themes. We no longer have to use shortcodes and custom page templates to show information. Instead, we can now use Gutenberg blocks to make layouts that are complicated and flexible. This means that styles can be more modular, easier to change, and more versatile.

Readers will learn how to make a WordPress theme with Gutenberg. First, we'll talk about the most important parts of Gutenberg and why it is so important for theme creation. Then, we'll talk about how to set up a local development setup and make a new theme.

We'll dive into the world of Gutenberg blocks and show you how to make custom blocks or use pre-built blocks to make layouts that change based on what you want to show. We will also go over how to make a theme that is ready for Gutenberg. This includes picking a starter theme or framework, turning on Gutenberg support in the theme, and taking care of the theme's options and settings.

We will talk about testing and debugging methods, like using the Gutenberg plugin for testing, to make sure the theme works as expected. Last, we'll tell you how to get the theme out there by sharing it with the WordPress community.

The readers will know how to use Gutenberg to make a WordPress theme. They will have the skills and knowledge they need to make modern, flexible, and dynamic WordPress themes that take advantage of WordPress's newest features and powers.

Understanding Gutenberg: 

As someone who has made a lot of WordPress themes, I can say that you need to understand Gutenberg to make current, dynamic, and flexible WordPress themes. In WordPress version 5.0, Gutenberg, a text editor that uses blocks, was added. It has changed everything about how we make and manage content in WordPress.

Gutenberg is made to make it easy for people to create content and keep track of it. It does this by breaking up information into separate blocks. Each block can have different kinds of material, like text, images, videos, and more. Then, users can put the blocks in any order they want to make layouts that are complicated and change over time.

Most Important Things About Gutenberg:

Gutenberg is built on blocks, which are small pieces of content that can be moved, resized, and styled on their own.

With inline text editing, users can change text right on the page, instead of having to go to a different screen to do so.

Styles for blocks: 

To style blocks, developers can use styles that have already been made or make their own.

Custom blocks: 

Developers can make their own custom blocks, which can be used to create layouts that are both unique and changeable.

Blocks that can be used more than once:

Users can save blocks as themes that can be used over and over again on the site.

How To Create A Theme

I know a lot about making WordPress themes, so I can tell you that if you want to make custom WordPress themes that fit your needs, you need to know the basics of theme creation. In this part, we will talk about the most important steps for making a WordPress theme from scratch.

Setting up a local development environment: 

Before we can start making a WordPress theme, we have to set up a local development environment on our computer.

The basics of theme development: 

We need to know how themes are made before we can start making our own. In this part, we will talk about the most important steps for making a WordPress theme from scratch.

Setting up a local development environment: 

Before we can start making a WordPress theme, we have to set up a local development environment on our computer. This will let us try out our theme and make changes without worrying about how they will affect the live website. Depending on our operating system, we can set up a local work environment using tools like XAMPP, WAMP, or MAMP.

Coming up with a new theme:

We can start making a new theme once we've set up our local working environment. To make a new theme, we need to make a new folder in the wp-content/themes folder and a file called style.css. The theme's name, description, and author will be listed in the style.css file.

Structure and theme files:

The next step is to make the files that our theme will need. A WordPress theme is a set of files that work together to make your site look and work the way you want it to. The most important files in a WordPress theme are style.css, index.php, header.php, footer.php, and functions.php. These files show how the theme was put together and how it works.

How to figure out the template hierarchy:

In WordPress, the template hierarchy decides which template file is used to show a specific page or post. It's important to understand the template structure when making a WordPress theme because it lets us make custom templates for different types of content.

Read More

student

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2026 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.