Hey there,
Hope your week’s rolling along smoothly! 🚀
Today we’re tackling one of the biggest questions in the WordPress world: native blocks or third-party page builders? Gutenberg gives you a WordPress-native block system that’s lightweight and maintainable; third-party builders trade some of that simplicity for richer drag-and-drop features, advanced widgets and/or more sophisticated custom blocks.
For business sites the decision should be driven by workflows that scale, performance that lasts, and avoidable vendor lock-in.
Let’s break down a selection of resources and strategies so you can explore Gutenberg and third-party builders without getting lost in the noise.
Week #4 - Gutenberg & Page Builders: Tips & Tricks
Weekly Picks
A head-to-head look at Classic vs Gutenberg: speed, flexibility, and future-proofing. This article breaks down the trade-offs so you’ll know whether nostalgia or modern workflows win for your next project.
Should you go all-in on Gutenberg or stick with Elementor, Divi, etc.? This piece compares ease of use, performance, and scalability—helping you avoid the dreaded “builder regret.” (We’ve all been there.)
A clear walkthrough of WordPress FSE in action. From templates to theme parts, this guide shows how to structure, style, and refine your site without third-party builders—FSE’s power is finally practical.
Lists, Lists, & Lists
Looking for the right FSE-ready theme? This roundup spotlights 13 standout block themes that are flexible, modern, and (mostly) free—saving you time, money, and a few headaches when building your next site.
Extend Gutenberg beyond basics. This curated list showcases plugins that add unique layouts, advanced functionality, and creative design tools. Think of it as your shortcut to unlocking Gutenberg’s full superpowers.
Gutenberg still dividing opinions? This piece highlights the clear wins: speed, consistency, and future-ready flexibility. Whether you’re a skeptic or an early adopter, you might find a reason (or four) to smile.
If you’re still leaning toward traditional page builders, this list narrows it down to six leaders worth considering. Spoiler: no fluff, just tried-and-true options that deliver results with minimal fuss.
Smooth Operations
Learn when it makes sense to ditch your current builder for Gutenberg, plus steps to migrate safely without wrecking your workflows.
A practical, no-drama guide to moving from classic to block themes—what to check, what breaks, and how to keep your sanity intact.
Extra Boost
Untangle the editor maze: this guide explains the differences between Site, Template, and Page Editors—so you’ll know exactly which editor to use and when (goodbye, trial-and-error guessing).
A crisp explainer video breaking down the differences between blocks, patterns, and templates. Watch this if you’ve ever wondered “wait, which one do I use here?”—we all have.
Feeling experimental? Telex lets you generate custom Gutenberg blocks with AI. Just a heads-up: it’s powerful but picky—your prompts need to be razor-sharp for the magic to work.
Accessibility matters—this deep dive compares leading page builders to see how they stack up for inclusive design. A valuable read for anyone serious about usability and compliance in 2025.
Weekly Tip | The Hidden Power of Reusable Blocks
Ever find yourself building the same hero section, call-to-action, or testimonial layout again and again? Repetition kills time. That’s where Gutenberg’s reusable blocks come in: a feature many beginners overlook, but pros swear by.
Save once, use everywhere
Reusable blocks let you save any block or group of blocks and insert them across multiple pages with a single click. Whether it’s a pricing table, a newsletter signup form, or a branded call-to-action, a reusable block ensures consistency and saves hours of repetitive design work.
Global updates with minimal effort
Make a change to a reusable block once, and it automatically updates every instance across your site.
For business sites, this is a lifesaver for updating promotions, contact info, or legal disclaimers.
Just remember: if you want one-off changes, convert the reusable block back to a regular block before editing.
Advanced workflow: combining patterns + reusable blocks
Pair reusable blocks with block patterns (pre-designed multi-block layouts) to create a library of sections that can be dropped in anywhere.
For example, a full homepage hero + CTA + testimonial pattern can be reused across multiple landing pages, ensuring brand consistency and speeding up production.
Conditional complexity: nested blocks & dynamic content
You can create reusable blocks that contain more complex, nested content — columns, galleries, or grouped sections — which is perfect for businesses needing repeatable, structured layouts.
For advanced users, integrating dynamic content plugins (like ACF blocks) inside reusable blocks can give you “smart” content that updates automatically without extra editing.
Organizing your library like a pro
A common beginner mistake is to create dozens of reusable blocks with no structure.
Name them clearly (e.g., CTA-Signup-Homepage) and keep an index page for reference.
For multi-person teams, consider a shared style guide with documented block usage to prevent duplication or layout chaos.
Best practices for performance and maintenance
Overloading your site with reusable blocks can slightly affect editor performance.
Only save what you truly reuse. Periodically audit your block library and delete blocks that are outdated or unused.
Also, test changes on a staging site first when editing blocks that appear in multiple places.
Want to Go Deeper?
Check out this excellent guide:
👉 Complete Guide to WordPress Reusable Blocks and Patterns
That’s a Wrap
Edition #4 is complete, and you’ve covered a lot of ground. 🌿
This week was all about mastering the modern WordPress editing landscape — weighing FSE, Gutenberg, and page builders, exploring block themes, and getting real about migrations. We even dug into accessibility and plugin/theme choices so you can grow with confidence. And don’t forget: our weekly tip on Reusable Blocks can save you hours when content needs repeating.
Next week we’ll shift from “big picture” decisions to practical foundations: essential plugins that keep a site fast, secure, and reliable without overwhelm.
Keep tinkering, keep smiling — WordPress just got a little easier.
Catch you in the next edition! 📬
Gabor, for WP Growth Weekly