Block Editor Looming

~ beetleypete

From the comments on my blog over the last few days, I have noticed that a large number of you have now been switched to the block editor by WordPress. Despite the provision of the so-called ‘Classic Block’ nobody seems to be very happy about having to use the new system. One blogger has already told me via email that she intends to stop blogging now, as she cannot be bothered with the learning curve necessary to continue.

I fear this may be the case with many others, in the weeks to come. I also have concerns that this will not be the last of the changes that WordPress intends to force upon us bloggers in their quest to satisfy their Business and Professional customers.

You will all remember my complaints to WordPress, and the issues I have had with them concerning critical blog posts I published. What you may not know is that I am not alone. Hundreds of other bloggers have been contacting WordPress over the past year, complaining that they want to retain the option of the old editor without having to pay for a plan that allows ‘Plug-ins’. For their part, WordPress continues to assert that the new block editor is ‘easier’ to use, and they have no intention of changing their mind about its forced introduction, obviously.

The plain truth is that WordPress could not care less about hobby bloggers, and those who blog occasionally for relaxtion, or to get their thoughts or writing down online. As far as they are concerned, we are old news, and have had our day. If we leave in the tens of thousands, they will not give a shit, believe me. This is mainly because they currently operate in excess of 40,000,000 blogs through their platform. So even if ten million of us abandoned the dictatorial WordPress, they could still make plenty of money with the remaining thirty million.

So far, I have escaped the mighty shadow of the Block Editor. But this morning while trying to edit my latest post, I received a worrying error message on the screen.
“You can no longer edit in this format”.
I ignored that and carried on, and it went away. But it is a warning of what lurks around the corner, I feel that.

At least I got to finish my serial.

147 thoughts on “Block Editor Looming”

  1. Your prophecy of WordPress dropping the Classic Editor has now come about. Today the ‘improved’ dashboard stops you from posting via the Classic, instead, there are subtle hints of how you can upgrade your WordPress subscription. I’ve resisted using Block Editor, due to the fact that if you want to write in HTML it is almost impossible. Not sure if I’ll be carrying on blogging after 13 years at the coal face.

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    1. I still have Classic this morning, but after reading about a lot of bloggers losing it this week, I am expecting the hammer to drop any moment now. I never log off, which I think is the only reason I have managed to keep Classic for so long.
      Thanks, David.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. You can also use your present blog to get used to the new editor, as you don’t have to publicly publish your “test articles”. Just mark them as private. What helps me a lot, is the “review” function. I use it a lot of times to see if I have the effects wanted.

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  5. Pete, I have an idea for the solution to this problem. Download the WordPress app. The WordPress app still has the classic version and not only that but it also is very smooth and easy to use. I sometimes use it when block editor glitches. I hope this helps you🤗💖

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  7. I click on classic and it doesn’t go back to old editor at all. It does nothing. Unless like the old editor, nothing is clearly labelled. You gave to hover everything and I still can’t figure out how to save. I hate it and as paying customers we should be given the option. If we can get the old editor back by clicking on it why not introduce the new editor that way. We know the answer to that. Best wishes anyway Pete.

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    1. It sure does not take you back to the old editor, but it gets you the classic editor as a block.
      And why they don’t make the old editor standard and the new one an option? Who would make an improvement – and it certainly IS and improvement – an option? Let me tell you: the more I use the new one, the more I like it. And let me stress: I’m not a business, I’m just a run-of-the-mill private customer.

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      1. Pit I have been tearing my hair out with this stuff. We had something that worked that people were happy with and they took it away while we’re paying customers. Crazy! What is this block nonsense, I had one post where there were symbols all over it. Plus no support given. Nobody to call and talk you through it or even instant chat. Just links to instructions to follow to put back something you already had and it doens’t work. All these symbols instead. I can’t even click exit, it is so counter intuitive. I hate it hate it. If it so easy then why are so many of us are finding it difficult. Try this. This button says save. Great I press save. This button says add a photo great . But this way too complicated and not celalry labelled at all. Glad you’re happy Pit, the rest of us hate it and don’t have to change our minds

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        1. I’m really sorry, Lloyd, that you have such problems. I can only say: the new editor works for me. I have absolutely no problems with it, and can easily, for the just two functions it does not (yet) provide, go to the old editor. I readily admit, though, that it does involve some more klicking to get to the different blocks. That was easier in the old editor, where you ad all the formatting buttons at your fingertips in two rows on the top of the editing window. But then, I also have more choices of how to edit my post.

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  8. Okay moans over – I can use blocks for my limited needs (my blog is merely an on line fishing dairy). Btw I find it easier to add captions to photos before uploading them to Word Press.

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  11. Dear Pete,
    Let me first apologize for commenting and in such detail as to your reasoning only now when you’ll be off for a while. It wasn’t my intention to do so kind of “behind your back”, when you might not have the chance of an immediate answer. I only just now had the time. But I really didn’t want to wait till you\’re back.
    Like I wrote in a comment on a previous post here: I would never have believed that from happily jumping onto the band wagon and join every single instance of WordPress-bashing I might one day turn into a WordPress defender.
    Sorry, Pete, but I disagree with you on a few points you make here:
    – “Despite the provision of the so-called ‘Classic Block’ nobody seems to be very happy about HAVING TO [Caps by me] use the new system”
    That’s a contradiction in itself: there still is the provision to use the old editor. Nobody HAS to use the new one.
    – ” I also have concerns that this will not be the last of the changes that WordPress intends to force upon us bloggers in their quest to satisfy their Business and Professional customers.”
    Of course that will not be the last change. How could it be? Each and every software is constantly being developed – like everything else, cars e.g. And these software changes are “forced” on us, too, as they are – among other reason – necessary for the software to work with more recent hardware e.g. I already said in my other comment: don’t underestimate the revenue WordPress gets from the free blogs through advertising. It’s not their only quest to satisfy business and professional customers and neglect the non-paying customers.
    – “You will all remember my complaints to WordPress, and the issues I have had with them concerning critical blog posts I published.”
    Pete, if i remember correctly, the people at WordPress did not object to you publishing a critical post but to you publishing the email -address of their employee. Your excuse was that it was “only” his business email. But have you really thought of the consequences? Your post was not only read by many, but very likely also multiplied. So now I don’t know how many people can write to that email address. Some may have really serious concerns, but some others may just want to annoy WP. It might – just might – lead to that email address being flooded so much that it needs to be changed. There is a very good reason for WordPress not to allow this.
    – “Hundreds of other bloggers have been contacting WordPress over the past year, complaining that they want to retain the option of the old editor without having to pay for a plan that allows ‘Plug-ins’.”
    Well, I can only say: the old editor is still there, alive and kicking, and ready to be used by each and everyone who wants to, withou anyting but just one more click. Is that one click too much to ask? WordPress DID listen, if I remember the discussions and the developments correctly.
    – “The plain truth is that WordPress could not care less about hobby bloggers, and those who blog occasionally for relaxtion, or to get their thoughts or writing down online. ”
    Sorry again, Pete, but that’s not “the plain truth” but your opinion. I hav already tried to explain the financial argument why WordPress DOES care about “everyday customers”.
    And last but nor least to all those who state that they’d rather give up blogging than (try to) use the new editor this question: Would you give up driving because the lay-out of the dashboard of a new car would be different?
    I – and believe me, I was someone who was very critical about the new editor – can only tell you: try out the new eidtor with an open mind and you will be surprised how easy it will turn out. You will also be surprised how many more useful featues it has compared to the old one. But basically there’s not much of a difference from the old one in editing your blog. I agree: there are one or two features that were better in the old one, but they can be accessed still as you can switch to the old editor from every stage when using the new one.
    For those who do not (yet) know how to switch to the classic editor:
    Just go to the “+” button [“add a new block”] in the top left corner of your editing window, use the search field provided to search for “classic”, and voila, there it is. Click on “classic” and from then on you won’t even have to do this again in your posts: it’s always there as an option in your list of blocks.

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    1. Pit

      Hi re “Just go to the “+” button [“add a new block”] in the top left corner of your editing window, use the search field provided to search for “classic”, and voila, there it is. Click on “classic” and from then on you won’t even have to do this again in your posts: it’s always there as an option in your list of blocks.” that works for me, except I cannot see the old ‘add media’option that allows me to add photos from my hard drive – am I just being dim?

      Clive

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        1. Glad you found it. 🙂
          Btw, in the new editor you have quite a few more options for adding pictures. The only disadvantage, if I remember correctly: with the “gallery” option the captions appear IN the picture. I don’t like that at all.

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  13. They got me today with the new block editor 😑 I haven’t tried the new functions to get a feel for it yet. It took me a few minutes just to figure out how to add one photo and to find the classic block option. I may mess around with it later to see if I can figure out what all the new functionss are, but will likely stick with using the classic block option or start using the WP Admin option for posting.

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    1. Thanks for adding your own experience, Jeanne. I am going to continue down the Admin route for now. I am not a patient person, and if the Block Editor frustrates me too much, I will probably just stop blogging.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. What business market? 😉 It seem the smal business are away from the real markets, and the bigger ones dont need outsoured things any more. The big online shop manufacturer Intershop had left Germany some years in the past. Some small businesses are offering good by Instagram, with denying the GDPR: One can wait on law complaints, and bigger income only for lawyers. Its horrible what happens these days.

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  15. I have no idea hoe the block editor works. I prepare4 my material in a word processor (OpenOfficeWriter) I then edit it by pasting it in my email where sometimes extra errors are picked up then I COPY AND PAST to WordPress. If it still needs work, I simply close out the window and fix it outside of the block editor then copy and past again. I do type the title separately into the WordPress excuse for an editor Warmest regards, Theo

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    1. That’s my method too, Theo. I just copy and paste directly from Word. That seems to be working for now. By the way, Pete, your blog is one of the ones I can no longer leave likes without refreshing the page. Thanks for that tip.(Control R) It saves me the trouble of logging out and back in again.

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      1. I actually struggle with Microsoft Word, and have never bought it or used it at home. I have Open Office Free on this PC, and only use it for blank documents for typing letters. Some of us have very poor technical skill, as we never had to use any of that in our working lives, so came too late to it.
        Best wishes, Pete.

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    2. What about your Flickr photos, Theo? Are they still appearing without extra work, and are they now being added to your media library by WP? That seems to be an issue affecting bloggers who use a lot of photos.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. You know, I never checked. I just assumed since they were links they were not added. I’ll have to figure out how to check. But, I was running out of space before I switched to flickr and then never heard more about it. Warmest regards, Theo.

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  19. I wrote this to them and this is their reply, below. My blog address is changed a bit, but others can use the instructions to I hope. I thought it a useless, everybody-likes-block-crap reply.

    Sanjeev Shrivastava (Automattic)

    Aug 26, 2020, 9:25 AM UTC

    Hello there,

    Thanks for contacting WordPress.com support!

    How can the people who hate the block thing change back to the previous style?
    Many of my friends are talking about quitting wp if they can’t. Thanks.

    You can use the classic editor in the wp-admin dashboard. Please go to the WP-admin dashboard here https://(blogname).com/wp-admin/ and you can go to Posts > Add new to create a new post using the classic editor.

    Could you please also let me know if you are facing any issues with the block editor? The block editor is easy to use and is more powerful. Please let me know if you are not able to do anything with the block editor so I can check and assist with that.

    Hope that helps, let us know if you have any other questions. We would be happy to assist further.

    Regards:
    Sanjeev
    Happiness Engineer,
    WordPress.com – Automattic

    Did you know you can purchase a 1:1 screenshare with a Happiness Engineer? Ask me here or contact us in chat for more information. [https://wordpress.com/help/contact]

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            1. Thanks for the video. I see what I did that copied the file into my library, I inserted via URL into the library. Inserting as a URL works. I still don’t like the fact that I cannot edit an image as before and put a border around it or spacing. That also doesn’t wok in the classic block either. I think I am going to have to copy some html code for the time when I haven’t got the classic editor privileges!

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                    1. Tomorrow morning. We can’t check in until midday.
                      I was saying Sunday afternoon to allow for packing time, but I finished the ironing and packing in record time! 🙂
                      Best wishes, Pete.

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                2. All my photos are processed in Elements before uploading to WP media library. I can add a border at that point and sometimes I do, and I suppose I could enlarge the canvas to create a ‘space’ around it, but it is quick to do that in the classic editor simply by editing the photo once it is inserted into the post. Those options are not available in the classic block.

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  23. I hope you stick with it Pete. I’ve been using the block editor for a few months now and though I found it painful at first, I now prefer it. I only use the paragraph block for all my narratives and the the image block for my photos and that seems to be all I need for now.

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  24. Perhaps I’m fortunate as I only began blogging in January? I don’t know what I’ve missed. But I do know I struggle with the formats at times. I have a cheap laptop (my problem) and when having to blog on a silly smartphone is not my idea of being a “writer”. I chose this to identify with writers~not for another social media platform. Perhaps an underdog system lies dormant ….who knows.

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  26. Look at this from another blogger Pete. He has 5,800 followers, one and a half million page views and has been writing a much-read travel blog since at least 2009. He’s giving up because of the block editor.

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    2. Thanks for the link, David. I know how he feels. I also spend far too much time on my blog, and would miss the other bloggers more than the actual blogging. I will wait and see how I feel once all options are exhausted.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  27. I was going to do my usual Afghanistan post today and have staring at the screen in a daze. I write the post in Word and have successfully pasted it into the blog but I’m blowed if I can figure out how to insert pics. I have been bravely clicking on icons but so far all that happened was the disappearance of my text. Off to make a coffee and try again.

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  28. I am going to plug away at it, Pete. If I want to get a post out quickly, I go straight to WP-Admin. It really works almost identically — at least for now. I can use the classic block, but it is fussy. I actually am curious if using one or two blocks are actually simpler. I once had a blog on Google’s blogger, but I hated it.

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        1. No, I was unable to see my comment on your Sharp post, and wrote to tell you my comment had not appeared. It might be in your Spam folder. I sent the email to the magcindy address.you used to send me photos.

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  29. I have just lost the old wordpress again and got instructions for the classic block but when I enter it in the box it says ‘no results found.’ I did find an alternative blog site but it was a long time ago . I’ll try to return to it and let you know. Goodbye in case I don’t see you again.

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  32. At the moment I compose my posts in Word and upload the text using the free app Open Live Writer. I believe this app was once supported by WordPress, but now only more ‘seasoned’ bloggers make it available for use.
    Pictures are uploaded from my WordPress dashboard as Open Live Writer also installs a copy of image.
    Now after 12 years of blogging you’re saying that I’m going to have to use block editor.
    On my old self-hosted site I installed a widget to allow me to carry on as before. Now it seems that we are going to be left with little choice, learn a completely new way of composing a post or walk away.
    In a previous life I was a typesetter, when the industry changed from the 16th century methods to the digital age, I think I must have learned to use 5 or 6 typesetting protocols as there wasn’t, as in the past, an industry standard.
    Now 35 years later using WordPress I’m forced to return to the schoolroom.

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    1. I fear it is coming, like it or not, David. They are supposed to be retaining the Admin Dashboard version of the old editor until 2023, but I really don’t trust them to do that.
      (As in Menu> Posts > Add New)
      Best wishes, Pete.

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          1. Let’s see how it goes. Tomorrow I will save my files on my hard drive. There may come a time when we could no longer access our sites unless we are into business and promoting our products.

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  34. I dreaded it coming too, and made rather a fuss about it. However, it just arrived one morning, and I succeeded in using it when I never thought I could. I am blind, and if I can use it, anyone can. For me, blogging us vital to me lousey life. Without it and without this community I would die. It is truly the only life that I have left, being bed ridden quite a lot, and out of contact with the world. I will miss you al sorely. I hope you don’t go. Xx

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    1. You have done well to manage using it, Lorraine, which is inspiring indeed. If and when it is forced on me, I will try my best with it. But I also have to consider things like photos, video clips, and links, all of which I use a lot of in some blog posts. I don’t intend to go anywhere soon. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  35. I noticed yesterday in the block editor that the option to return to the classic editor has been removed so the only way to access it is through wpadmin. My beef is that you can’t put spacing around a photo or a frame as far as I have seen, plus the font can be too large as in quote blocks and you can’t change it. The classic editor is supposed to be around until 2023. I hope it is!

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    1. It seems that photo-bloggers are going to have numerous issues, including the caption problem that Michel has come across. If there is no access to the Classic after 2023, that might be the year that many of us call it a day with blogging.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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            1. Usually I upload into the library, but I have used the URL of some that already exist in a different blog. The URL doesn’t work the same in the classic editor or the classic block. It actually copied the image into the library instead of just creating a link to the original.

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              1. I have just tried loading a photo from the url in my media library from one of mu blogs, into a test post in another of my blogs and it worked fine, inserted the picture into the post, not the library, so it can be done. Will do another tutorial ASAP.

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      3. A single image has a caption area underneath that you can change font colour, make bold, italic etc. But if you add an image to a txt/image block there doesn’t appear to be a placeholder. I’m not really sure who this editor is aimed at. You’d think companies would have/host their own web sites and a lot these days seem to just use Facebook.

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      4. had another encounter as a post I wanted to edit came up in the block editor as a classic block, so I thought I’d see what happened if I changed the photo. First of all I wanted to use an image in my other blog and I usually do that by simply linking to the URL so I am not using any extra space. This time however, although I could use the URL it actually copies the image into my media library. I then wanted to edit the image to put on a caption, borders etc. Clicking on the edit button takes me back to the library, and edit takes me to the image where I can add a caption but not a border or spacing. So from a photographer’s point of view, this stinks!

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  36. Well, as I said yesterday Pete, the new editor was forced upon me yesterday. I honestly have very little problems with writing things so far, especially with the classic block editor as they now call it. For me the problem is the pictures. I can’t add captions using the classic block editor, and when I switch to the new editor, I can, but the pictures turn out too small. So far I haven’t really been able to make it work properly. Luckily I have a few posts already done with the old editor, but it’s definitely going to take a bit getting used to things. I do have to say that the videos Fraggle made have really helped me, so when she reads this: thank you for that.
    Other than that, I hope that in some way WordPress is going to listen to our complaints, and hopefully do something about it. Because with so many people not liking the editor, we can’t all be wrong about it, can we now? 🤔😊

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    1. Thanks, Michel. Sorry to hear about your issues with captions. maybe Fraggle can help you there, as she posts full-size photos with captions, and she has been using the block editor for a while now.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  38. I dread any change, especially if it involves the computer as I am officially a dinosaur!
    But so many things are changing, mostly for the worst, so I have had to try to learn some of them in order to stay in the game.
    Once I started using the new block editor, I was surprised how easy it seemed. This might be because I’m not using it properly though!

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