Unfortunately, page builder plugins have been hammered into the brains of WordPress users through relentless advertising, evangelists, and supporters that have claimed they are a necessity.

Don’t get me wrong. WordPress page builders have served a need in the ecosystem for many years. However, their “need” is coming to an end. The introduction of full site editing and block themes within WordPress 6+ renders most page builders obsolete — when using the right theme.

Don’t worry. Page builders won’t go quietly into the night. They are too engrained within the psyche and workflows of too many WordPress users to simply disappear. And they shouldn’t disappear. The users that love their page builders should continue to keep using them. But I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss using WordPress blocks and a block-based theme without the use of a page builder.

A customer recently approached us, confused about switching themes and abandoning their beloved builder plugin. They wanted to simplify their WordPress page building experience. I proceeded to explain that we have a block-based version of the theme they were using — the Natural Theme.

However, they were struggling with the concept of no longer using their page builder. So, I proceeded to explain by providing the following response:

I’ll try to provide some clarification regarding page builders. If you’re using the latest version of WordPress (Version 6+), and a block theme like our previously suggested Natural Block theme, a page builder plugin is entirely unnecessary.
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​As of WordPress version 6, a new way of customizing a theme’s design and page layouts was introduced using the full-site editor in combination with a block-based theme. As a result, every aspect of a block-based theme can be customized directly in WordPress — without the need for a page builder plugin.
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​Unfortunately, there are not many block-based themes available yet in the ecosystem because this new approach to building WordPress themes is so different when compared to the way that themes have been constructed for the past 15+ years. Since the WordPress ecosystem is comprised of many third-party product developers (like ourselves), many companies that have aligned themselves with a builder plugin are reluctant to switch to this new way of constructing themes because it means changing their entire business model — and probably rebuilding all their products.
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Since ​we never aligned ourselves with any builders other than our own, we have remained more flexible in this regard. As a result, all our focus is now being poured into block-based themes and the new WordPress editor.
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​In truth, the new way of building pages in the block editor is superior to using a builder plugin. Essentially, builder plugins rose to popularity over the past 8+ years because a solution for customizing every aspect of a theme did not exist within the WordPress platform itself. However, that has all changed with the recent versions of WordPress. Plus, it’s getting better with every new update.
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​Builder plugins should still technically “work” with block-based themes and the latest versions of WordPress. And some still offer unique functionality you can’t find using blocks — yet. However, most builder plugins are unnecessary. In my opinion, they just confuse the process of customizing a WordPress theme by introducing a different user experience. I think the best way to simplify the page building experience in WordPress is to stop using a page builder plugin, and start using the WordPress block editor in combination with a block-based theme.

I wanted to share my response because I believe this a common misunderstanding amongst so many WordPress users. Like most things in our world these days, there is an overwhelming amount of information and misinformation regarding this topic.

Gutenberg, the full-site editor, block-based themes — they are all relatively new introductions to WordPress. And honestly, the introduction of these new features and technologies has created a rocky transition for many users, developers, and product providers like ourselves. Change is hard. However, as somebody who has been intimately involved in designing and developing WordPress products for nearly 15 years, I approached this transition with an open mind. I’ve discovered the new solutions are great, and they keep getting better. So, it might be time to abandon that clunky old page builder, and try a block-based theme.

Next, we will introduce our new block-based theme for the Full Site Editor early this year. Although the STAX theme is currently under development, the demo links below showcase each block within the new theme. As a result, it provides a preview of the upcoming STAX theme and beautiful examples of Organic Blocks in action.

In this article we provide an overview of the plugin updates, with demo links to examples for each block. So, let’s dive in!

9 New WordPress Blocks

Organic Blocks 2.0 introduces 9 new blocks. The plugin now contains 20 premium blocks for the Gutenberg editor. Each new block is described in detail below.

The Pricing Table Block displays a highly customizable pricing table. It’s a great starting point for creating beautiful pricing sections on your WordPress website. Showcase product subscriptions, services, and memberships using the block.

The Hero Block displays a featured content banner with a custom background image or video. By default, the block displays the page title, excerpt, and featured image as the background. It’s a flexible and powerful block designed to grab the attention of your viewers. In particular, the background video options are perfect for creating stunning website banners.

The Callout Block displays featured content within a customizable container. It’s an excellent tool for highlighting specific information on your site — like a featured service, download link, or limited offer.

The Featured Content Block displays a cover image and custom content within a customizable container. It’s perfect for calling attention to services or related content on your site. Additionally, the block may be scaled to overlap the surrounding content — making it a great tool for designing outside-the-box pages.

The Icon Box Block displays an icon and featured content within a customizable container. The position of the icon and style of the box may be modified in the options. It’s an excellent tool for highlighting product features or a suite of services.

The Position Container Block features options to scale and move the position of any content within the container. It’s a useful design tool for breaking the grid, and designing outside the box. Any combination of moving, scaling, and pulling can be used together. Additionally, the position can be optionally be reset in mobile, so it does not break the layout on mobile devices.

The Link Container Block wraps any block, or group of blocks in a clickable link. It’s an incredibly useful block for converting complex patterns into custom links. The examples in the demo link utilize the Link Container Block to wrap a link around other Organic Blocks.

The Max-Width Container Block is a simple block for defining a specific width for the contents within the container. It’s a simple, but often necessary block when creating custom layouts. Although many themes provide default, wide, and full width options, there are often design scenarios where a custom width needs to be defined.

The Copy To Clipboard Block provides a button or link in which custom content may be copied to a user’s clipboard. It’s used throughout the STAX theme demo for the purpose of copying blocks and patterns that may be pasted into the WordPress block editor. Additionally, the block is a great tool for copying coupon codes or other code snippets for developer websites.

Updates To Existing Blocks

In addition to the new blocks added in version 2.0, several improvements were made to existing blocks in the plugin. We’ll review the major updates:

The Header Block is an essential block for block-based themes, including the upcoming STAX theme. The block provides options for displaying your site logo, existing Custom Menus, social media links, and other header information. It’s a crucial block for anybody that wishes to transfer from a traditional PHP theme to a new block-based theme.

As a result, we poured a lot of energy into making sure the Header Block was packed full of options for changing the header layout, colors, fonts, sizes, position, and more. Viewing the variations in the block demo will really give you an idea of its flexibility.

In short, we added new font and typography options for changing navigation menu text sizes, letter spacing, link spacing, and more. We added options to change the the header position, so it can overlay above images, cover blocks, and other content — or even remain fixed at the top of the page as you scroll down the website. We added new layouts, including an option to display your logo in the middle with navigation menus on each side. We added a new customizable mobile menu, and much more!

The Portfolio Block and Posts Block have been updated with the option to display category and search filters for the post content. As a result, you can add a filterable menu to virtually any post type on your website. This is extremely useful for portfolios, case studies, documentation, or any other information in which viewers may need to refine their results. The filter works in real time, so the results are immediately displayed without refreshing the page or linking to another page. You can see the new option in action within the demo.

While updating the plugin and testing the blocks in several use-case scenarios, it became apparent that there was no need for the Posts Block and Pages Block to be separate blocks. The options in each each block were virtually the same. And since the Posts Block provides the option to select any post type, we just included pages as a post type option in the block.

As a result, the Pages Block no longer exists in the plugin. Instead, its functionality has been moved to the Posts Block. So, in the event that you were using the Pages Block prior to the release of version 2.0, you will just need to replace the block with the Posts Block. Then, select your pages to display within the setup options.

Until recently, adding gradients, borders, and shadows to blocks was still in the experimental phase. The latest plugin update adds these options to Organic Blocks. As a result, the colors and styles for each block can be highly customized for creating beautiful and bold content.

Blocks Update Summary

2022 will be an exciting year for WordPress and Organic Themes. For the first time in a couple years, we feel hope for the future of our industry and the world. This major update to Organic Blocks is the first of several upcoming changes, and we’re stoked to share these improvements with our customers!

Our new products will change the way websites are constructed in WordPress. Building websites with WordPress will become fun and easier than ever before, without the need for any code or builder plugins. The future is bright!

First, let’s talk about the changes happening within WordPress. Then, we’ll get to the changes coming to Organic Themes.

Full Site Editing

The next evolution of WordPress introduces Full-Site Editing (FSE).

When using the Full-Site Editor, you can customize every element of your WordPress website directly within the editor. And I mean everything. Your website header, footer, page templates, layouts, global styles, and more — it can all be customized. Pretty cool.

In short, WordPress is finally becoming a complete website builder — like Divi or Elementor, but without the need for such plugins.

In order to take full advantage of the new Full-Site Editor, a block-based theme is required. The above example showcases our STAX block-based theme, which is currently under development. We’ll get to that, but first let’s talk about block-based themes.

Block-Based Themes

Traditional WordPress themes have always been somewhat rigid. While many traditional themes have Customizer options for changing global styles, there are still several limitations to the Customizer. As the name suggests, you can “customize” an existing design, but you can’t change it completely.

For instance, changing the layout of a traditional WordPress theme often involves editing PHP code within theme files. Making granular changes to website elements often requires custom HTML and CSS. Such changes require development skills beyond the average WordPress user.

Full-Site Editing and block-based themes resolve this issue of limited customization. Block themes will not need Customizer options or robust page-builder plugins to change every element of your website design.

Of course, in order to take advantage of the new Full-Site Editor, you will need a good block-based theme. And, since Full-Site Editing is still in the experimental phase, there are only a handful of block-based themes currently available for testing, all of which require the Gutenberg plugin to use, and all of which are likely to change in the coming months.

Knowing this future will soon be upon us, Organic Themes was at a crossroads — continue developing rigid, traditional WordPress themes, or begin working on block-based themes. We opted for the latter.

With our eye to the future, we are currently deep in the development of a new block-based theme called STAX. Which brings us to our first major Organic Themes update:

The Upcoming STAX Theme

Below is the first glimpse of our upcoming block-based theme — STAX.

Unlike traditional WordPress themes, block-based themes are created using mostly HTML files, with a little bit of PHP and JavaScript sprinkled into the mix. But what you really need to know is that it’s an entirely different type of WordPress theme altogether. Consequently, an entirely new approach is required to develop such a theme. At first, that scared the pants off of me.

However, as I’ve been working with the new technology and methodology of building block-based themes, I have found myself enjoying WordPress all over again. In truth, building a traditional WordPress theme is a long and cumbersome process. Despite knowing the process thoroughly, it’s hard to find the motivation to build yet “another” theme. Through the process of building STAX, I find myself excited to build themes once again.

I’ve been deep in the development of this theme for quite some time, and I can say with certainty — it’s awesome! STAX will provide users with ultimate flexibility over their design. We know what a painful process building a website can be. Our goal has always been to remove the frustration of web design, and make the process fast and easy. STAX goes a step further, and makes it fun! It’s a huge step forward for Organic Themes and WordPress, and we’re very anxious to get this theme into your (virtual) hands — when it’s ready.

Block-based themes and the Full-Site Editor are still under development. WordPress 5.9 aims to improve the FSE experience and block-based theme integration, and it’s currently slated for release in mid-December. Our goal is to release STAX shortly afterwards, when the editor and framework is stable. So, expect a release by late December or January.

Additionally, Organic Themes is making other major changes within this time-frame as well. Which brings us to our next major product update.

Organic Blocks Plugin 2.0

The STAX development process has revealed that a great block-based theme requires great blocks. Fortunately, the Organic Blocks plugin provides a fantastic collection of blocks. However, it’s about to get much better.

We have been thoroughly testing Organic Blocks within the Full-Site Editor and the STAX theme. Throughout the development process, we have been vastly improving our existing blocks, and adding several new blocks.

Some of the new blocks being added to the plugin include:

• Hero Block – Featured banner content with background media, including background videos.
• Callout Block – Quickly add emphasis to your content with bold colors, gradients, and shadows.
• Icon Box Block – Create feature lists with icons and descriptions.
• Featured Content Block – Display featured content in a customizable container.
• Pricing Table Block – Quickly create beautiful pricing tables.
• Link Container Block – Wrap any group of blocks in a clickable link.
• Max Width Container Block – Define the width of content within the container.
• Position Container Block – Move the position of a group of blocks.

Additionally, the existing collection of blocks have all undergone significant improvements.

The updates are almost complete, and the launch will likely coincide with the STAX theme and the new Organic Themes website. Yes, you heard that right. The Organic Themes website and brand are also making a bold change.

The New Organic Themes Website

I’ve been designing and developing websites for a long time — at least 15 years. When I started designing websites I was passionate. I strived to create bold, beautiful designs that were still approachable and user friendly.

Over the years, I watched design trends come and go. Some have been great, some not-so-great. Feeling the pressure, I jumped on the minimal and flat design bandwagons. However, ultimately I felt those design trends lacked soul. They lacked a human touch. Frankly, websites just got boring. And my passion faded.

For the new Organic Themes website design I wanted to feel inspired again. I wanted to design something that I would like to see. I didn’t want the trends of the day bearing major influence over my design decisions. Since Organic Themes is undergoing such major changes in our product development, the site and brand should reflect those changes. As a result, I went back to my roots, and designed something bold again.

The new site won’t look like any other WordPress product company’s website — for good reason. Organic Themes isn’t like any other WordPress company. When we’re at our best, we march to the beat of our own drum.

I was trained in the corporate design industry, but Organic Themes wasn’t born of that world. Instead, our company was born of the desire to escape the corporate world. That’s why we moved to Maui with nothing but our cars, a couple months of survival savings, and a dream of a different life. It’s why we founded our business in Hawaii. It’s why we kept our business small. And it’s why we love helping other people create their own websites, and free themselves from the chains of the corporate world.

When we entered the WordPress industry, it was full of people like us — nerdy tech rebels. People that didn’t want to be another cog in the machine. However, over the years, the industry became more and more corporate. WordPress companies grew and swallowed up smaller companies and the people that built the platform. It’s a natural evolution of any successful industry. But it became the very thing we worked to escape.

The world has changed over the past 2 years. It’s my belief that people are craving authenticity and a human touch again. Not only in their personal lives, but in the products and businesses they use. As a result, I think the WordPress industry needs Organic Themes again.

The new site is our way of letting people know we’re still here, and we’re still the same people, but with much more experience. When you contact Organic Themes, you engage in communication with real humans — my wife, myself, and my best friend. And we just want to help.

The site will launch with the release of the new STAX theme. We’re very excited about these upcoming changes, and what it means for our customers. We’re also excited to put ourselves out there again, and let you get to know us as more than just a WordPress business, but as real people.

There are many factors to consider when looking for the right WordPress hosting provider. In this article, we will go over 8 of the most important things you should consider when making your choice.

Let’s get started.

1. Security

It should come as no surprise that security is one of the most important attributes to look for when choosing a provider. In fact, focusing on security is more important than ever before since the cybercrime industry is projected to reach over $10 trillion in value within the next five years.

WordPress hosting providers should take all reasonable steps to provide protection against unauthorized access, destruction, or alteration of data. When it comes to security features, the host you choose should also implement the most contemporary cybersecurity measures possible – including a web application firewall (WAF), two-factor authorization,  DDoS protection, and threat monitoring – to help protect you from hackers.

Additionally, your hosting provider should be able to offer daily backups of your entire site. This can often mean the difference between recovering from a disaster or suffering from one.

For those who facilitate payments or handle sensitive user information on their company’s website, selecting a WordPress hosting provider that offers free SSL certificates is also imperative.

2. Customer Reviews

One of the best ways to know if you’ve found an excellent WordPress hosting provider is by looking at their customer reviews. Seeing what previous customers have said about their experience with your potential host can be valuable in informing your final decision. 

That said, it’s important to keep in mind that you shouldn’t fully believe every single review that you encounter, though.

To clarify, it’s not impossible for a particular provider’s competitors to leave false negative reviews on the Internet in an attempt to dissuade customers from trusting their services. A similar situation occurs when companies leave false positive reviews on their own platform.

A great way to recognize false customer reviews is by watching for certain attributes. These include:

• Reviews that contain a large number of buzzwords or seem overly promotional
• Highly negative reviews that don’t go into detail about why that person’s experience was so dissatisfying

Instead, you should consider the reviews that provide a detailed account of what that particular customer had experienced. By looking for patterns in other people’s comments and experiences, you’ll be able to quickly identify recurring positive or negative experiences. 

Of course, the total volume of reviews is also a critical factor. A five-star rating won’t mean much if only two people have reviewed the company.

3. Level of Support

Support quality is one of the major factors to consider when selecting a WordPress hosting provider.

You will undoubtedly have questions or concerns once you begin working with a new WordPress hosting provider. However, it can easily become frustrating if you are unable to get in touch with them or  – even worse – discover an issue that the hosting provider cannot (or won’t) resolve to your satisfaction. To save yourself the trouble, it’s in your best interest to work with a provider that is able to offer a comprehensive level of ongoing customer support.

WordPress hosting providers usually offer varying levels of support. One of the most significant factors at play is the ability to get in touch with them quickly and easily. While not every hosting provider offers 24/7 service, there are many that do. Be sure to find out about each host’s ticket response times and availability during (and after) business hours. 

It’s also valuable to determine the support team’s level of expertise – not just hosting about hosting, but about WordPress itself. While some WordPress hosting providers only offer basic server management and security assistance, others can provide advice on optimizing performance, enhancing security, and upgrading your site’s theme or plugins. 

4. Overall Performance

The attention span of the average person today is estimated to be shorter than that of a goldfish. This means that even an extra second or two of loading time could cause your audience to navigate away from your page. In many cases, they won’t return to your site in the future and will choose a competitor instead.

A higher level of overall performance can directly translate into increased revenue for your company. This means that it’s essential to maintain high levels of performance at all times, something that is only possible through an experienced and reputable WordPress hosting provider.

In practice, this means that there are certain criteria you should keep an eye out for that can have a direct impact on the level of performance. For example, you’ll want to know:

• Requests per second (RPS)
• Page load time
• Throughput
• Error rate
• Peak response times (PRT)

You may also want to ask the customer service team of each WordPress hosting provider you’re evaluating about these metrics. If the hosting provider offers a free trial, you may want to migrate your site to their platform and run website speed tests to determine what kind of impact loading speeds have on your user experience.

5. Cost

How much are you willing to spend on hosting? There is no single amount that you should expect to pay for managed hosting service. However, you should still take steps in order to ensure that you aren’t overpaying.

You can achieve this by taking a look at different providers and the level of service they offer for the price. If you discover that one provider seems to offer less than its competitors but charges more money, you can eliminate them as a potential option.

However, you should also avoid indiscriminately choosing the cheapest possible option.

Some hosts offer plans for as low as $3.95 per month. But, more often than not, you will get what you pay for when it comes to working with a WordPress hosting provider. By choosing to pay the bare minimum, you could encounter a large number of issues in the future.

Common problems include not being able to get in touch with your service provider, security flaws, and slow overall performance. All of the above could place the success of your company in jeopardy.

Also, make sure you are clear on any hidden fees or additional costs for services that might be required when signing up for certain packages. 

6. Reliability

Just a single instance of downtime could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. So, network stability and uptime are too important to ignore.

No matter what level of performance, security, and customer service your provider is able to offer, it’s imperative that their servers are as reliable as possible. More often than not, your potential provider will go out of their way to advertise how efficient their servers are.

Some hosts advertise 99.9% uptime but that’s not always true. A host might claim to deliver 99.9% uptime, but that statistic reflects scheduled maintenance and emergency maintenance downtime. A reliable hosting provider’s servers should have at least 99.9% guaranteed uptime and not be subject to unexpected maintenance. The best hosting providers will have redundant hardware, software, and network connectivity to prevent any unplanned outages.

Additionally, it’s important that your WordPress hosting provider maintains at least 99.9% server uptime as downtime can significantly hurt website rankings in search engines as well as cause irreparable damage to business reputation for any company that has customers visiting their website often.

7. Compatibility With Common Plugins and Themes

Many businesses have a key handful of plugins and WordPress themes that they use in order to deliver a unique user experience and give them an edge over their competition. It is important that your host has excellent compatibility with the plug-ins and themes you use (or plan to use) on your site. For example, if you are using WooCommerce or Jetpack, you need to be sure your host can accommodate these plug-ins and prevent any potential site outage. 

Depending on the hosting provider, you may find that certain plugins and themes are not fully compatible with their platform, software, and/or security measures. This often results in them disallowing their customers to make use of specific plugins or themes.

Although plugin and theme restrictions are not put in place maliciously, you may find that without specific plugins and themes you are no longer able to achieve previous levels of performance. Under extreme circumstances, this could also harm your brand’s reputation.

If you’re unsure of whether or not you will encounter issues by using certain plugins and themes, be as upfront with your potential WordPress hosting providers as possible when doing research. Each host’s sales or customer service team will be straightforward about any restrictions or compatibility issues that exist, as well as any history of complications. Keep in mind, this can be especially important if your site utilizes custom plugins or themes. 

8. Scalability

As your company grows, so will its needs. Unfortunately, working with a provider who is not able to easily scale your level of service could prevent you from reaching your full potential as your organization increases in size.

In fact, the provider you hire should be able to seamlessly increase your level of service without having you experience any form of interruption. this will ensure that you are able to maintain peak levels of productivity during the transition.

As with checking for plug-in compatibility, reach out to the provider you’re interested in working with and ask for more information about what you can expect as your business scales.

Choosing WordPress Hosting Providers Might Seem Difficult

Fortunately, you can make this process go far more smoothly by keeping the above information in mind. These factors will help make choosing from potential WordPress hosting providers far easier than you anticipated.

Looking for the ideal host for your Organic Themes website? We’ve done our homework and found a hosting partner – Pressable – that meets or exceeds all the points we mentioned in this article. Check out the feature-rich, affordable hosting options that we now offer. 

These premium hosting plans ensure you have everything you need to build and deploy outstanding WordPress websites that are lightning-fast and reliable. Plus, you get free white glove migrations, enhanced security powered by Jetpack, and 24/7 support by certified WordPress experts.

We added the new WordPress blocks to replace some popular shortcodes from the retired Organic Shortcodes plugin. The new blocks are a major improvement over the old shortcodes. Additionally, each new block features several customization options. As a result, the blocks can be styled to match your website design and colors — directly within the Gutenberg editor.

Toggle Block

The Toggle Block displays content within an expandable box that may be toggled open or closed. As a result, it’s an excellent tool for creating FAQ and documentation pages.

View Toggle Block Examples

Modal Block

The Modal Block displays content within a dismissible pop-up container. Clicking the modal button or text link will reveal the pop-up content. Which then displays above the rest of your website content.

Pop-up modals are a great tool for displaying content that you would like hidden from the rest of the page content. For instance, a contact or newsletter form, or a list of downloadable files.

View Modal Block Examples

Alert Block

The Alert Block notifies visitors of important information on your website. It’s a useful tool for notifying visitors of changes, sales, and promotions on your website.

There are two ways of displaying the Alert Block. Directly within your page content, or as a dismissible pop-up upon first loading a page.

View Alert Block Examples

These new WordPress blocks are a useful addition to our growing Organic Blocks Bundle plugin. Additionally, 9 more premium blocks are available in the bundle. Get the plugin today, and spice up your WordPress pages!

WooCommerce Integration

WooCommerce is the most popular and powerful eCommerce solution for WordPress. As partners of WooCommerce, Organic Themes understands how to develop themes to work perfectly with the platform. We applied that knowledge to Version 5 of the Restaurant Theme.

As seen in the updated Restaurant Theme demo, WooCommerce is seamlessly integrated into the website experience. Additionally, the Restaurant For WooCommerce extension will provide your website with everything it needs to process delivery and pickup orders.

One Click Demo Import

Installing and activating a WordPress theme is simple. However, adding content can be time consuming. We vastly improved this process with the updated Restaurant Theme. Now, the theme includes support for the One Click Demo Import plugin. Meaning, all content, media, and options are imported exactly as it appears in the theme demo. With the click of a button. Simple!

Importing demo content will save loads of time when it comes to the setup of your website. The demo content is a guide. It can be replaced or deleted as needed.

Gutenberg Support

Version 5 of the Restaurant Theme features full compatibility with the Gutenberg block editor. The theme features conditional sidebars, full and wide alignment support, editor styles, and several block styles for perfect integration with the new WordPress editor.

Organic Themes has worked directly with the makers of Gutenberg. As partners of WordPress.com, the Restaurant Theme has undergone a rigorous code review process to ensure maximum compatibility of the theme with Gutenberg.

Additionally, the theme works perfectly with the new Organic Blocks Bundle plugin. So, you can add slideshows, testimonials, portfolios, and much more on any page or post using the Gutenberg editor. Cool!

Improved Menu Post Type

The Restaurant Theme contains a custom post type for adding food and drink menu items. In previous theme versions, menu items were displayed by applying the “Menu” page template. Then, choosing your food menu categories within the theme options. It worked. However, there were limitations. So, we improved the process of displaying food menu items with the latest theme update.

With Version 5, menu items automatically display in order on the custom post type template. As seen in the demo here.

The custom post type template automatically orders menu items by category. However, you may change the order of menu items using the Custom Taxonomy Order plugin.

Add the “/menu/” page extension to the URL of your website to view the menu custom post type template. For instance, https://mycafe.net/menu/. Then, use a custom link in your website navigation to access the menu.

The new custom post type template provides much more flexibility than the menu page template options. It allows for the display of endless categories.

Countless Additional Updates

The Restaurant Theme has been available for several years. It’s in use by literally thousands and thousands of restaurant websites. Organic Themes maintains our products to take advantage of the latest web technologies and WordPress features. As a result, the theme has evolved considerably. Version 5 is no exception.

We inspected the code line by line. We made several updates to the security, styles, functionality, and mobile display of the theme. Now, it features a beautiful new mobile menu navigation, accessibility updates, a new logo resizer option, and several more improvements.

Most improvements maintain backwards compatibility with older versions of the theme. However, this is a major update. As a result, you may need to enter the WordPress Customizer, and re-save your theme options after updating. Otherwise, it should be a smooth transition. All your content and templates will remain unaffected by updating to the most recent theme version.

We hope the Restaurant Theme serves restaurant owners well during this time. And makes the transition to moving your business online a little less stressful. Stay safe and well, and order online!

Organic Themes was among the first companies to release a free block within the WordPress plugin directory — the Profile Block. Additionally, we were the first to publish a tutorial on How To Create A Custom Block For Gutenberg. An article that was copied by many.

As partners of Automattic and WooCommerce, we’ve kept a watchful eye on Gutenberg since its inception. We have witnessed new blocks introduced into WordPress, Jetpack, and WooCommerce over the past year. Since Gutenberg is rapidly evolving software, it was important that we didn’t duplicate any of those existing blocks within our collection.

So, we created a suite of blocks designed to compliment the existing blocks in the Automattic arsenal. The result is the Organic Blocks Bundle. A useful collection of 9 purposeful blocks.

Many Organic Blocks are designed to display existing WordPress content. Additionally, we chose to develop these blocks using the ES5 Javascript syntax. As a result, Organic Blocks can be edited on a web server without the need to compile changes. That’s a big deal. It means our blocks are customizable — even for amateur WordPress developers.

The Blocks Bundle

The Organic Blocks Bundle currently includes 9 premium WordPress blocks. However, more blocks will be added in the future. Now, let’s introduce the existing blocks! They’re pretty awesome.

Content Slideshow Block

The Content Slideshow Block is the easiest way to create content sliders using the WordPress Gutenberg editor. The block displays a featured image, title, excerpt, and a “Read More” link from any post type. Additionally, several options are available for modifying the style, colors, display, and more.

Learn More

Posts Block

The Posts Block displays any post type within a blog style layout. Block options allow for the change of colors, style, layout, and more. It’s an excellent tool for showcasing relevant blog articles, products, or other post types on any page using the Gutenberg editor.

Learn More

Portfolio Block

The Portfolio Block is perfect for showcasing any post type within a portfolio. Each portfolio item displays the title when hovering over the image. Additionally, a Pinterest pin button displays. As a result, users may pin individual portfolio items to their Pinterest account. The block includes several options for modifying the portfolio style and layout.

Learn More

Profile Block

The Profile Block displays personal profiles. It’s an excellent tool to display author biographies, team members, or employees throughout your website.

Organic Themes released a free version of the block in the WordPress plugin directory. However, the Profile Block included in the Organic Blocks Bundle features several more options. Additionally, unlimited social media icons may be added to the block.

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Testimonials Block

The Testimonials Block displays a selected post type within a testimonials slideshow. Display multiple testimonials per slide, and change the colors, layout, and style within the block options. It’s perfect for showcasing client and customer testimonials throughout your website.

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Pages Block

When building a custom home page or landing page, it’s common practice to direct visitors to other pages throughout your website. The Pages Block serves this purpose. Simply add the block within the Gutenberg editor. Then, select the pages you wish to display. Additionally, several block options are provided to modify the colors, style, and layout.

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Header Block

A header is arguably the most important element of any website. Typically, it displays your website branding and navigation. The Header Block provides full control over your header logo, layout, information, and navigation. It’s an essential tool as WordPress themes and the Gutenberg editor transition into a full-fledged site building experience.

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Footer Block

The footer is the bookend of your website. Typically, it contains important website information, and secondary navigation. The Footer Block places the control of the footer design and information within your hands. Display copyright information, branding, social media links, and more. Additionally, the block provides options to change the style, layout, and colors.

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Widget Area Block

There are hundreds of traditional WordPress widgets. Typically, widgets display within “widgetized” areas of a WordPress theme — like sidebars and footers. However, some widgets may be useful within specific page or post content. That’s why we developed the Widget Area Block for Gutenberg.

The Widget Area Block creates widgetized areas anywhere you like within the Gutenberg editor. As a result, traditional widgets can be added anywhere on your site.

This block is useful for displaying advertising widgets throughout your content, or an event calendar widget within a related article, or countless other examples. It’s a particularly powerful block when combined with the Builder Widgets plugin. As a result, the power of Gutenberg and Builder Widgets can be utilized together.

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Additional Organic Blocks Bundle Features

ES5 Development

What the heck is ES5 Development, and why use it? Well, I’ll get to that. But first, if you’re not a WordPress developer, designer, or power user — you can skip ahead. This probably doesn’t concern you.

WordPress is open source software. As a result, a community of contributors, comprised of volunteers, individuals, and small businesses developed the platform, and a majority of the supporting products. Most contributors are self-taught developers, including myself.

React.js is the coding language of Gutenberg. At first, this outraged much of the WordPress community. Prior to Gutenberg, WordPress was primarily developed in the PHP coding language. Most self-taught developers have spent the last 10 years learning PHP development for WordPress. Now with the release of Gutenberg, WordPress is moving to an entirely new code foundation.

It’s like you’ve been perfecting the German language for 10 years, and then the country of Germany suddenly changes their official language to Japanese.

The biggest hurdle for React.js development is the need to compile your code for the web after making changes. Meaning, you can’t simply edit the code of a React.js plugin on your server, and expect it to work properly. As a result, it makes the work of freelance WordPress designers, developers, and power users much more difficult. In some cases, it’s an impossible hurdle.

ES5 to the rescue!

ES5 Javascript, or ECMAScript 5, doesn’t require compiling for the web. Meaning, you can edit ES5 code directly on your web server. So, you don’t have to be a Javascript genius to make a minor edit to Organic Blocks.

That is why all Organic Blocks are developed using ES5. So, even amateur developers can edit the code for Organic Blocks. Plus, they’re a great asset for learning how to build Gutenberg blocks in the ES5 syntax.

Server-Side Rendering

The blocks included with WordPress and Jetpack are excellent tools for building content from scratch. However, they are not particularly useful for displaying existing content. That’s where we come in.

Many of the blocks included in the Organic Blocks Bundle utilize server-side rendering. Meaning, they display data that already exists on your web server. For instance, perhaps you have a website with hundreds of published posts and pages. Organic Blocks allow you to display that content on other pages. Plus, the content renders in the editor exactly as it appears on the site.

No Unnecessary Blocks

Some block collections contain blocks that already exist in the Automattic arsenal from WordPress, Jetpack, or WooCommerce. Additionally, some collections include blocks that can be recreated using a simple combination of core blocks. We consider such blocks as unnecessary clutter.

With the Organic Blocks Bundle, there are no duplicate or unnecessary blocks. We believe in quality over quantity. As a result, we didn’t include yet another Spacer or Columns block in our bundle. Each block serves a real purpose.

Simple Usage

A good product should be so easy to use that documentation is unnecessary. Blocks are already simple. Once you understand how to use one block, you should know how to use any block. Since Organic Themes follows WordPress standards, this rings true for Organic Blocks. The purpose and options for each block is self explanatory.

We’re confident the Organic Blocks Bundle will help you create beautiful custom WordPress pages with ease. It’s one more step towards the Gutenberg editor becoming a full fledged website building solution.

As the company grows their theme offerings, we are thrilled to be a part of the expansion. As a result, Organic Themes has released 2 new themes on the WooCommerce website — Threads and Artisan.

The Threads and Artisan themes have undergone extensive reviews to guarantee that they are optimized for both WooCommerce AND Gutenberg. As a result, they are among the first officially Automattic approved WooCommerce and Gutenberg themes available. Meaning, the themes are developed to a standard worthy of the makers of WordPress itself.

It’s a BIG deal.

Organic Themes has long been partnered with WordPress.com. Our new partnership with WooCommerce now ensures that our products are developed at the highest standards of WordPress and WooCommerce. As a result, the knowledge we have gained from working with these companies is incorporated into all of our products.

I don’t want to toot our own horn too much, but it’s an important message to our existing customers and all consumers of WordPress products:

Organic Themes provides some of the highest quality themes available for WordPress and WooCommerce. Period.

Now, let’s get to the themes!

Artisan Theme

The Artisan Theme is designed for makers of DIY goods. Whether you’re sculpting beautiful pottery or creating custom skateboard decks — the Artisan Theme is designed to turn that passion into a profession.

Threads Theme

The Threads Theme is designed for selling t-shirts and apparel online. The shop features a unique full-screen layout, in which products are displayed in a uniform grid. It’s an excellent website solution for launching your clothing brand online!

During these uncertain times, it’s more important than ever to establish an alternative means of income. Our hope is that these new WooCommerce themes will assist your efforts to sell goods online, and pocket some cash doing what you love.

Moving forward, Organic Themes is excited to work with WooCommerce, and release more themes in the future.

In celebration of our 10-years in business, we are offering a 25% discount on all Organic Themes products and memberships. Sale ends April 30th.

To redeem your discount, use the following code during checkout:

10YEARSOT

Unfortunately, our 10-year-anniversary coincides with the global COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a strange time in the world, and we wish all our customers good health and safety.

During this time, many people working from home are motivated to put their ideas into action. This is inspiring at a time like this, and we want you to know we are here to support you!

Stay safe, practice social distancing, and should your attention turn to building a WordPress website, Organic Themes is here to help.

Additionally, we will be taking every precaution possible. We believe it’s better to be overly cautious under the circumstances. As a result, our team will be refraining from any WordPress meetups, conferences, or social gatherings. All meetings will take place online via Skype, Zoom, or Google Hangouts.

We want our loyal customers to know that we’re here, we’re healthy, and we continue to provide our products, services, and support during these trying times.

In recent days we’ve seen an increase in activity on our site. People working from home are motivated to put their long held ideas into action. This is inspiring at a time like this, and we want you to know we are here to support you!

Helpful Resources

The following section includes a few helpful resources regarding the coronavirus.

COVID-19 Tracking Map

The following site from the John Hopkins University is an excellent resource for tracking the global expansion of the coronavirus:

The John Hopkins COVID-19 Tracker

COVID-19 Information and Public Announcements

We’re avid fans of Sam Harris. He is a rational, logical, and moral voice in the best of times. His podcasts with experts on the coronavirus are insightful and informative. The first podcast is somewhat alarming, as it should be. The second is more hopeful. We recommend both:

Podcast #190: How Should We Respond To The Coronavirus?

Podcast #191: Early Thoughts On A Pandemic

Additionally, experts have advised that keeping the growth curve down is vital to getting through this pandemic. This article illustrates real simulations on how to keep the curve down.

In short, extensive social distancing is key. It’s recommended to “shelter in place” if at all possible. Organic Themes is adhering to these practices.

Stay Safe And Healthy

The owners and employees of Organic Themes heed the advice of health and science experts. We take our health, and the health of others seriously at all times, and particularly under these circumstances.

Should you choose to start a WordPress website with your newfound spare time, we would love to help! Please reach out to us with any questions.

More importantly, we want our friends, family, colleagues, and customers to stay safe and healthy during this time. Thank you for your continued trust in Organic Themes, and we wish you all good health.