Three WordPress Plugins to keep an eye on
The plugins mentioned in this article are either in the beta phase or are in early development and are only recommended for use on a test site and not a production site. With that said, if you are like me then you are on the constant prowl for the newest and greatest WordPress plugins that make WordPress even better than it already is.
Most WordPress plugins start off as beta plugins in which users are able to download and install the plugin on a test site and put the plugin through its paces before the plugin goes gold. The cool thing about testing beta plugins is that you are able to offer the developer valuable insight and suggestions before the plugin goes gold. Once a plugin does go gold and if it is backed by popular demand, then there is even a possibility that it may be included into the core WordPress installation itself.
There are several plugins that I am hoping make it into core one day and the three that are catching my interest the most are…
Gutenberg
Gutenberg is not unlike a drag and drop composer that you can often find in many code editing applications. Such as the popular Visual Composer plugin. This new editor offers a brand new post and page editing experience to dashboard users by utilizing movable blocks in order to customize the default content editor. Gutenberg will completely replace the default editor altogether and aims to streamline the content creation process for bloggers. Gutenberg developers plan to be implement the new editor in three major phases. The first being during the WordPress 5.0 roll out sometime in 2018. With future Gutenberg updates affecting the customization of the entire site itself. WordPress users who wish not to take part in the forced-upon Gutenberg editor may want to check out the Classic Editor plugin.
Classic Editor
Classic Editor will bring back the classic WordPress editor that many users have grown to love. This new plugin will also allow the user to seemingly switch between the Gutenberg editor and the Classic Editor via several new buttons on the post edit screen and in various menus found throughout the admin dashboard. If you despise working with movable blocks and would much rather prefer a minimalistic post editor then Classic Editor may be the plugin for you. Please note; however, that Classic Editor is currently known to be compatible with WordPress 4.9 Beta 2+ and Gutenberg 1.5+ installations only. Now the question is will future Classic Editor updates allow the user to opt-out of the future Gutenberg site customization updates?
Hmmm…
Dark Mode
Which ever of the two above plugin editors you choose to use, none of them will be of much use if you constantly strain your eyes while blogging at night. If you are like me then there have been times when you had to access your WordPress site during the evening hours. Whether that be to perform routine server maintenance in the form of database backups or maybe to create a quick blog post about a thought that you just had to share with your readers in the later hours of the night. Dark Mode allows the dashboard users and users in general to make the background of the admin dashboard, its associated pages, and the entire site itself black/dark in order to help prevent eye strain. Dark Mode still works with the Admin Color Scheme options found in your profile editor. Allowing you to still customize the menu bars with different colors while keeping the main background black/dark. This new plugin even gives the user the ability to automatically turn on and off Dark Mode between customizable times of the day. There is just something about blogging at night that is just…cool. And Dark Mode aims to bring that cool factor to our own WordPress installations.
If you plan on testing any of the above mentioned beta plugins it is always recommended to use a test site and not a full production site in case any mishaps occur. And remember to always create backups before using a beta plugin and before downloading and installing anything on your WordPress site including plugins and themes.
With the feature-packed WordPress 4.9 Tipton update already a month old and with WordPress 5.0 “Gutenberg?” around the corner the art of blogging and content generation seems to have an impressively bright future.
