When is Gutenberg Set to Release?
July 18, 2018
While we’ve been given the option to “try” the new editor and play around with it, this option won’t be around for much longer.
If you’re anything like us, you’re probably anxiously awaiting the release of WordPress 5.0 and considering the huge ways in which the Gutenberg editor will change the way you interact with WordPress and how you do your daily job.
Soon, Gutenberg will be baked right into the WP core experience and the classic editor that we’ve used for nearly 10 years will be thrown into the garbage, along with all of our experience with it.
That experience will be as irrelevant as knowing how to use a printing press, as Gutenberg will be taking over as the new, standard editor for WordPress 5.0.
How Do I Get Prepared for Gutenberg?
If you’re trying to get prepared and want to study up on how to use Gutenberg before the big launch, check out our previous article and watch our video tutorial on how to use the new system.
These resources will help you get up to speed and reduce any fear of uncertainty surrounding this upcoming change.
Once you’ve done that, consider downloading some of the new plugins being developed for Gutenberg, as they’ll reduce the learning curve and make using the new editor even easier.
Let’s assume that you’re ready to go and all of this information about how to use Gutenberg is just child’s play for you. You’ve been watching tutorials, reading articles, practicing your editing skills, and preparing for the worst as if nuclear war were about to break out.
Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “when is Gutenberg set to release?”
Gutenberg Roadmap
To determine that answer, we’ll have to look at the timeline that we’ve been given by Matt Mullenweg during his most recent conference at WordCamp Europe. If you’d like to watch the whole video, we’ve included a link below:
Let’s take a look at the current roadmap for Gutenberg that came from the conference. All parts of the roadmap that have been completed since publishing this article will be crossed out.
June
Freeze new features into GutenbergHosts, agencies, and teachers invited to opt-in sites they have influence over.Opt-in for wp-admin users on WP.comMobile App support in the Aztec editor across iOS and Android
July
4.9.x release with a strong invitation to install either Gutenberg or Classic Editor plugin- An opt-out option for wp-admin users on WP.com
- Heavy triage and bug gardening, getting blockers to zero
- Consider expanding Gutenberg functionality beyond post editing and implementing it into site customization.
August & Beyond
- All critical issues resolved
- Integration with Calypso, offering opt-in users.
- 100k+ sites having made 250k+ posts using Gutenberg
- Core merge, beginning the 5.0 release cycle.
- 5.0 beta releases and translations completed
- Mobile version of Gutenberg by the end of the year.
Looking at how Gutenberg’s roadmap is set up and where we currently are, we can estimate that it will be released in late August or early September, along with the new WordPress 5.0 update.
But how can we know that for sure?
On July 5th, the WordPress 4.9.7 Security and Maintenance Release went live and got us a couple decimal places closer to that sweet integer–5.0.
If you consider just how close we are numerically and by our position on the timeline, we believe that you should be ready for the update to drop at almost any moment when August comes around.
Mullenweg’s Announcements at WordCamp Europe
Mullenweg also made some more exciting announcements at WordCamp Europe, regarding bug fixes and the development process of Gutenberg.
At the time of the conference, 1,100 of the 1,700 filed issues with Gutenberg had since been resolved.
Matt also announced that there had also been 30 Gutenberg releases since they first started and 12 just since WordCamp US in December.
Not to mention, 14,000 sites were actively using Gutenberg upon giving the speech.
These numbers are truly remarkable and show that WordPress is trying their best to address concerns from the public and to make Gutenberg the most user-friendly editor, yet.
The Conclusion
So, back to our original question: “When can we expect to see Gutenberg?”
As it turns out, we still don’t know yet. We’ll just have to be patient until August comes and we receive an official release date for Gutenberg.
In the meantime, please take full advantage of this waiting period to study up on Gutenberg and stay tuned to UltraBlocks Blog for news updates on WordPress 5.0, Gutenberg, and the plugins we currently have in development.