Build Mode Live: September 2022 Sessions

In September we officially hit three full months of Build Mode Live sessions! This month we conducted topic-based conversations and many attendees shared that they learned new ways to think about the evolving features of WordPress.

Summary

This month we hosted four Build Mode Live calls. The most lively discussion involved a conversation around fonts in WordPress – the following Twitter thread includes some of the biggest lessons learned by those who attended that session:

Key Takeaways

• What are attendees’ favorite block editor features?
  • Cover block
  • Speed
  • List View
  • Slash command
  • Reusable blocks
  • Copy All Content
• Page builders are hard to move away from with existing workflows and templates.
• There is still quite a lot of confusion around the terminology of things like “Gutenberg”, “modern WordPress”, “block editor”, etc.
• There is a lot to overcome in terms of client training when clients already know how to use classic WordPress features.
• It may be helpful to create your own base / boilerplate theme as a starting point for client projects.
• Self-hosting fonts is a best practice and it is important to factor in the file size for fonts as it will greatly impact site performance.

Resources & Links

We share a lot of resources during these sessions, here are some of the most valuable references made this month:

• Digital Sharecropping: The Most Dangerous Threat to Your Content Marketing Strategy on Copyblogger
• Can we please stop saying ‘Gutenberg’? on HumanMade
• Bright Mode theme by Brian Gardner
• Online Workshops on Learn WordPress
• TT3 Style Variation Selections on Make WordPress
• Nick Diego’s past Online Workshops on WordPress.tv
• Create Block Theme plugin by WordPress.org
• Google Webfonts Helper to self-host Google Fonts
• Fluid Typography Demo with the Frost theme
• Using and Choosing Fonts an Online Workshop by Damon Cook
• Ongoing Roadmap for WebFonts on GitHub

What’s Next for Build Mode

This month we enjoyed having a few more topic-based discussions and will continue that in October. Here are some topics we may include in October:

• A conversation about child themes and various workflows and processes for building sites (there may not be a “right way” but what are options?)

• Accessibility how is the core of WordPress addressing accessibility and what can we do as site builders and developers to emphasize this?

• All about theme.json the basics + next level

If you are interested in attending an upcoming Build Mode session, you can sign up using this link and join us.

Here’s the list of October 2022’s sessions. All calls are at 11 am ET:

• October 7, 2022
• October 21, 2022
• October 28, 2022

Let us know you’ll be there by tagging or DM-ing us on Twitter, @hellosammunoz and @bgardner. You can also follow along with topics and feedback with #BuildModeLive on Twitter.

Until next time, get building! 🛠