Wordpress Block Editor Fse

WordPress Block Editor & Full Site Editing

Overview

Full Site Editing (FSE) is production-ready (since WP 6.2) and treats everything as blocks—headers, footers, templates, not just content. Block themes use HTML templates + theme.json instead of PHP files + style.css.

Key Components:

• theme.json: Centralized colors, typography, spacing, layout
• HTML Templates: Block-based files (index.html, single.html)
• Template Parts: Reusable components (header.html, footer.html)
• Block Patterns: Pre-designed block layouts
• Site Editor: Visual template customization

When to Use: ✅ New themes, consistent design systems, non-technical user customization ❌ Complex server logic, team unfamiliar with blocks, heavy PHP dependencies

Full Site Editing Architecture

Block Themes vs Classic Themes

Site Editor Capabilities

• Template editing (pages, posts, archives)
• Template parts (header/footer variations)
• Global styles (colors, typography site-wide)
• Pattern library (save/reuse block compositions)
• Navigation menus (block-based)
• Style variations (alternate design presets)

theme.json Configuration

theme.json v3 (WP 6.7) provides centralized design control. WordPress auto-generates CSS custom properties.

Production Example

{
  "$schema": "https://schemas.wp.org/trunk/theme.json",
  "version": 3,
  "settings": {
    "appearanceTools": true,
    "useRootPaddingAwareAlignments": true,
    "layout": {
      "contentSize": "800px",
      "wideSize": "1200px"
    },
    "color": {
      "palette": [
        { "slug": "primary", "color": "#0073aa", "name": "Primary" },
        { "slug": "secondary", "color": "#005177", "name": "Secondary" },
        { "slug": "base", "color": "#ffffff", "name": "Base" },
        { "slug": "contrast", "color": "#000000", "name": "Contrast" }
      ],
      "defaultPalette": false,
      "defaultGradients": false
    },
    "typography": {
      "fontFamilies": [
        {
          "fontFamily": "-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif",
          "slug": "system",
          "name": "System Font"
        }
      ],
      "fontSizes": [
        { "slug": "small", "size": "0.875rem", "name": "Small" },
        { "slug": "medium", "size": "1rem", "name": "Medium" },
        {
          "slug": "large",
          "size": "1.5rem",
          "name": "Large",
          "fluid": { "min": "1.25rem", "max": "1.5rem" }
        }
      ],
      "fontWeight": true,
      "lineHeight": true
    },
    "spacing": {
      "units": ["px", "em", "rem", "vh", "vw", "%"],
      "padding": true,
      "margin": true,
      "spacingSizes": [
        { "slug": "30", "size": "0.5rem", "name": "XS" },
        { "slug": "40", "size": "1rem", "name": "S" },
        { "slug": "50", "size": "1.5rem", "name": "M" },
        { "slug": "60", "size": "2rem", "name": "L" }
      ]
    },
    "border": { "radius": true, "color": true, "width": true }
  },
  "styles": {
    "color": {
      "background": "var(--wp--preset--color--base)",
      "text": "var(--wp--preset--color--contrast)"
    },
    "typography": {
      "fontFamily": "var(--wp--preset--font-family--system)",
      "fontSize": "var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium)",
      "lineHeight": "1.6"
    },
    "elements": {
      "link": {
        "color": { "text": "var(--wp--preset--color--primary)" },
        ":hover": {
          "color": { "text": "var(--wp--preset--color--secondary)" }
        }
      },
      "h1": {
        "typography": {
          "fontSize": "var(--wp--preset--font-size--large)",
          "fontWeight": "700"
        }
      },
      "button": {
        "color": {
          "background": "var(--wp--preset--color--primary)",
          "text": "var(--wp--preset--color--base)"
        },
        "border": { "radius": "4px" },
        ":hover": {
          "color": { "background": "var(--wp--preset--color--secondary)" }
        }
      }
    },
    "blocks": {
      "core/quote": {
        "border": {
          "width": "0 0 0 4px",
          "color": "var(--wp--preset--color--primary)"
        },
        "spacing": { "padding": { "left": "var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)" } }
      }
    }
  },
  "customTemplates": [
    {
      "name": "page-wide",
      "title": "Full Width Page",
      "postTypes": ["page"]
    }
  ]
}

CSS Custom Properties Auto-Generated

• Colors: var(--wp--preset--color--primary)
• Fonts: var(--wp--preset--font-family--system)
• Sizes: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large)
• Spacing: var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)

Fluid Typography

Font sizes with fluid: { min, max } auto-scale using clamp():

{
  "slug": "large",
  "size": "1.5rem",
  "fluid": { "min": "1.25rem", "max": "1.5rem" }
}

Block Theme Architecture

Required Files

my-block-theme/
├── style.css                 # Theme metadata (REQUIRED)
├── theme.json                # Settings/styles (REQUIRED)
├── templates/
│   ├── index.html           # Fallback (REQUIRED)
│   ├── single.html
│   ├── page.html
│   └── archive.html
├── parts/
│   ├── header.html
│   └── footer.html
├── patterns/                 # Block patterns
│   └── hero.php
└── functions.php             # Optional setup

style.css Metadata

/*
Theme Name: My Block Theme
Requires at least: 6.4
Requires PHP: 8.1
Version: 1.0.0
*/

HTML Template Structure

templates/single.html:

<!-- wp:template-part {"slug":"header","tagName":"header"} /-->

<!-- wp:group {"layout":{"type":"constrained"}} -->
<div class="wp-block-group">
  <!-- wp:post-title {"level":1} /-->
  <!-- wp:post-featured-image /-->
  <!-- wp:post-content /-->
  <!-- wp:post-date /-->
</div>
<!-- /wp:group -->

<!-- wp:template-part {"slug":"footer","tagName":"footer"} /-->

templates/index.html (with query loop):

<!-- wp:template-part {"slug":"header"} /-->

<!-- wp:group {"tagName":"main"} -->
<main class="wp-block-group">
  <!-- wp:query {"queryId":1,"query":{"perPage":10,"postType":"post"}} -->
  <div class="wp-block-query">
    <!-- wp:post-template {"layout":{"type":"grid","columnCount":3}} -->
      <!-- wp:post-featured-image {"isLink":true} /-->
      <!-- wp:post-title {"isLink":true} /-->
      <!-- wp:post-excerpt /-->
    <!-- /wp:post-template -->

    <!-- wp:query-pagination -->
      <!-- wp:query-pagination-previous /-->
      <!-- wp:query-pagination-numbers /-->
      <!-- wp:query-pagination-next /-->
    <!-- /wp:query-pagination -->
  </div>
  <!-- /wp:query -->
</main>
<!-- /wp:group -->

<!-- wp:template-part {"slug":"footer"} /-->

Template Parts

parts/header.html:

<!-- wp:group {"layout":{"type":"flex","justifyContent":"space-between"}} -->
<div class="wp-block-group">
  <!-- wp:site-logo {"width":60} /-->
  <!-- wp:navigation /-->
</div>
<!-- /wp:group -->

Block Patterns

patterns/hero.php:

<?php
/**
 * Title: Hero Section
 * Slug: my-theme/hero
 * Categories: featured
 */
?>
<!-- wp:cover {"url":"<?php echo esc_url(get_template_directory_uri()); ?>/assets/images/hero.jpg","dimRatio":50,"minHeight":500,"align":"full"} -->
<div class="wp-block-cover alignfull">
  <div class="wp-block-cover__inner-container">
    <!-- wp:heading {"textAlign":"center","level":1,"fontSize":"xx-large"} -->
    <h1>Welcome to Our Site</h1>
    <!-- /wp:heading -->

    <!-- wp:buttons {"layout":{"type":"flex","justifyContent":"center"}} -->
    <div class="wp-block-buttons">
      <!-- wp:button -->
      <div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link">Get Started</a></div>
      <!-- /wp:button -->
    </div>
    <!-- /wp:buttons -->
  </div>
</div>
<!-- /wp:cover -->