At this point, I'd be totally lying if I sat here and wrote a blog about being an expert on Gutenberg, the next revolution of WordPress that is coming soon to browsers near you.

However, I can tell you that what WordPress Web Developers are talking about - not just at Front End Development conferences and WordCamps, but literally talking about over casual coffees with one another - makes complete sense for content managers and marketers.

We sent one of our lead web developers Chris Toomajanian to a Front End Development Conference in Tampa, Florida last month and Gutenberg was by far the biggest takeaway for him.

Photo by: Chris Toomajanian

From WordPress.org: "The Gutenberg editor uses blocks to create all types of content, replacing a half-dozen inconsistent ways of customizing WordPress, bringing it in line with modern coding standards, and aligning with open web initiatives. These content blocks transform how users, developers, and hosts interact with WordPress to make building rich web content easier and more intuitive, democratizing publishing — and work — for everyone, regardless of technical ability."

Honestly, I'm freaking pumped. I haven't dug deep yet, and I'd like to hook up with my boy Chance Strickland (@ChanceTheDev) on this, who just spoke at WordCamp STL on the subject, but upon my initial shallow dive, it's very reminiscent of what my man Kriesi has done with the Enfold Theme.

Photo from @ChanceTheDev on Instagram

Photo from @ChanceTheDev on Instagram

Why? Because as much as I love the way Developers are leading this charge and owning it, ultimately, this initiative is about one thing - making content management easier on marketers and those who control the pursestrings.

It's about staying ahead of drag and drop layout builders like SquareSpace, Wix, Web.com and GoDaddy.

It's a business decision. And it's the right one.

Gutenberg is not NEXT. It's not COMING. It's HERE. There's already a plug-in to use.

Granted, it will keep going and growing, don't get me wrong, and I'm NOT the expert. But what I can tell you is that:

- Gutenberg will make WordPress sticky. Marketers and Business Owners won't be sold it, they'll be demanding it. Bye Bye SquareSpace.

- Developers won't be needed for content management. Developers will be building this stuff, NOT updating content. Clearly from the demo, Gutenburg is something that non-technical marketers, and no disrespect but seriously, my 8 year old and 6 year old will EASILY be able to update and customize content within the "blocks."

- Updating your website from your mobile device. My mind has now been blown sitting here writing this. As someone who blogs every day, and constantly updates websites and shows clients how to update websites, this is amazing. Go to https://testgutenberg.com/ on your phone and just start editing the content. This is what it will be/is like to update content in Gutenberg.

Lastly, the tools are here to start using. Which (Word)Camp do you fit into? Are you someone who will talk and wonder? Or are you someone who will use it and figure it out and possibly even contribute?

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Paul Hickey, Founder / CEO / Lead Strategist at Data Driven Design, LLC has created and grown businesses via digital strategy and internet marketing for more than 10 years. His sweet spot is using analytics to design and build websites and grow the audience and revenue of businesses via SEO/Blogging, Google Adwords, Bing Ads, Facebook and Instagram Ads, Social Media Content Marketing and Email Marketing. The part that he’s most passionate about is quantifying next marketing actions based on real data.