You’ve been using SlotFills every time you’ve added a panel to the block settings sidebar or a button to the block toolbar. Here’s what’s actually happening, how it compares to the PHP hooks you already know, and how to drop your own controls into blocks you didn’t build.
Container queries let your blocks and template parts adapt to wherever they’re placed, no media queries required. In this post I’ll show you three practical ways to use them, from basic queries to fluid typography with container units.
Synced patterns make reusing code across your site a lot easier and since WordPress 7.0 they’ve gotten even more useful. In this post I’ll explain how they work and how to build one.
WordPress 7.0 makes contentOnly mode the default for unsynced patterns, which changes how editors interact with anything you build. Here’s what that means, how to make your blocks play nicely, and how to opt out if it’s not for you.
In this post, I’ll show you ways you can use PHP to filter the block editor’s settings beyond simply editing theme.json. We’ll break down how the block editor settings layers are resolved and go over some practical ways you can adjust settings using PHP.
If you’ve ever built a custom block just to display a single piece of dynamic data, the Block Bindings API is the feature you didn’t know you were waiting for. You can use this new API to bind dynamic data to specific block attributes.
Once you start building more complex things, you may find that you need to implement some kind of caching of your own. In this article I’ll explain how to do so with transients and how this compares to using the options or wp_cache_* methods directly.
The navigation block overlay has never been directly customizable in the editor. But as of WordPress 7.0 you’ll have more options to edit the overlay than ever before. Here’s how to register a custom navigation-overlay template part, wire it up to the Navigation block, and handle the accessibility work WordPress doesn’t do for you.
Naming your theme.json colors after what they look like feels natural, but it falls apart fast. Here’s how I use semantic, role-based names, custom properties, and a few lessons learned to keep color manageable.
Turn your WordPress site into an MCP server that AI tools like Claude and Cursor can interact with directly. Learn how to set it up using the Abilities API and MCP Adapter and I’ll share a handy abilities plugin you can use to get started.
