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About the Book

The WordPress Block Editor is no longer just a content editor—it's a full-fledged application framework. To succeed as a professional WordPress developer today, you must master its modern, JavaScript-driven architecture. This book is your definitive guide to that mastery.

WordPress Editor and Blocks: A Comprehensive Guide is a project-based journey that takes you from the fundamentals of block creation to the enterprise-level practices required to build sophisticated, secure, and performant WordPress solutions. Written for WordPress 6.8, this guide is meticulously updated to cover the latest standards, including the stable Interactivity API, the powerful Block Bindings API, and the professional tooling that defines modern development workflows.

This is not a book of simple code recipes. It is a career-building resource that teaches you the why behind the how. You will learn to think like a modern WordPress architect, making informed decisions about everything from data persistence strategies to accessibility compliance and performance optimization.

Who is this book for?

• Intermediate WordPress Developers ready to transition from classic PHP themes to the modern block paradigm.
• JavaScript Developers who want to apply their skills to the world's most popular CMS.
• Agency Developers looking to standardize their team's workflow and build high-quality, maintainable client sites.
• Plugin and Theme Authors aiming to create powerful, block-first products that integrate seamlessly with the WordPress core.

What you will build and master:

• A Professional Workflow: Go beyond npm start. Set up isolated development environments with Docker and wp-env, enforce code quality with ESLint and Prettier.
• Complete Interactive Applications: Learn the Interactivity API from the ground up by building a progressive TODO application, complete with optimistic updates and secure REST API communication.
• Advanced Block Architecture: Understand when to use static vs. dynamic blocks, how to extend core blocks with custom styles and variations, and how to design scalable block patterns.
• Robust Data & Security: Master data persistence with Post Meta, Custom Post Types, and the Block Bindings API. Learn to secure your applications with proper validation, nonces, and rate limiting.
• Performance and Accessibility: Write code that not only functions flawlessly but also achieves excellent Core Web Vitals and meets WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.

By the end of this book, you won't just know how to build blocks—you'll know how to build them professionally. You'll have the skills and confidence to lead complex projects, contribute to enterprise-level applications, and position yourself at the forefront of the WordPress development industry.

About the Author

Paulo Carvajal

@paulocarvajal_

Paulo Carvajal is a senior web developer and WordPress specialist with over two decades of experience in front-end development and content management systems. Based in Bilbao, Spain, he has dedicated the past 15 years to delivering custom WordPress solutions, focusing on component-based development and the Block Editor (Gutenberg).

For over twenty years, Paulo built custom websites and apps for clients in many different industries as the founder and lead developer of the digital design studio Vudumedia. He did this by combining modern JavaScript frameworks with PHP development and RESTful API design.

Recently, he has contributed as a senior developer to large-scale projects at leading digital consultancies including Flat 101 and VML The Cocktail, where he works focused on architecting scalable, maintainable WordPress platforms. This comprises multisite environments and headless solutions that decouple the front end through the use of technologies like Next.js and Vue.js.

Paulo holds a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts with a specialization in Audiovisual Media from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), which informs his design sensibility, attention to accessibility, and user-centered approach in digital environments.