In this exercise, you will install the Gutenberg plugin and the theme Twenty Twenty-Two.
Level: Beginner, no code
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Updated March 8 2022.
Table of contents
Create a WordPress test site
I know that learning about a new editor tool can be overwhelming -especially an experimental tool – and that you may be worried about breaking your website.
That is why I recommend setting up a second WordPress test site. Having a test site will allow you to learn and gain confidence by making changes, testing, and even breaking things on purpose. And once you are done testing, you can throw it away.
If you are not able to set up a second website on your webhost, you can have a WordPress test installation on your own computer with one of these tools:
- Local
- DesktopServer
- XAMPP (more technical)
WordPress.org has has published a workshop about how to set up a local installation.
Please use the latest version of WordPress and log in to your WordPress site as an administrator for this lesson.
Install the Gutenberg plugin
Gutenberg is not required for the basic full site editing features to work if you are using WordPress 5.9 or newer. The reason why I recommend that you install Gutenberg anyway is because the plugin has more FSE features than WordPress. These features will eventually be added to WordPress, and until then you can test them with the plugin.
First, in the WordPress admin area, select the Plugins menu.
If you already have Gutenberg installed, make sure that it is the latest version and that there are no pending updates.
If not, click Add New. Select Gutenberg in the plugin directory, Install and Activate.
Deactivate all other plugins. -This is to reduce the risk of plugins causing bugs with the experimental features.
Install the Twenty Twenty-Two theme
To work with the new Site Editor, you need to install a theme that supports full site editing. Twenty Twenty-two is the new default theme for WordPress in 2022. It is included with WordPress 5.9.
If you do not see Twenty Twenty-Two in the list of installed themes, you can install it by clicking the Add New button and selecting the theme from the popular tab.
Update the permalink structure
You need to set the permalink structure to Post name for the website’s 404 page to work.
In your WordPress admin area, open the Settings menu and select Permalink Settings.
Under Common Settings, you will find a list of radio boxes. Select the Post name option and save your changes:
