Gutenberg development

Gutenberg done deliberately, not by default.

Block-first WordPress development for teams that want the editor to feel like a design tool — not a workaround. Custom blocks, block patterns, full-site editing, and editor controls scoped to your design system.

Editor

Block · pattern · template

Custom blocks

ACF blocks · React blocks

FSE

Theme.json · template parts

Editor UX

Scoped · branded · documented

What is Gutenberg development?

Gutenberg development is the practice of building WordPress sites block-first — with custom blocks, block patterns, theme.json tokens, and full-site editing. The block editor done deliberately gives marketing a design tool that stays inside the design system rather than fighting it.

Why Gutenberg, deliberately

Gutenberg is the future of WordPress. Most agencies still treat it as the back-up plan.

Gutenberg is no longer the editor most agencies tolerate to deliver page-builder work — it's the platform WordPress is being built around. Block-based themes, full-site editing, theme.json, and the block editor have matured. We build Gutenberg-first when the brand wants editor flexibility without page-builder bloat, and when the in-house team wants a tool they don't need to be retrained on every six months.

What we hear most

When teams move to Gutenberg with us.

01

Editor is a wall of plain fields

Classic editor + ACF gives a content team rows of inputs that don't reflect what the page will look like. Editing requires Preview-Save-Reload purgatory.

02

Page builder bloat

Elementor or Divi loading 800KB sitewide. Editor exposes too many controls. Marketing drifts from the design system every release.

03

Custom blocks needed

A pricing block, a quote-request module, an interactive comparison — all live in the design system but no one wants to wedge them into the existing builder.

04

Block patterns missing

Marketing rebuilds the same hero, the same CTA strip, the same testimonial section every time. Patterns would save hours per page.

05

Full-site editing on the table

Brand wants the in-house team to edit headers, footers, and templates without filing a ticket. FSE is the answer when the design system is disciplined.

06

Theme.json governance

Type, colour, spacing tokens drift between PHP, CSS, and editor. Theme.json centralizes them — but only if it's set up properly.

What we deliver

What ships in a Haxtiv Gutenberg engagement.

A block-first WordPress build with custom blocks, block patterns, theme.json discipline, and an editor experience scoped to the design system.

Theme & system

  • Block-based theme or hybrid (block + classic)
  • Theme.json with tokens (color, type, spacing, layout)
  • Template parts for header, footer, archive, single
  • Style variations and pattern categories
  • Editor styles that mirror the front-end

Custom blocks

  • React-based custom blocks for bespoke patterns
  • ACF blocks for editor-friendly structured fields
  • Inner-block patterns for nested editor controls
  • Block variations and transforms
  • Documented block API for in-house extension

Patterns & full-site editing

  • Block patterns library matched to launch needs
  • Pattern categories scoped to your design system
  • Full-site editing setup (when the team wants it)
  • Synced patterns for global components
  • Template hierarchy mapped to content types

Editor UX

  • Editor controls scoped to what marketing should change
  • Branded editor (custom panel labels, colour, type)
  • Documentation built into the admin where it's used
  • Loom-led walkthroughs for the in-house team
  • Pattern insertion library matched to launch templates

Performance & SEO

  • Critical CSS, font subsetting, lazy-loaded JS
  • Schema (Organization, Article, FAQ, Service, BreadcrumbList)
  • Image policy: AVIF/WebP, srcset, fetchpriority
  • Real-user CWV monitoring for 30 days post-launch
  • Indexation hygiene (canonical, sitemaps, robots)

Process

How this service runs end to end

The same six-step shape we use across every Haxtiv project — adapted to the specifics of this scope.

  1. 01

    Discover

    Audit, intent, and the part nobody is saying out loud

    We open with a working session — not a deck. We pull analytics, crawl the existing site, audit the brand, and interview the people closest to revenue. We surface the friction inside the team, not just the friction on the screen.

  2. 02

    Define

    Sitemap, story, and the metrics that actually matter

    We define the audience journeys, the commercial pages we are willing to defend, the SEO architecture, and the measurable outcomes. You get a shape of the project that survives feedback because it was built on evidence.

  3. 03

    Design

    Editorial system, art-directed, never templated

    Type, grid, motion, and tone built as a system. We design the hero, the long pages, the unloved corners, and the empty states. Every screen looks like it belongs to the same studio. Nothing is parked for later.

  4. 04

    Build

    Production code your team can keep

    WordPress, Shopify, or page builder — we build clean, accessible, performant, and documented. Component-led, naming you'll recognize next year, and a changelog your in-house team can read.

  5. 05

    Launch

    Migration without losing rankings or sleep

    Pre-launch crawl, redirect map, schema and metadata cutover, performance baseline, and a launch playbook. We run the deploy with you, not at you.

  6. 06

    Grow

    Care plan, CRO sprints, and quiet improvements

    We stay involved. Monthly performance reports, security and core updates, and CRO sprints that compound. The site gets better the longer you keep us.

What this looks like in production

Numbers we earn, not numbers we round up.

0+

Sites shipped

across 27 countries

0k

Studio hours

delivered since 2019

0.0x

Avg conversion lift

post-redesign clients

0%

Client retention

into year two

In their words

Senior teams who chose us.

Haxtiv replatformed our marketing site without losing a single ranking. We saw organic leads up 38% inside the first quarter and the editorial team finally has a layout system they don't fight.

Mara Iglesias

VP Marketing · Lumenwave Health

Headless WordPress redesign

Our previous Shopify build was a Frankenstein of apps. The Haxtiv team simplified the stack, rebuilt the PDP and CRO patterns, and our store is faster and more profitable than it has ever been.

Daniel Korver

Founder · Northbound Goods

Shopify Plus rebuild

Frequently asked

Answers worth asking for.

Don't see the question you're holding? Send it to [email protected] and we'll answer the same day.

Gutenberg is native to WordPress, lighter than Elementor, and increasingly the place WordPress is investing. We pick Gutenberg for content-led editorial sites, brands that want editor flexibility without page-builder bloat, and teams that want a tool they won't need to re-learn in two years.

Continue reading

Where to go next

Start here

Brief us on a Gutenberg build that has to feel like a design tool.

30-minute call with a partner. We'll review the brand, the design system, and share a fixed quote.

Book a 30-min call
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