Using LearnDash with Gutenberg

By: Justin Ferriman • November 19, 2018
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WordPress 5.0 (and Gutenberg) is right around the corner, and LearnDash is ready-to-go!

One of the more frequent questions we have received lately is whether or not LearnDash will work with the new Gutenberg editor when WordPress 5.0 is released as there are naturally concerns over this WordPress release given the scope of the changes.

Let me start by putting your mind at ease: LearnDash will not break when using Gutenberg. 🙂

The truth is that we have been compatible for quite some time. Updating won’t change anything for your learners, nor will it alter your courses is any specific way. You can feel free to use the new editor to create your lessons.

As is shown in the video above, the new Gutenberg blocks can be used as you structure your course content. Not only that, we have made all of the LearnDash shortcodes into Gutenberg Blocks. When you select and insert a LearnDash Block, it will render in the same way as you would see when viewing the page on the front-end of your site.

Are there future plans for LearnDash and Gutenberg?

Phase 1 of our Gutenberg approach was to ensure that you could update without issue. This is done, and we even threw in a few extra features with regards to the LearnDash specific Blocks.

As more people update to WordPress 5.0 and use the Gutenberg editor we will gain more insight on ways to leverage the editor for new functionality.

This is where we will need your help! Please share with the community how you are using Gutenberg and LearnDash together, and what features you think would be useful from a Gutenberg perspective. We will use your feedback in this area to drive our future LearnDash-Gutenberg development.

What happens if you don’t use Gutenberg?

If you decide not to use Gutenberg when WordPress 5.0 ships then that’s perfectly okay! You can continue to use the Classic Editor if you choose to do so and LearnDash will function as normal.

My personal opinion is that you should adopt the new editor eventually as our future development efforts will assume Gutenberg as the default user experience. However, you won’t lose out on anything if you decide not to – so don’t worry!

To start using LearnDash with Gutenberg all you need to do is to update to WordPress 5.0. No settings are needed. If you want to get a glimpse at how everything will work before the official WordPress 5.0 release then feel free to install the Gutenberg plugin.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter