SEO

Free WordPress Astra Plugin Updated with Gutenberg Wireframe Blocks

Published

3 years ago

October 5, 2021

Astra announced that their Starter Templates plugin is being updated with brand new Gutenberg Wireframe Blocks. This new feature allows publishers and developers to quickly create web page mock-ups within the normal web design workflow.

WordPress Gutenberg Editor

Gutenberg is the modern website building editor from WordPress.

The idea behind the Gutenberg editor is to take the coding part out of web design process and make it easier for publishers and web developers to create websites.

Why Build with Gutenberg Editor

Gutenberg democratizes web development and allows publishers to devote less time on coding and free up more time to focus on creating content.

Another benefit of using Gutenberg is that because websites created with the Gutenberg editor tend to be fast.

What Wireframing is in Web Design

Wireframing is the process in web design where the basics of what a web page can look like are created.

The wireframing stage of web design generally happens after much of the site goals, site navigation, internal linking and SEO has been planned but before any of the visual design/look and feel choices have been made.

In the wireframing stage the publishers and designers work out what the basics of the home page, category pages, post pages and so on are going to look like in terms of the placement of widgets in side bars, featured images, how content is laid out on a page and all the other considerations before the discussion turns to color schemes and other visual details.

Astra wireframing is described like this:

“Wireframing the structure of any website before beginning the design process …increases work efficiency, makes the workflow more effortless, and helps you get the final website design ready in less time.
Wireframing means having a basic structure of your webpage like some sections, their layout, image position, text position, and so on. This gives you an idea of how you can manage content on any webpage.”

Free Astra Starter Templates Plugin

Astra Starter Templates is a free WordPress plugin that provides website templates for creating a website.

The plugin allows a publisher to mix and match web page elements to create the web page they have in their mind.

A publisher can import an entire website or use a mix of different templates to create a new website template.

With the latest update publishers can now create wireframe mockups of web pages using the WordPress Gutenberg blocks editor.

Starter Templates – Gutenberg Wireframe Blocks

The free Astra Starter Templates plugin version 2.7.0 allows publishers to wireframe web pages within the WordPress Gutenberg editor using the Gutenberg blocks.

Publishers and web designers can select different web page elements and simply drag and drop them into position to create the general outline of what the page should look like.

Once the Gutenberg blocks are in place and all the stakeholders have agreed on the basics of what the web pages look like the design process can proceed to the look and feel phase.

According to the official Astra announcement:

“Usually, you would create wireframes on external platforms and then transfer the designs to your website. Starter Templates offers ready-to-use wireframe blocks right inside the Gutenberg editor, helping you avoid those extra efforts.
Benefits of using wireframe blocks:

Provides basic structure to start any website design.

Save your time in creating a wireframe with an external tool or traditional pen-paper

Just replace image, text and add colors in the wireframe to make the final website design ready in less time

Make website designing smooth and effortless”