Overview of WP 5.9 pending issues and blockers

[noisysocks]

👋 This list has served its purpose. Head over to the WordPress 5.9 Must-Haves project board to see block editor tasks for WP 5.9.

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Last updated: 14 December 2021

🔺 Blocker for 5.9 Beta (must be fixed before Beta1)
⚠️ Blocker for 5.9 Release (can be fixed after Beta1, must be fixed before RC preferably by Beta 4 to ensure included in a beta release)
🧪 Needs testing and feedback

The issues within each section are ordered by priority; contributors are welcome to pick issues from top to bottom in their area of expertise/interest.

Site editing experience

• Load the template list within the Site Editor without page reloads #37075 🧪
• Add templates list page for site editor #36379 🔺
• Implement "Add New" for templates list in Site Editor #36592 🔺
• [Site Editor] Templates list screen overview #36597 ⚠️
• Ensure links to the Customizer send users to an appropriate destination in 5.9 ⚠️
• Update the Dashboard welcome banner for 5.9 ⚠️
• Rework the default template for a better first experience twentytwentytwo#243 ⚠️

General interface

• Try: Make appender fixed position. #36037 ⚠️
• Make appender fixed position to avoid jumps in the UI #36605 ⚠️
• Full Site Editing: Ensure that the site editor canvas loads only after the global styles are ready. #36594 ⚠️

Navigation block

• Page List block shows loading state often, doesn't seem to cache page data #36502 ⚠️
• Deprecate navigation areas #36727 ⚠️
• Provide suitable frontend fallback for the Navigation block when no Menu is selected #36721 ⚠️
• Add page list to navigation direct insert conditions #36591 ⚠️
• As a contributor / author navigation block only shows a spinner #36286

Global styles & Design tools

• [Components - FontSizePicker]: Use incremental sequence of numbers as labels for the available font-sizes at the segmented control (conditionally) #37038 ⚠️
• Color palette: Design updates #36543 ⚠️
• Global Styles: Iterations on the user global styles endpoint. #36644 ⚠️

Theme blocks

• Apply Site Logo placeholder treatment to Featured Image block #36136 ⚠️
• Reusable blocks can't be inserted in the Site Editor #30669 ⚠️
• Template Part block should not be available in the Post Editor inserter #30668 ⚠️
• Inserter: Reorder blocks in the Theme & Design sections #36547 ⚠️

Non-blockers

Site editing experience

• Move Theme Editor to Tools when a block theme is active #36354
• Hide Navigation Menus WPAdmin menu item #36589
• Select mode: Broken icons #36530
• Add an option to configure the site icon in general settings
• Elevate "Editor" over "Customize" in the Appearance menu #37056

General interface

• Add a timeout for the in-between-inserter for cases where the onmouseout isn't invoked #35536

Navigation block

• Remove Navigation Area endpoints and utility functions wordpress-develop#1944
• Remove "Save as" button from Navigation block toolbar #36593
• Navigation block 'missing link' tooltip positioned far away from it's source in site editor #36634
• Rename the navigationMenuId property to id in the Navigation block #36722

Global styles & Design tools

• Global Styles panel: Add elements support to “Typography” section #36546
• Global Styles: improvements to color picker design #36542
• Add nudge to include name for Custom Color Palette #36473
• Fix confusing ellipsis menu for the Custom Color Palette feature #36519
• Users should be able to add a custom gradient when the default gradients are disabled #36640
• Border color: only shows a single palette #36641
• Block Spacing setting causes conflict with blockGap (Columns, Navigation, etc.) #36521

Block themes

• Revise folder structure on themes made with blocks #36548
• Remove color, spacing, and layout options for Template Part block #36571
• FSE: Fall back to Top level PHP theme templates when no FSE templates are available #24834
• Consider a root-level site padding solution that still lets some items go full-width #35607

Theme blocks

• Post Featured Image Block Consolidate double dimensions panel  #36536
• Query Loop Block Improvements #30910

[Addison-Stavlo]

Site Editor and site editing workflows
Add templates list page for site editor #36379
[FSE] Update "Customize" link from Appearance > Theme page for block themes #30643
Move Theme Editor to Tools when a block theme is active #36354
[Block Themes] Consider an FSE-compatible approach to starter content #35680
Add a timeout for the in-between-inserter for cases where the onmouseout isn't invoked #35536
Make it easier to unselect blocks #36535
Select mode: Broken icons #36530
Make the UI more clear when you are editing a template part #36533

I think there are some large red flags here that some things are not ready for 5.9. Especially re-creating the entire post list for templates / template parts at the last minute. Don't we want to give new flows ample testing in Gutenberg to ensure they are refined and the desired solution before including them in a core release? We once thought the Nav Panel was a desired solution, imagine if we had shipped that to core WP just days after it had been developed. We would be regretting it now.

Overall, it seems like right now we are rushing things in a dangerous way. We targeted 5.9 as the release for these items in core but too many things are just not ready, hence the rushing to change so many things at the last minute. Wouldn't it be better to miss the expected target date than to rush potentially regrettable decisions and brand new flows into core WP at the last minute?

[oandregal]

Added a couple of bugs I ran into for the color component

#36640
#36641

[briceduclos]

Can this issue be added to the list: The Group block's layout defaults break existing content #36057. (it's inside the WordPress 5.9 Must-Haves project)

[stacimc]

Should Add an option to configure the site icon in general settings be included in this list? (Currently missing a discoverable way to update the site icon for blocks themes).

[noisysocks]

Can this issue be added to the list: The Group block's layout defaults break existing content #36057. (it's inside the WordPress 5.9 Must-Haves project)

Let's use the WordPress 5.9 Must-Haves board for bugs. This list serves as a way to direct contributor focus in addition to the project board.

Should Add an option to configure the site icon in general settings be included in this list? (Currently missing a discoverable way to update the site icon for blocks themes).

I've added this, though without a ⚠️ since there is a workaround.

[aristath]

FSE: Fall back to Top level PHP theme templates when no FSE templates are available #24834

Already done in #29026 and further refined in #31604

[mtias]

Thanks for checking @aristath, it was listed to ensure it got a proper look since it's been a while since it was worked on.

[noisysocks]

[Site Editor] Templates list screen overview #36597 ⚠️

I'm going to check this one off as the majority of the items in #36597 have been completed.

[mtias]

We can punt #36535, #36533, #36544.

[hellofromtonya]

Following the discussion #37075 (comment), #37075 is no longer considered a blocker for 5.9. Can the ⚠️ be removed from its title and from the blockers list above? @noisysocks @priethor

[priethor]

#37075 is still considered a top priority, although we agree it should not jeopardize the release timeline. It is being addressed in #36488, and because Beta 2 is already out I think it's important to keep the ⚠️ and highlight it to get contributors to test it as much as possible.

[hellofromtonya]

#37075 is still considered a top priority, although we agree it should not jeopardize the release timeline. It is being addressed in #36488, and because Beta 2 is already out I think it's important to keep the ⚠️ and highlight it to get contributors to test it as much as possible.

While I appreciate it as priority, ⚠️ is a flag that it blocks 5.9 RC. But that's not the case now. It's something to get into the release if possible, but it no longer a blocker to stop 5.9 RC from happening.

@priethor the list is already prioritized, right? Removing the ⚠️ lets everyone including the release squad, community, etc. know that this issue will not block 5.9 RC or its final release.

[priethor]

The list is prioritized but visual indicators are most useful. Since you are right about the non-blocking nature and the issue is already fixed by #36488 , I've added a different icon instead to denote testing is required. How does that sound?

[hellofromtonya]

I like that 🧪 emoji (will borrow it). Thank you @priethor for updating it!

[noisysocks]

I hid the non-blockers underneath a <details> since it's not realistic that we'll be looking at them now that we're past beta 3.

All that's remaining is https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/54489 and #37038.

[noisysocks]

I'm hearing feedback that it's confusing to have both this issue and the project board. Given most of the items here are checked off, and the two remaining items are also in the project board, I'm going to close this out.

Let's work on closing out as many items as we can in the project board before RC 1.