The WordPress.org theme repository reached a major milestone this week, with 1,000 block themes now available.
WordPress Themes Team representative Ganga Kafle announced the milestone on the Make WordPress Themes blog, noting that there were 536 block themes live as of October 22, 2023. This number increased by 457 since January 1, 2024, highlighting the rapid adoption of block-based design. The repository now hosts a total of 12,984 themes, with block themes making up a growing share.
“This growth reflects the community’s enthusiasm for block themes, which make it easier than ever to create tailored experiences online,” said Kafle. He also credited the top theme developers, including Automattic (116 block themes), Creta Themes (41), and VW Themes (39), for driving this momentum.
Yoast-sponsored contributor Carolina Nymark launched the first block theme, Armando, in December 2020, setting the foundation for block-based site customization in WordPress. As demand for block themes continues, Kafle expressed optimism for further innovation: “Whether you’re a developer, designer, or site owner, block themes present exciting opportunities for creativity and customization.”
Anne McCarthy, an Automattic-sponsored contributor who previously led the Full Site Editing (FSE) outreach experiment, posted on WordPress.org that the community had reached 1,000 block themes in nearly 1,000 days.
Block themes were introduced in WordPress 5.9, allowing users to customize their sites entirely using the ground-breaking new block editor. Continued updates and enhancements via the Gutenberg plugin have brought new features to the block editor, making it easier to customize layouts and designs in WordPress with each new version.
WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg initially set a high bar for the growth of block themes, aiming for 5,000 block themes in the repository. In his 2021 State of the Word address, he said he hoped to “have 300 or ideally 3,000 of these block themes” before entering the Collaboration phase of the Gutenberg project.
Despite the recent milestone, the adoption of block themes has faced challenges. Theme authors have been slow to embrace block themes, prompting the addition of a “Block themes” menu item to the theme directory landing page, making it easier for users to quickly filter our classic themes.
In an August 2023 article for The WP Minute, writer Eric Karkovack questioned why developers had been slow to adopt block themes and questioned whether there would ever be a market for commercial block themes.
Still, block themes have been championed by some notable personalities in the WordPress community, including developer and designer Mike McAlister. In May 2024, he spoke about why block themes are the future on the WP Tavern Jukebox podcast. In August, he launched the Ollie Pro pattern library to rave reviews following the popularity of his free Ollie block theme in the WordPress.org theme repository.
Brian Gardner, an OG premium WordPress themes pioneer and creator of StudioPress, has been a vocal and frequent supporter of block themes on X. He launched his Frost block theme in the repository in 2021, later selling it to WP Engine.
For users and developers ready to dive into block themes, there are some great resources, including Nymark’s excellent website, fullsiteediting.com, courses at Learn WordPress, the WordPress Theme Handbook, and the Create Block Theme plugin.
