NC State Blocks is a WordPress plugin that provides a core set of university-branded content blocks designed for the blocks-based (Gutenberg) editor introduced in WordPress 5.0.
This plugin is a project lead by OIT Design & Web Services.
Campus web developers are invited to contribute to the project on GitHub. Contribution guidelines and a project roadmap are available in the repository wiki. Additional information is also available on the project website.
Requirements
In order to use NC State Blocks, you must have a website running WordPress 5.0 or newer, or an older version of WordPress plus the Gutenberg plugin.
Some WordPress themes and plugins include "page builder" functionality. (Examples include Divi, Beaver Builder, and Visual Composer.) Compatibility between these tools and the Gutenberg editor vary, and the NC State Blocks plugin may not perform as expected if you're using one of these other tools.
Installing and activating the plugin
NC State Blocks is available via the Cthulhu package distribution system. After Cthulhu is installed and activated on your website, you can install NC State Blocks with the following steps:
- In your Cthulhu settings (Dashboard > Settings > Cthulhu Settings), make sure the OIT plugin repository is active. If it the OIT repository is not active, you can add it with the URL
https://www.webtools.ncsu.edu/wp-updates/pkg/oit
No access key is required. - Go to Dashboard > Plugins > Add Plugin, and search for "NC State Blocks"
- Install and activate the plugin.
Using the NC State Blocks plugin
Campus-branded blocks added via this plugin are available through the editor block inserter tool.
Blocks included in this plugin include:
- Alert
- Callout
- Icon, Icon + Text, Icon + Links, Icon + Heading
- Major Link
- Collapsible Panel
- Recent Posts
- Social Media Links
- Video Banner
Theme Compatibility
Blocks have been designed to be "theme agnostic," meaning they will work with any WordPress theme. However, different themes have different built-in styles which may interact with the NC State Blocks plugin in unexpected ways.
Common campus WordPress themes such as Hillsborough have been designed to work with the NC State Blocks plugin. Other custom themes may require minor changes to their CSS stylesheets in order to display blocks as desired. Talk to your WordPress developers or your web support team, or contact the Help Desk if you have questions.
Requesting new blocks
This project is under active development, and we are in the process of adding new blocks to the plugin. If you have a page element you would like to be able to include, and that you think others on campus would also want to use, please submit a request for a new block on the project website.