[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #34923: Introduce basic content authorship in the Customizer

[WordPress Trac]

#34923: Introduce basic content authorship in the Customizer
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 Reporter:  westonruter  |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement  |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |   Milestone:  4.5
Component:  Customize    |     Version:
 Severity:  normal       |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  needs-patch  |     Focuses:  javascript
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Description changed by westonruter:

Old description:

> Upon first installing WordPress, new users may find themselves in the
> Customizer to set up their site, given the big blue Customizer button on
> the Dashboard. The new user experience (NUX) is one area highlighted in
> the [https://make.wordpress.org/core/2015/09/23/outlining-a-possible-
> roadmap-for-the-customizer/ roadmap]. The number of tasks the user can do
> in the Customizer is largely a subset of what they can do in the WP
> admin. Most notably, one of the first things that a user may want to do
> is add pages to their site. I understand that new users to WordPress do
> not understand the nav menu item vs page distinction, and in the
> Customizer I am guessing that many users would expect to be able to add
> nav menu items for all of the pages they want to be on their site,
> whether they exist yet or not. This is not currently possible in the
> Customizer, meaning that users get stuck and have to exit the Customizer
> to create the pages and then come back into the Customizer to then create
> the nav menu items. This user
> [https://make.wordpress.org/flow/glossary/#flow flow] blockage is a poor
> experience.
>
> == Authorship via Nav Menus ==
>
> I propose that the UI for selecting an item to add a nav menu item should
> be extended with a button to add a new instance of the item type right
> there in the Customizer. If wanting to add a new page, then an editor
> overlay can appear over the preview which allows the user to supply the
> standard post/page fields such as the title and content via a TinyMCE
> editor (also allowing the setting of the featured image and page template
> would be useful, since these cannot be previewed via Post Preview
> either). This could serve as a first step toward a full post editor
> experience in the Customizer in a UI similar to
> [https://developer.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/the-story-behind-the-new-
> wordpress-com/ Calypso] on WordPress.com, but starting with just the
> title and content we can get our feet wet. Perhaps we could even fully
> re-use the [https://github.com/Automattic/wp-calypso/tree/master/client
> /post-editor post-editor] in Calypso.
>
> '''Notes:'''
>
> * I am not suggesting to add a post editor to the Customizer narrow pane,
> due to lack of space.
> * Nothing would be removed from the post editor in the WP admin.
> * The WP admin editor is where all of the plugin metaboxes would be
> accessible.
> * Upon a new post in the Customizer, the user can be provided links to
> continue editing the newly added posts in the WP admin to flesh out the
> basic content they added in the Customizer.
>
> If adding a page in the Customizer via a nav menu item, it could also
> default the `post_parent` and `menu_order` to correspond to the location
> of the nav menu item when possible so that the page hierarchy could
> roughly correspond to the nav menu item hierarchy.
>
> (To be clear, being in the Customizer, all manipulation of post/page
> content would be previewed: no changes would be written to the DB until
> hitting Save & Publish.)
>
> == Editing Existing Content ==
>
> The same editor interface could also be used to edit existing posts and
> pages. There could also be a top-level panel for “Content” with sections
> for “Posts” and “Pages” which would allow editing any post/page that
> currently appears in the preview. The [https://wordpress.org/plugins
> /customize-posts/ Customize Posts] feature plugin has been developed
> which implements a proof of concept for this.

New description:

 Upon first installing WordPress, new users may find themselves in the
 Customizer to set up their site, given the big blue Customizer button on
 the Dashboard. The new user experience (NUX) is one area highlighted in
 the [https://make.wordpress.org/core/2015/09/23/outlining-a-possible-
 roadmap-for-the-customizer/ roadmap]. The number of tasks the user can do
 in the Customizer is largely a subset of what they can do in the WP admin.
 Most notably, one of the first things that a user may want to do is add
 pages to their site. I understand that new users to WordPress do not
 understand the nav menu item vs page distinction, and in the Customizer I
 am guessing that many users would expect to be able to add nav menu items
 for all of the pages they want to be on their site, whether they exist yet
 or not. This is not currently possible in the Customizer, meaning that
 users get stuck and have to exit the Customizer to create the pages and
 then come back into the Customizer to then create the nav menu items. This
 user [https://make.wordpress.org/flow/glossary/#flow flow] blockage is a
 poor experience.

 == Authorship via Nav Menus ==

 I propose that the UI for selecting an item to add a nav menu item should
 be extended with a button to add a new instance of the item type right
 there in the Customizer. If wanting to add a new page, then an editor
 overlay can appear over the preview which allows the user to supply the
 standard post/page fields such as the title and content via a TinyMCE
 editor (also allowing the setting of the featured image and page template
 would be useful, since these cannot be previewed via Post Preview either).
 This could serve as a first step toward a full post editor experience in
 the Customizer in a UI similar to
 [https://developer.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/the-story-behind-the-new-
 wordpress-com/ Calypso] on WordPress.com, but starting with just the title
 and content we can get our feet wet. Perhaps we could even fully re-use
 the [https://github.com/Automattic/wp-calypso/tree/master/client/post-
 editor post-editor] in Calypso.

 '''☞ Nota bene:'''

 * I am not suggesting to add a post editor to the Customizer narrow pane,
 due to lack of space.
 * Nothing would be removed from the post editor in the WP admin.
 * The WP admin editor is where all of the plugin metaboxes would be
 accessible.
 * Upon Save & Publish, the user can be provided edit post links to
 continue editing the newly added posts/pages in the WP admin to flesh out
 the basic content they added in the Customizer.

 If adding a page in the Customizer via a nav menu item, it could also
 default the `post_parent` and `menu_order` to correspond to the location
 of the nav menu item when possible so that the page hierarchy could
 roughly correspond to the nav menu item hierarchy.

 (To be clear, being in the Customizer, all manipulation of post/page
 content would be previewed: no changes would be written to the DB until
 hitting Save & Publish.)

 == Editing Existing Content ==

 The same editor interface could also be used to edit existing posts and
 pages. There could also be a top-level panel for “Content” with sections
 for “Posts” and “Pages” which would allow editing any post/page that
 currently appears in the preview. The [https://wordpress.org/plugins
 /customize-posts/ Customize Posts] feature plugin has been developed which
 implements a proof of concept for this.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/34923#comment:7>
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