Setting up a block development environment and creating a simple block
As mentioned in the introduction, code to create custom blocks written using ESNext and JSX must be compiled before being able to run in standard browsers. This recipe shows how to download a copy of Node.js, the tool that will allow us to build our code, along with a set of necessary support modules to create a reusable block development environment.
Getting ready
You should have access to a WordPress development environment, either on your local computer or a remote server, where you will be able to load your new plugin files.
How to do it...
Follow these steps to create your first simple block:
- Download and install the current long-term support (LTS) version of Node.js (https://nodejs.org/en/). At the time of writing, the version is 16.13.2. The libraries that are currently used for WordPress block development are not currently compatible with Node.js version 17. On the Windows platform, make...
