Hey y'all. I've been working on a plugin for quite a while that I finally released on WordPress.org, and I wanted to share it here because I think some of you might genuinely find it useful (especially if you build plugins yourself).
It actually started as a way for my clients to comment directly on the exact content of a page they wanted me to update. Over time I realized, "If they're already clicking on the thing they want changed and telling me what to do, why not just let them edit it themselves?"
That eventually became FrontEdit. The original comment workflow is still there too, and it's handy for things like requesting an image replacement when they don't actually have the new image themselves.
I built this because I thought WordPress block editing could be made more accessible to non-technical people in a way that still feels native to Gutenberg, and I'd love to know what other people think.
It's also more than a simple frontend content editor. FrontEdit edits native Gutenberg blocks rather than treating the page like editable HTML. That means supported blocks can be updated while preserving their block structure and settings, which made it possible to build a much more extensible architecture around the editor.
This also makes it safe, since FrontEdit lets WordPress handle block serialization instead of manipulating rendered HTML directly.
The part I'm most excited about though isn't even the editor itself. One of my goals from the beginning was to make it something other developers could build on.
I spent a lot of time building a developer-friendly architecture around it. There's a public JavaScript API for interacting with the frontend editor, and an extensible handler system that lets third-party blocks participate without modifying the plugin core.
I'm also working on a native AI assistant for FrontEdit, but since the JavaScript API and Abilities API are already included, you can start experimenting with existing AI agents today.
For the extensible handler system, I included a template and some setup instructions. Let's say you or a client of yours uses GenerateBlocks for their site. You can write handlers for the blocks you want to support, and they'll immediately become editable through FrontEdit without modifying the plugin core.
I'd love feedback from plugin developers, whether that's on the architecture, ideas for extending it, or even trying to write handlers for your own blocks. Real-world use is the best way to improve it, and it would be awesome to see what kinds of integrations or tools people come up with.
There's an interactive demo on my website if you want to play with it for a minute before installing. There's also info on the Pro version which adds things like editorial workflows, submitting drafts, approvals, customizable user permissions, batch editing, and other features aimed more at agencies and teams.
Honestly though, that's not really why I wanted to post here. I'd be perfectly happy if you never needed Pro and just found the free version useful. What I'd really love is to see other developers play with the APIs, build handlers for their favorite block libraries, and tell me where the architecture could be improved.
I'm happy to answer any questions or hear any criticism.