Summary
Johanne Courtright began using WordPress in 2011 after working with Dreamweaver and static HTML. Over the years she moved into custom queries, forms, CRM integrations and, increasingly, the block editor and React. Her project Groundworx grew from agency needs she felt Core didn’t address: refined responsive controls, consistent breakpoints, reusable colour systems, flexible navigation, and lightweight theme tooling.
From Classic themes to a full Gutenberg stack
Johanne learned WordPress on the job and adopted Gutenberg early, accepting the upfront cost of learning React and the Interactivity API. Where many teams kept a hybrid approach—ACF and classic PHP alongside blocks—Johanne committed to a full block-driven stack for her projects. Once she stopped fighting the new paradigms she found block-first development enables cleaner theming and more predictable editor experiences for clients.
Agency needs vs Core’s scope
Her core insight is simple: WordPress Core is aimed at the 80/20 rule. Most users need broad, easy-to-understand features. Agencies, by contrast, need pixel control, predictable breakpoints, reusable brand palettes, and editor efficiencies. Those agency-level needs often fall outside Core’s mission, so Groundworx exists to provide the extra layer without conflicting with Core principles.
Groundworx philosophy
Groundworx extends Core rather than replacing it. Johanne focuses on subtle, practical additions: breakpoint controls, responsive typography and spacing, column counts by breakpoint, reverse stacking, full-height sticky groups, and video performance improvements. Her aim is to give designers and editors fine-grained control while keeping markup flexible and avoiding upstream conflicts if Core eventually adds similar features.
Blocks and enhancements
Groundworx delivers two complementary offerings:
– Purpose-built custom blocks for behaviors Core doesn’t provide or where she wanted a particular UX—tabs that collapse to accordions, card and reveal components, media/text split blocks, and similar patterns.
– Enhancements to Core blocks that add responsive settings and layout tools, letting editors keep familiar workflows while gaining extra flexibility.
Johanne favors flexible HTML and CSS so blocks can be reflowed with grid and modern CSS rather than being locked into rigid markup. That makes themes lighter and interchangeable, which is important when clients change branding or swap themes.
Navigation and interactivity
Navigation was a major focus. Johanne built a system that mirrors Core’s reusable, stored-block idea but offers more layout modes and avoids duplicate menus for mobile and desktop. A single set of HTML reflows across breakpoints. Navigation parts—branding, menus, submenus, links, spacers—are composable blocks styled via theme.json and regular CSS. Interactivity is handled with the Interactivity API and minimal JS, keeping behavior performant without heavy frameworks.
Themes, theme.json, and tokens
She prefers extremely light block themes with minimal CSS and JavaScript, using theme.json for colours, fonts, and spacing tokens. That lets a theme swap be mostly a tokens swap rather than a markup rewrite. Johanne would like theme.json to support more flexible custom keys or tokens so plugins and blocks can consume shared values (for example, multiple navigation colours) without injecting manual CSS variables. That change would make branded, reusable block libraries much easier to maintain across themes.
Discovery, ecosystem and building a business
Johanne highlights poor discovery on wordpress.org as a barrier for new block projects. Listings suffer from weak search, keyword stuffing, and a lack of curated recommendations. Clearer metadata—whether a plugin supports Gutenberg, relies on jQuery, or targets block-based flows—would help developers, agencies, and end users find the right tools.
Groundworx is pragmatic about commercial expectations. Johanne built it because she needed the tools; commercial success is welcome but not the only motive. She expects the block ecosystem to mature—better marketplaces and discovery could unlock larger business models similar to app stores in mobile.
Adoption barriers and advice
The biggest adoption hurdle is mindset and the learning curve. Developers used to classic PHP patterns must unlearn habits and embrace flexible, reusable block patterns. Tools like Tailwind can clash with WordPress conventions; Johanne prefers hand-crafted SCSS and minimal CSS inside blocks to keep things clear and interoperable. She also advocates restraint about what belongs in Core—agency-level features can live in plugins so Core remains simple and broadly useful.
Looking ahead
Johanne plans to continue releasing Groundworx components and a starter theme.json as open source to accelerate agency projects. Her priorities include better wordpress.org discovery, clearer block compatibility signals, and more flexible theming tokens. She remains optimistic about the block editor’s direction and is committed to building solutions that respect Core while addressing real-world agency needs.
Where to find her
Johanne is active on X and maintains groundworx.dev. She welcomes feedback and conversation from the community.
Conclusion
Groundworx is a pragmatic, agency-focused complement to Gutenberg: lightweight themes, flexible blocks, responsive controls, and composable navigation that solve real workflow problems without undermining Core. Johanne’s work highlights both the power of the block editor and the current gaps—especially around discovery and theming tokens—that the ecosystem still needs to address as it matures.