WordPress Editor Components

Use public WordPress components for editor/admin application UI, but keep form state, persistence, authorization, and errors in your own explicit data flow. Component visibility and disabled state are never server-side access control.

Load the package correctly

When using @wordpress/scripts, import packages normally and consume the generated .asset.php file so wp-components, wp-element, wp-i18n, and other dependencies are declared automatically. Do not bundle a second React or reach through window.wp.components private properties to bypass the build.

Load component CSS in the target document. WordPress 7.1's post-editor canvas is always iframed, so distinguish shell components from block content styles. If custom UI uses @wordpress/theme or --wpds-* tokens, declare the matching wp-theme script/style dependency; the two registries are independent.

Build accessible controlled controls

import { TextControl } from '@wordpress/components';
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';

<TextControl
    label={ __( 'API label', 'acme' ) }
    value={ label }
    onChange={ setLabel }
    help={ error || __( 'Shown to editors.', 'acme' ) }
/>;

Keep a stable controlled value and provide real labels, help/error association, keyboard behavior, focus restoration, and loading feedback. Do not scrape a component's generated DOM, class names, or Emotion identifiers. Use documented props and composition.

WordPress 7.1 form-control sizing

Affected form controls now use a 40px default unconditionally. Remove __next40pxDefaultSize; it has no runtime effect, and false does not restore 36px. On BorderBoxControl, BorderControl, FontSizePicker, and ToggleGroupControl, the old size prop is also deprecated and ineffective.

This rollout does not include Button; do not mechanically remove a Button opt-in without checking its current contract. Audit surrounding fixed heights, grid rows, modal footers, and custom CSS instead of forcing old internal dimensions back onto the component.

Removed and changed APIs

• Navigation and its subcomponents were removed in 7.1. Migrate navigation state and screens to Navigator; it is not a one-name import replacement.
• __experimentalApplyValueToSides was removed. Keep BoxControl, but move side-value transformation into plugin-owned data logic.
• View still accepts css for type compatibility, but the prop is a no-op. Use style or className.
• Divider, Surface, Truncate, View, Flex, and Spacer are among the components moving away from Emotion implementation details. If using Emotion cx()/css(), compose order-dependent fragments in one css() call before cx(); preferably use scoped classes.

Read references/wp-71-migration-matrix.md for the affected controls and before/after checks.

Design-system boundary

Prefer a WordPress component over styling low-level tokens directly. For a plugin-owned themed application subtree, public ThemeProvider can set primary and background seed colors, cursor behavior, and corner radius. Render at most one isRoot provider per document, accept only valid opaque colors, and verify actual contrast; the generated palette cannot guarantee every combination.

Do not globally restyle core editor controls from plugin CSS. Scope any plugin-specific surface and test it with admin color schemes, RTL, high contrast, zoom, and narrow viewports.

Migration workflow

1. Search imports/JSX for removed, deprecated, __experimental, __unstable, css, generated-class, and fixed-height dependencies.
2. Confirm the installed WordPress package version and public documentation.
3. Migrate one behavior at a time; do not silence console warnings with aliases.
4. Rebuild dependency metadata and verify the script/style handles.
5. Test keyboard, focus, screen reader naming, errors, loading, RTL, zoom, and both Post/Site Editor contexts.
6. Test the oldest supported WordPress or feature-detect an optional export.

Security and performance

• Re-check permissions and sanitize writes at REST/Ajax handlers.
• Never render untrusted HTML through component escape hatches.
• Debounce deliberate search, cancel stale requests, and avoid a request on every uncontrolled render.
• Keep selectors stable and subscriptions narrow; memoize only after measuring.
• Treat experimental APIs as unstable even when they happen to exist in Core.
• React 19 did not ship in WordPress 7.1; do not code against that experiment as the Core runtime contract.

Related skills

• wp-dataviews-dataform for dataset and form abstractions.
• wp-block-editor-iframe-compatibility for canvas/shell document boundaries.
• wp-plugin-assets-loading for handles, generated metadata, and wp-theme.

References

• Read references/wp-71-migration-matrix.md for the per-component removal/replacement matrix.
• Editor components updates in WordPress 7.1: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/07/23/editor-components-updates-in-wordpress-7-1/
• Design system theming in WordPress 7.1: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/07/31/design-system-theming-in-wordpress-7-1/
• Miscellaneous block editor changes in WordPress 7.1: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/08/04/miscellaneous-block-editor-changes-in-wordpress-7-1/
• WordPress 7.1 Field Guide: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/08/05/wordpress-7-1-field-guide/