Publishers using WordPress have discovered that Gutenberg 10.2, which was released on March 17, 2021, is causing “fatal errors” due to compatibility issues with WordPress. One publisher recommended that Gutenberg’s autoupdates should include a compatibility check and issue a warning if any incompatibility is identified.
### WordPress Gutenberg
Gutenberg is a visual editor for WordPress that represents a significant shift from the traditional method of website building within the WordPress core. It allows publishers to create sites using a graphical user interface made up of blocks. For example, different sections of a webpage, like the header, content area, and sidebar, can be visualized as separate blocks.
While Gutenberg offers enhanced site-building capabilities, it is still under development. Full site editing capability is forthcoming, which means that some bugs are anticipated.
### Gutenberg 10.2 Fatal Error
Members of the Advanced WordPress Facebook Group have reported a fatal error that occurs upon updating to Gutenberg 10.2. The error has been noted in WordPress version 5.6 and also in version 5.5, according to a post on GitHub.
### WordPress and Gutenberg Release Timeline
WordPress 5.7 was released on March 9, 2021, followed by the Gutenberg 10.2 site editor release on March 17, 2021. Publishers who have updated to both WordPress 5.7 and Gutenberg 10.2 should not encounter this issue. However, those who have only updated Gutenberg to 10.2 but not WordPress itself may experience the fatal error.
This issue is more likely to affect publishers who have set Gutenberg to autoupdate but have not enabled autoupdates for WordPress. The error was reported in the official Gutenberg WordPress support forums, but no follow-up has been provided at the time of writing. The issue has also been documented on the official Gutenberg GitHub page.
### Examples of the Error
A user reported through GitHub that after updating to 10.2.0, they received a notification about a technical issue with the plugin. The email indicated that an E_ERROR was caused, and the user had to deactivate the plugin via FTP to prevent further issues.
Another user, who experienced the same issue, shared a screenshot of the fatal error. They noted that upgrading to WordPress 5.7 resolved the issue.
### Incompatibility with Older Versions of WordPress
A separate GitHub report confirmed that Gutenberg 10.2 causes fatal errors in older WordPress versions, such as 5.5.3. The error was linked to the inability to find the class ‘WP_Block_Supports’.
It was suggested that Gutenberg 10.2 should not be allowed to update (or autoupdate) on older WordPress versions to prevent these fatal errors. This is a sensible solution to ensure that users are informed of incompatibilities and can avoid potential issues.
Publishers using an older version of WordPress than 5.7 should consider updating to the latest version before upgrading to Gutenberg 10.2.
### Citations
– GitHub: Gutenberg 10.2.0 Locked Caused a Fatal Error #29977
– GitHub: Fatal Error in Gutenberg Plugin 10.2.0 #29972
– Facebook: Advanced WordPress Group (group membership required to view)
