We love to see what our customers do with GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks. With the release of GenerateBlocks 2.0, we were struck by the new site developed by Leonardo Iannelli. Leonardo is a web designer with a keen eye for aesthetics and functionality who recently redesigned his personal website using GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks 2.0.
His redesign showcases the remarkable power of GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks, and we reached out to learn more about his site. Of greatest note is that he has leveraged our tools to create a fast, accessible, and aesthetically gorgeous site.
This case study explores Leonardo’s goals, the challenges he faced, and how GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks empowered him to craft a visually stunning, fast-loading, and user-friendly site in less than a month.
Leonardo’s Goals
Leonardo set out with a clear vision for his redesign, and he had clear goals including:
- Creative Freedom. He wanted the flexibility to build unique, elegant designs without being constrained by rigid templates or bloated code.
- Performance Excellence. A lightweight foundation was essential to ensure fast load times and minimal optimization effort.
- Efficient Workflow. He aimed to streamline his development process, focusing more on design than troubleshooting or manual coding.
- Scalability and Maintainability. Leonardo sought tools that would allow him to easily update and manage the site as his brand evolves.
The Challenges
While Leonardo’s goals were ambitious, there were a few challenges he easily overcame.
- Learning Curve. GenerateBlocks 2.0 introduced a revamped interface and advanced features, requiring adaptation to new workflows.
- Complex Design Needs. He wanted to implement sophisticated design elements—like decorative grids and pseudo-elements—that traditionally demanded custom code.
- Balancing Aesthetics and Functionality. Ensuring the site was visually appealing while remaining intuitive and fast posed a delicate balancing act.
How GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks Delivered Solutions
Leonardo turned to GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks 2.0. Here’s how they helped him overcome his challenges and achieve his goals.
A Lightweight Foundation for Performance and Focus
GeneratePress’s lightweight framework became the bedrock of Leonardo’s project. With minimal code and strong WordPress compatibility, it provided an ideal starting point, reducing the need for extensive optimization later.
“It’s one of the key factors that’s kept me loyal to this product,” Leonardo noted. “What has always attracted me to GenerateBlocks is its uniqueness: there are only a few blocks available, yet you can do just about anything with them thanks to their modular and customizable nature. For example, I’ve used the grid block with CSS grid to create decorative background structures.”
This allowed him to prioritize design development while achieving excellent baseline performance.
The result? A site that loads quickly and delights users, with feedback highlighting its speed and ease of use.
Creative Freedom with Modular Blocks
GenerateBlocks 2.0 proved to be a game-changer for Leonardo’s design aspirations. Despite offering a concise number of blocks, their modular and customizable nature unlocked limitless possibilities.
He leveraged the grid block with CSS grid to craft decorative background structures and content layouts, while the container block enabled sticky columns, background images with aspect ratios, and precise spacing control. “You can do just about anything with them,” he said.
Advanced features like pseudo-elements and positioning (absolute, fixed, sticky) allowed Leonardo to add elegant touches such as card embellishments and fixed CTAs without manual coding.
“All things I used to build manually with code are now easy to implement and manage,” he said, highlighting how GenerateBlocks 2.0 saved time and boosted creativity.
Streamlined Workflow with Global Styles and Elements
Leonardo’s workflow transformed with GenerateBlocks 2.0’s integration of Global Styles into local styles. “The integration of global styles into local styles has really given me a boost in both productivity and creativity within the block editor.”
By defining main classes for buttons, cards, and layouts using the BEM methodology, he ensured scalability and semantic clarity.
CSS selectors within the interface let him target global elements, like standardizing link styles or customizing a table of contents plugin, without extra code. “If my brand identity changes tomorrow, I can update the entire site from a single point,” he explained.
“An example: I standardized the styling of links across all content areas using a simple selector, or I was able to override and customize the style of a table of contents plugin, entirely through global styles, without writing manual code.”
Elements Made Workflows Easier than Ever
GeneratePress’s Elements feature further enhanced efficiency. Leonardo used Elements to create templates for articles, custom post types, and targeted sections like the footer, as well as to integrate tracking codes via hooks.
This modular approach, paired with the ability to disable features like headers or post titles, streamlined his process and kept his focus on design.
Overcoming the Learning Curve
While adapting to GenerateBlocks 2.0’s updated interface and advanced controls required initial effort, the investment was easier than anticipated. As well, Leonardo found support in the robust GP/GB community on both Facebook and Support Forums and the responsive support team.
“They consistently provided the answers I needed in no time,” he said.
Testing and experimentation, combined with community insights, helped him master new features like dynamic data, reducing his reliance on custom CSS by 90%, and mixed content for cleaner, more efficient code.
Responsive Design Made Simple
Leonardo’s responsive design process, starting with desktop and adapting for tablets and smartphones, was seamless thanks to GenerateBlocks’ breakpoint flexibility. Adjusting padding, margins, or hiding blocks on mobile was intuitive, ensuring a polished experience across devices. “The adaptive nature of the blocks gives me a lot of flexibility,” he noted, making this phase straightforward and effective.
The Results
In less than a month, Leonardo completed a redesign that exceeded his expectations. The site’s minimal, elegant design paired with top-tier performance earned praise from users, who described it as “easy to use, fast, and straight to the point.”
GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks not only met his goals but also revealed untapped potential, like patterns, which he plans to integrate into future projects for even greater scalability.
For web designers seeking a balance of aesthetics, functionality, and speed, Leonardo’s case study is a testament to how GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks can turn vision into reality efficiently and beautifully.
Share Your Project!
If you’re using GenerateBlocks 2.0 to craft your own masterpiece, we’d love to hear your story! Whether it’s a tale of overcoming design challenges, boosting performance, or unleashing your creativity, your experience could inspire others.
Reach out to us on X, Facebook, or LinkedIn with a link to your site and submit your case study. We’d love to showcase the incredible things you’re building with GenerateBlocks 2.0!
Great work, Leonardo. I loved your site. While I am not on GeneratePress — GenerateBlocks still helps me achieve any design I can think of thanks to the new class based ecosystem. Honestly, I can’t stop raving about how awesome the 2.0 update has been for my workflow. It’s a game-changer!