sales-skills/sales-spectra

Spectra Platform Help

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

1. What are you trying to do?

   • A) Fix a broken state — editor slow/freezing, blocks or CSS not rendering on inner pages, Post Grid/Taxonomy block distorted in a template, site broke after an update
   • B) Build with blocks — Container/flexbox layout, Starter Templates, Popup Builder, Coming Soon mode, animations, Global Styles, Wireframe blocks
   • C) Use Pro/dynamic features — Loop Builder, Dynamic Content, display conditions, role permissions, white label
   • D) Customize/automate — public actions & filters, spectra_pro_rest_api_get_controllers REST filter, design-library role gating, query-arg filters
   • E) Pick or compare a plan (Free / Pro / Essential Toolkit / Business Toolkit) or weigh Spectra vs other block builders

2. Free or Pro? Free (WordPress.org, 30+ blocks). Pro is sold as Spectra Pro or the Essential/Business Toolkit bundles. Several blocks and features (Loop Builder, Dynamic Content, display conditions, white label, finer styling) are Pro-gated.

Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2.

Step 2 — Route or answer directly

| Problem domain | Route to | |---|---| | Funnel strategy, page structure, builder selection across tools (Elementor/Kadence/GenerateBlocks/SeedProd…) | /sales-funnel — Run: /sales-funnel {user's original question} | | A/B testing methodology (Spectra has no native split testing) | /sales-vwo — Run: /sales-vwo {user's original question} | | Email sequences/automation after a Spectra form opt-in | /sales-email-marketing — Run: /sales-email-marketing {user's original question} | | Growing the list, lead-magnet strategy | /sales-audience-growth — Run: /sales-audience-growth {user's original question} | | WooCommerce store/checkout beyond Spectra's blocks | /sales-checkout — Run: /sales-checkout {user's original question} | | WordPress/WooCommerce funnel + upsells (by the same makers) | /sales-cartflows — Run: /sales-cartflows {user's original question} | | On-page/technical SEO beyond Spectra's FAQ/Schema blocks | /sales-seo — Run: /sales-seo {user's original question} |

If the question is Spectra-specific, continue to Step 3.

Step 3 — Spectra platform reference

Read references/platform-guide.md for the full platform reference — blocks/modules, pricing/plan gates, data model, integration recipes, and code examples. For the public actions/filters list, the REST-controller filter, and design-library role gating, read references/spectra-api-reference.md.

Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

Focus on the user's specific situation.

• Editor slowness/freezing is the #1 complaint, especially on long posts with Spectra Pro active. Deactivating Spectra Pro confirms it's the culprit. Mitigate: update to the latest version, disable unused blocks (Spectra → Settings → Blocks), and split very long pages. If it persists, report it with a System Info dump.
• "Blocks broken on inner pages, fine on the homepage" is almost always Spectra's CSS not loading sitewide. Set Spectra → Settings → CSS file generation appropriately and regenerate Spectra assets (Settings → Regenerate / clear the uag_* asset cache), then clear page/CDN cache.
• Plan gating drives most surprises. Free is 30+ blocks; Loop Builder, Dynamic Content, display conditions, white label, role permissions, and the richer style controls are Pro. Confirm the tier before promising a feature, and warn that pages built with Pro-only blocks fall back to fallback content if Pro is deactivated/expires — test on staging first.
• No native A/B testing, heatmaps, or analytics. Pair with a separate tool (VWO, Microsoft Clarity) — Spectra only builds the page.
• The real automation surface is WordPress hooks/filters, not a hosted API: render_block, uagb_post_query_args_* (Post Grid/Masonry/Carousel queries), spectra_slider_params, spectra_countdown_context, plus spectra_pro_rest_api_get_controllers to register a custom REST controller. There is no outbound webhook — form leads flow out via the connected form/ESP integration.
• Performance angle: Spectra emits leaner DOM markup than some block plugins, but the Pro editor's runtime can be heavy — the page weight win and the editor sluggishness are separate issues.

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.

Gotchas

Best-effort from research (2026-06) — review these, especially plan-gated features and integration details that may be outdated.

1. Editor backend slows down / freezes, particularly on long posts and with Spectra Pro enabled. Update first; disable unused blocks; if it persists, it's a known performance area the team is iterating on.
2. Spectra CSS not loaded on non-homepage pages makes blocks render unstyled/distorted on inner pages. Fix the CSS file-generation setting and regenerate Spectra assets, then clear caches.
3. Post Grid / Taxonomy blocks can render distorted inside post/loop templates. Check the block's query/layout settings and theme template context; the uagb_post_query_args_* filters can correct query args.
4. Pro features don't deactivate gracefully — blocks built with Pro-only features may switch to fallback content when Pro is off/expired. Don't build a live page solely on Pro blocks without a tested fallback.
5. Loop Builder, Dynamic Content, display conditions, role permissions, and white label are Pro. The free plugin is block-building only.
6. No native A/B testing, heatmaps, or analytics. Spectra builds pages; measurement needs a separate tool.
7. Spectra + Astra updates have conflicted in the past (e.g. WP Trac #62481). Update plugins on staging and keep a rollback before bulk-updating a live site.

Related skills

• /sales-funnel — Funnel strategy, page structure, and builder selection across tools (Elementor, Kadence Blocks, GenerateBlocks, SeedProd, ClickFunnels, Leadpages)
• /sales-cartflows — WordPress/WooCommerce funnel + checkout builder by the same makers (Brainstorm Force); Spectra builds the pages, CartFlows adds the cart/upsells
• /sales-kadence — The closest rival: another Gutenberg-native block plugin (by StellarWP) — compare blocks, performance, plan gates, and developer hooks
• /sales-generateblocks — The minimalist, performance-first Gutenberg block plugin (by EDGE22/GeneratePress) — compare its few-primitives model and lean DOM against Spectra's 30+ blocks
• /sales-stackable — Another Gutenberg-native block plugin (by Gambit Technologies) — design-focused with 42 blocks but no form/popup builder (Spectra ships both); compare blocks, plan gates, and developer hooks
• /sales-seedprod — Another WordPress page/landing-page builder plugin (a non-Gutenberg alternative with Theme Builder + coming-soon pages)
• /sales-vwo — A/B testing and heatmap methodology Spectra lacks natively
• /sales-audience-growth — Growing an email list (lead magnets, opt-in strategy) behind a Spectra form
• /sales-email-marketing — Email sequences to run after a Spectra form captures the lead
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code

Examples

Example 1: Register a custom REST controller and tweak Post Grid queries via hooks

User: "How do I extend Spectra programmatically — add my own REST endpoint and change what the Post Grid block queries?" Approach: Spectra exposes WordPress-style hooks, not a hosted API. Add a custom REST controller by hooking the spectra_pro_rest_api_get_controllers filter (push your controller class onto the array). To change which posts the Post Grid/Masonry/Carousel blocks pull, filter uagb_post_query_args_grid / uagb_post_query_args_masonry / uagb_post_query_args_carousel and modify the WP_Query args. Pull the exact hook names, parameters, and a code snippet from references/spectra-api-reference.md.

Example 2: Spectra blocks look broken on every page except the homepage

User: "My Spectra blocks display fine on the home page but are unstyled/broken on inner pages." Approach: This is Spectra's CSS not being generated/loaded sitewide. In Spectra → Settings, set the CSS file generation option and regenerate Spectra assets (clears the cached uag_* CSS), then purge page cache and CDN. If a security/optimization plugin strips inline CSS or blocks the assets directory, allowlist Spectra's uploads path. See Troubleshooting.

Example 3: Which plan do I need for Loop Builder and Dynamic Content?

User: "I want to build a dynamic blog/portfolio loop and pull custom-field content into blocks — what tier?" Approach: Loop Builder, Dynamic Content, and display conditions are Pro — the free plugin can't do them. Spectra Pro (or the Essential/Business Toolkit bundles, which add Astra Pro and more) unlocks them. Warn that pages built with these Pro blocks fall back to fallback content if Pro lapses, so test on staging. Confirm current tiers/prices in references/platform-guide.md (pricing is best-effort and annual; lifetime deals exist).

Troubleshooting

Editor is slow or freezes

Symptom: The WordPress block editor becomes sluggish or freezes when editing pages/posts, especially long ones, after enabling Spectra (often Spectra Pro). Cause: Spectra's editor-side runtime overhead, compounded on long documents and by many active blocks. Solution: Update Spectra/Spectra Pro to the latest version; disable blocks you don't use (Spectra → Settings → Blocks); split very long pages; deactivate other heavy editor plugins to isolate the conflict. If it remains, submit System Info to support — it's an acknowledged performance area.

Spectra blocks render broken on inner pages

Symptom: Blocks look correct on the homepage but unstyled or distorted on other pages. Cause: Spectra's per-page CSS isn't being generated/loaded sitewide, or a cache/optimization plugin is stripping it. Solution: Set the CSS file generation option (Spectra → Settings), regenerate Spectra assets to rebuild the cached uag_* CSS, then clear page cache + CDN. Allowlist Spectra's uploads asset path in any minify/security plugin.

A block (Post Grid/Taxonomy) looks distorted in a template, or a Pro block disappeared

Symptom: Post Grid/Taxonomy blocks display distorted inside a post/loop template, or a block reverted to plain "fallback content." Cause: Wrong query/layout context inside the template, or a Pro-only block losing its Pro feature because Spectra Pro is deactivated/expired. Solution: For distorted post blocks, check the block's query + layout settings and the template context; correct the query with uagb_post_query_args_*. For fallback content, reactivate/renew Spectra Pro (the Pro-only styling/feature is gated) and avoid building critical pages solely on Pro blocks.