In Drupal 7, for all but the most simple sites it seemed like no one used the core Block system. If you wanted to manage any kind of complicated layout you probably used Panels or the Context module.
Luckily for Drupal 8 the Block system has been vastly improved by a few key features:
Blocks are exportable
Blocks can be placed multiple times
Fieldable Blocks are in core
Blocks use Condition plugins
This session will look at how we can use these and other changes to the Block system in Drupal 8 as powerful site building tools. We will look at some smaller contrib modules in Drupal 8, like Block Visibility Groups, that will make the Block system even better. This session will focus on simpler solutions that don't abandon the Block administration page altogether but make it much better.
We will also look at changes to the Block system that will be added to Drupal 8.2 and changes that are being planned for the near future.
Audience:
This session is anyone is interested in building sites in Drupal 8.