The Gutenberg block editor revolutionized content editing experience with the release of version WordPress 5.0 few years ago. It was created to make the content creation process on WordPress more approachable and convenient for users without a background in coding and web-development. The editor introduced a unique interface using blocks that made creating media rich posts and pages easier and user-friendly. With that said, there are always two sides to a story, and this is no exception. While the Gutenberg block editor has some great perks and unique features that make it very useful for some, it has some drawbacks which makes it a nuisance for others.
For instance, if you are someone that has gotten used to the text editor format of the good-old Classic Editor, then the Gutenberg editor will feel like a completely new world, and it will take some getting used to. While the decision to use or not use the Gutenberg editor is a personal one, if you are someone who favors the Classic editor over its contemporary counterpart, then this is the article for you. In this post, we will go over all the different ways you can disable the new default Gutenberg block editor to use the Classic Editor instead.
Gutenberg Vs Classic Editor
In our earlier article, we have explained ten reasons why people prefer Classic Editor over Gutenberg block editor. Ultimately, disabling the block editor for the classic text editor is not a complicated process, and with this article you’ll learn multiple ways to achieve this.
1. Disable Gutenberg Editor Without Plugin
There are many plugins available for disabling Gutenberg editor in WordPress. However, if you have a simple blog and wanted to completely get rid of the bock editor then add the following code in functions.php file of your theme. Make sure to use a child theme or use plugins like Code Snippets to create a PHP snippet. This is essential so that your changes will not be wiped off when you update the theme.
/* Disable Gutenberg Block Editor */
add_filter('use_block_editor_for_post', '__return_false', 10);If you also want to disable Gutenberg widget editor, then additionally add the following code in your functions.php file.
/* Disable Widgets Block Editor */
add_filter( 'use_widgets_block_editor', '__return_false' );2. Using Disable Gutenberg Plugin
Well, though the above method is quite straightforward, modifying theme’s file is not recommended even with child theme or you need an additional Code Snippets plugin. In addition, you may have different requirements to disable Gutenberg only for posts and want to use for pages and custom post types. You can handle these types of complex situations with “Disable Gutenberg” plugin. Just follow along the steps shown below and you will be done with the Gutenberg editor in no time.
- Open your website’s admin panel and go to “Plugins > Add New” section.
- Search for the plugin by entering the plugin’s name, “Disable Gutenberg” using the search box on the top right of the page.
- Install and activate the plugin developed by Jeff Starr, as shown in the image below.
If you look closely at the image above, you’ll find other plugins that offer a similar output, however, the plugin that we’ve selected has over 600,000+ active installations which is much more than the others on the page. This is an important metric to keep in mind when selecting plugins as it shows a sign of social proof and credibility.
- Click on the “Settings” menu and navigate to “Disable Gutenberg” option. Alternatively, you can just open the “Plugins” menu and click on the “Settings” link below the “Disable Gutenberg” plugin.
- This will take you to the settings page of the plugin. Here you can disable Gutenberg everywhere across your site or just for specific user roles, post types, templates, or post IDs. Just keep in mind that you can disable Gutenberg selectively only if you uncheck the “Disable Gutenberg everywhere” button.
- Make sure to click “Save Changes” after you’ve made your selections.
As you can see, it is simple to disable editor based on your requirements and change the setup any time you need. For example, you can disable the editor only for editor roles and continue to use as an administrator. Similarly, you can disable for posts and use Gutenberg on pages or any other custom post types that you use on your site. And that’s it, after you’ve done this, once you go back to creating a page or a post, you’ll find that the Gutenberg block editor is replaced with the classic text editor as shown in the image below.
3. Using the Classic Editor Plugin
In this method, instead of disabling the Gutenberg editor through a plugin, we will be using the Classic Editor plugin to restore the previous WordPress content editor. This plugin has over 5 million active installations to date and is the go-to plugin for anyone who fancies the Classic Editor over Gutenberg. In addition, this is an official plugin from WordPress community developers to offer Classic Editor interface as an alternate option to Gutenberg.
To use this plugin, follow the same steps mentioned above to install and then activate the plugin. After activation, follow the steps shown below to replace the Gutenberg block editor with the Classic editor.
- Open the plugin’s settings page by going to the “Plugins” menu and then opening the Classic Editor plugin’s settings page from there.
- Unlike “Disable Gutenberg” plugin, the Classic Editor plugin does not provide selections in terms of disabling the block editor. It uses the standard “Settings > Writing” section in WordPress admin panel to add two additional options as shown below.
- Select “Classic editor” option for “Default editor for all users”.
- Choose “No” for the next option “Allow users to switch editor”.
- Save your changes after you have made the selections.
- And that’s it!! Just open a post or page and then once again, you will find that the text editor has replaced the block editor previously there.
- In case if you allow users to switch editors, the plugin will show additional details in the “Posts” and “Pages” section. You will find the default editor used for creating the post along with options to edit with Classic Editor or Gutenberg block editor.
- This could lead to back-and-forth of switching between the two editors and confuse when you have multiple users accessing the backend. Therefore, make sure not to allow users to switch editors to force using Classic Editor interface.
4. No Gutenberg – Disable Gutenberg Block Editor
The two plugin options shown above should suffice and they are both absolutely free to use. However, there are still a few other plugins that offer the same solution and deserve a shout-out as well. “No Gutenberg – Disable Gutenberg Block Editor” is another great option, and extremely convenient as you won’t even have to configure anything to remove Gutenberg. Just install and activate this plugin, and it will do the rest on its own.
5. Disable Gutenberg by CodePopular
This plugin works exactly like the previous option, it automatically replaces the Gutenberg editor with the classic editor after installation and activation.
Note: The above two plugins may not be a good choice if you need additional options to select the editor. Also, use these plugins with caution as they have low number of installations and reviews.
Using Classic Block with Gutenberg Editor
As you see the official Classic Editor plugin from WordPress community is having 5+ millions of active installations. This is the situation after few years of releasing Gutenberg block editor and the popularity of Classic Editor does not seems to reduce in near future. With this situation, the recent Gutenberg update has a “Classic” block that brings the Classic Editor interface within Gutenberg block editor.
This is a best option when you want to use both Gutenberg and Classic Editor without additional plugins or using code as explained above. You can simply insert a Classic block to open the old TinyMCE text editor and start preparing your content.
After creating your content, you can any time convert the Classic block to Gutenberg blocks using the “Convert to blocks” option.
Final Words
Well, these are the different methods for you to choose from. If we had to recommend one, then either of the first two plugin options would be where we would point you to, as they are plugins with larger usage, credibility, and reputation. However, if convenience is what you’re looking for then, the two plugins mentioned towards the latter stages of this article are the best for that matter. You can also try the manual code editing option or use the Classic block if that matches your need.
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