Will this work without Gutenberg?
Yes. When Gutenberg is active, the plugin disables it (depending on your selected options) and replaces with the Classic Editor. Otherwise, if Gutenberg is not active (like with older versions of WordPress), the plugin does nothing. So it is safe to activate on any WordPress site.
What’s the difference between Classic Editor plugin?
Classic Editor plugin enables you to disable Gutenberg across the board, and replace it with the Classic Editor. The Disable Gutenberg plugin does the exact same thing, in the exact same way, BUT it also provides more granular control over when and where Gutenberg is replaced with the Classic Editor. Disable Gutenberg plugin makes it easy to replace Gutenberg everywhere, OR you can choose to replace only for specific post types, user roles, post IDs, theme template, and more. Check out the list of features and compare them to the alternatives. It’s not even close! 😉
Bottom line: both Disable Gutenberg and Classic Editor plugins are lightweight and enable you to replace Gutenberg with the Classic Editor for the entire site. The difference is that Disable Gutenberg also gives you advanced configuration options such as restoring Classic Widgets, controlling block styles, and allowing block editor on certain pages, post types, and so forth.
Can I use this plugin and Classic Editor at the same time?
Yes, if both plugins are active at the same time, Disable Gutenberg gives priority to Classic Editor plugin. So if you want to use Disable Gutenberg, deactivate the Classic Editor plugin (you do not have to remove it, just deactivate via the WP Plugins screen).
Classic Editor planned to expire in 2022, what about Disable Gutenberg?
I can’t make any promises, but I intend to develop with WordPress for the long-haul. Who knows what the future holds, but the plan is to keep Disable Gutenberg going for many years to come. Why? Because the original RTE/Visual Editor is awesome. I strongly feel it’s one of the many reasons why WordPress has enjoyed its great success. I’ve been using the original/classic editor for over 10 years now and it’s always been 100% smooth experience. I’ve tried Gutenberg, and yes it is much better now than in previous versions, but for me it’s just not as comfortable or streamlined as the classic editor. So yeah, will do everything possible to keep Disable Gutenberg (and the Classic Editor) going well beyond 2022.
Why does Classic Editor plugin have way more users?
Because it is being promoted by the Gutenberg developers and the “official” plugin for replacing Gutenberg. That’s fine, but understand that Disable Gutenberg functions the same way AND provides way more features and settings. FWIW, I use Disable Gutenberg on my own sites Perishable Press, DigWP.com, Plugin Planet, and many others. 100% solid.
Template exclusions not working?
In order for template exclusions to work, the template must be registered with the page itself. The only way to do this is via the “Edit Page” screen, in the “Page Attributes” meta box. There you will find an option to set the page template. Remember to save your changes.
After assigning some templates, they will be recognized by Disable Gutenberg. So to disable Gutenberg on any registered template, you can add them via the plugin setting, “Disable for Templates”. Examples:
- Template name is page-custom.php , located in the root theme directory: enter page-custom.php in the Template Exclusion setting
- Template name is page-custom.php , located in a subdirectory named templates : enter templates/page-custom.php
How to disable default Gutenberg frontend styles?
The default Gutenberg/Block styles are disabled by default when DG plugin is active. To enable/disable the styles, visit the plugin setting, “Enable Frontend”.
Does this work with full site editing and block themes?
No, because block themes rely on blocks. See Block themes article for more information.
What does the setting “Display Edit Links” do?
When “Display Edit Links” is enabled in the plugin settings:
- On Post, Page, and Custom Post Type menus (in the sidebar), a link is displayed that says “Add New (Classic)”. Clicking the link takes the user to the “Add New” screen with the Classic Editor enabled.
- On Posts, Pages, and Custom Post Types screens (where lists of posts are displayed), two links are added beneath each post. The first link says “Classic Edit” and takes the user to the “Edit” screen with the Classic Editor enabled. The second link says “Block Edit” and takes the user to the Edit screen with the Block Editor enabled.
Note that these links display only on pages where the Block Editor is enabled. So for example, if Gutenberg is disabled sitewide, none of the links will display anywhere. If disabled only on Pages, then the links will not display on the Pages menu or on the Pages screen.
Got a question?
Send any questions or feedback via my contact form