WordPress 5, on its release, brought a lot of changes including a new content editor called the Gutenberg editor thus replacing the old Classic editor which has been in use for many years. The new editor brings with it a completely different approach to content editing in the form of blocks.
But some users are facing difficulty in adapting to the new editor, hence here is the guide to disable Gutenberg and continue using the Classic Editor.
Introduction to Gutenberg
Gutenberg is a new WordPress editor which completely changes the face of editing in WordPress. It uses drag and drop blocks for content writing, helping you to focus on the content instead of customizing the code. You don't need to be an apt developer to build your custom posts and pages if you are using Gutenberg.
Classic editor is similar to Microsoft Word with a clean writing area, whereas Gutenberg editor provides blocks for headings, paragraphs, lists, images, plugins, videos, etc. You can simply style the editor to look like the Published Page using Gutenberg.
Some writers and bloggers are finding hard time using Gutenberg due to reasons such as they find the block based editing system complex, they are unfamiliar with the new editor, etc. Fortunately, WordPress provides an easy way to disable Gutenberg and switch back to the Classic Editor.
Method 1: Activate the Classic Editor Plugin
The WordPress contributors provide a Classic Editor Plugin which we can use to switch back to the classic editor look.
Firstly, install and activate the Classic Editor Plugin. As soon as it is activated, it will disable the Gutenberg editor.
You can change the setting to switch between the editors so as to use whichever and whenever you want.
Go to WordPress admin Dashboard -> Settings -> Writing Page -> Classic Editor Settings. Select the option that is suitable for you as the default editor and select the option to switch between the editors to Yes and click on Save Changes button.
Now when you go to Posts -> Add New, you will see the option to switch to other editor on the right side:
Editing the older posts can also be done using the Classic Editor. Go to Posts -> All Posts page. You will find options 'Edit(Block Editor)' and 'Edit(Classic Editor)' below the post. Click on the one suitable for you to edit the post.
Method 2: Use Disable Gutenberg Plugin
There is another plugin called disable Gutenberg which provides the option to select certain user roles and post types to disable the Gutenberg plugin on while still using it on other posts. Firstly install and activate this plugin.
Once you activate this plugin, you will find its settings under the Settings menu with the title 'Disable Gutenberg'. Visit this page by clicking on the link to configure the plugin settings.
Gutenberg will, by default, be disabled everywhere for all the users. You will find an option 'Complete Disable' which you need to uncheck in order to select the users and posts to disable the editor for.
Once you uncheck the option, page will expand to display more options for user roles, posts, post types, theme templates, etc. which you can select individually for disabling the Gutenberg on. Once selected, click on Save changes button to save the changes.
Since the Gutenberg editor is new in WordPress, there are certain themes and plugins which are not yet compatible with the Gutenberg editor and still rely on the Classic editor.
This option to selectively disable Gutenberg editor seems quite helpful in such a scenario.
We hope this article was helpful to you in switching between the Gutenberg Editor and the Classic Editor!