By Pieter Bos, Greg Schoppe

July 09, 2024

Classic Editor + Plugin

The "Classic Editor +" plugin disables the block editor, removes enqueued scripts/styles and brings back classic Widgets.

GDPR-compliant: does not collect any user data

The free “Classic Editor +” plugin is targeted at everyone who does not want to use the WP Block Editor (Gutenberg), introduced in WordPress 5.0. Install it now on sites and the UX remains the same as you are used to without redundant styling being added to the frontend of your site!

What’s New:
Removes further blocks related CSS from Woocommerce (if active)

This plugin simply disables the WP Block Editor, removes any and all styling from both front- and backend and disables the block editor for widgets too.

And if WooCommerce has been installed on the site, “Classic Editor +” removes the block styles of that plugin too.

There are no Settings, it simply does what it says on the label.

Therefore I highly recommend installing this “Classic Editor +” plugin.

I support this plugin exclusively through Github. Therefore, if you have any questions, need help and/or want to make a feature request, please open an issue here. You can also browse through open and closed issues to find what you are looking for and perhaps even help others.

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

If you like the “Classic Editor +” plugin, please consider leaving a review. Thanks!

“Classic Editor +” by Pieter Bos and Greg Schoppe.

FAQ

What is the WP block editor?

The release of WordPress 5.0 came with a replacement of the TinyMCE editor you had gotten used to for adding or editing content. Some find it an improvement, others don’t. More information can be found on the WP 5.0 release post.

Why this plugin? Isn’t the purpose of the Classic Editor plugin to disable the new block editor?

The Classic Editor plugin does not remove any of the frontend styling, even when one selects the option to disable the block editor. In terms of site optimisation that is not good practice.
This “Classic Editor +” simply removes the block editor and all its styling from both frontend and backend and if your site uses WooCommerce, it also removes block styling related to that from the frontend.

Do I still need the Classic Editor plugin on my site?

Version 4.0 of the “Classic Editor +” plugin has been a complete rewrite (and simplification) and it is no longer depending on the Classic Editor plugin. When the latter is active, it will be deactivated and then you can safely remove it.

I have an issue with this plugin, where can I get support?

Please open an issue on Github

Changelog

4.3.0

November 10, 2023
Removes further blocks related CSS from Woocommerce (if active) – thanks to @Florian for PR #18

4.2.0

March 29, 2023
Remove blocks stylesheet loaded by WPML (if WPML is active)

4.1.1

February 8, 2023
Remove global styles and enqueueing of classic-themes.min.css

4.1.0

February 8, 2023
Make things work again by replacing wp_enqueue_scripts with enqueue_block_assets

4.0.2

November 23, 2022
rename to prevent conflicts with other plugin

4.0.1

November 23, 2022
use consistent function prefixes
change FAQ readme

4.0

November 22, 2022
complete rewrite where dependency on Classic Editor plugin is removed
rename plugin

3.1.0

October 27, 2022
integrate Classic Widgets filters

3.0.1

January 24, 2022
adjust link to plugin search page

3.0.0

January 24, 2022
replaced dependency library with simple dependency check/notice, due to many issues with 2.6.4 security update

2.6.4

January 24, 2022
update WP Dependency Installer library
tested up to WP 5.9

2.6.3

August 3, 2020
rollback removal of WooCommerce block-ui scripts

2.6.2

August 1, 2020
remove WooCommerce block-ui scripts
update WP Dependency Installer
tested up to WP 5.5.0

2.6.1

March 5, 2020
update WP Dependency Installer to 3.0.0

2.6.0

November 14, 2019
update WP Dependency Installer to 2.0.0
increase minimum PHP version to 5.6 (requirement of WP Dependency Installer)
WP 5.3 compatible fixes this issue

2.5.0

October 11, 2019
add function that removes the 1 block editor style call from the <head> section of your site when WooCommerce is running

2.4.0

January 22, 2019
add function that removes the 2 block editor style calls from the <head> section of your site

2.3.1

December 17, 2018
increase minimum PHP version to 5.4 due to introduction new shorthand syntax of WP Dependency Installer update in 2.3.0

2.3.0

December 14, 2018
version update WP Dependency Installer
add parameter "optional": false as a workaround to fix issue #4

2.2.0

December 12, 2018
rewrite of function that removes settings of the Classic Editor plugin

2.1.1

October 25, 2018
fix typo which addresses issue #3

2.1.0

August 28, 2018
remove functions that have become redundant since 0.0.4 release of Classic Editor plugin
rewrite readme files

2.0.0

July 16, 2018
add WP Dependency Installer to facilitate with installing and activating Classic Editor plugin (changed color of admin notice to blue)
adjust minimum PHP version (to 5.3) due to addition of WP Dependency Installer

1.4.0

July 12, 2018
fix issue #2
adjust readme text and FAQs

1.3.0

July 8, 2018
release of plugin on WordPress Plugin Directory, ready for the world 🙂

1.2.0

early July, 2018
more feature/function/code improvements by both Pieter & Greg

1.1.0

March 25-30, 2018
Forked and improved by Greg

1.0.0

February 3, 2018
Released as code snippet