The WordPress Classic Editor plugin is the official way to disable the Gutenberg block editor, but it also has a lesser-known feature that lets you use both on the same site.
This option allows administrators to either set the default editor for a site or allow each user to choose their preferred editor.
Unfortunately, the major downside of this approach is that Classic Editor users can’t create new block pages or edit existing ones if they want to keep all the settings.
That said, if certain pages don’t require using any complex blocks, no one would be forced to change.
How to Enable Default Editor Selection in the Classic Editor
Below are the steps for how to configure the Classic Editor so that users can opt-in or opt-out of Gutenberg.
- Single sites: Install the Classic Editor and activate it.
Go to Plugins > Add New and search for the Classic Editor. After installing it, activate it for the site.
- Multisite: Network Activate the Classic Editor.
Go to the Network Admin dashboard (My Sites > Network Admin > Plugins), then select ‘Add New’. Once you find and install the Classic Editor, click the ‘Network Activate’ button. This will make the Classic Editor the default for each site.
- Multisite: Change the Network editor settings.
To set a default editor for a site, go to the site dashboard, then Settings > Writing. Change the ‘Default editor for all users’ and set ” to ‘Yes’.
- Change the Site editor settings
In the site dashboard, go to Settings > Writing. Change the ‘Default editor for all sites’ and set ‘Allow users to switch editors’ to ‘Yes’.
- Change the User editor Settings
Go to Users and Edit the user to select their default setting. If allowed, site users can select and change their own settings by going to their user profiles.
How to Set Your Default Editor
Hover over your profile icon and click ‘Edit My Profile’. If allowed by the administrator, you can change your default editor.
How are you handling the two editors? Have you found a good solution?