Gutenberg plugins offer lightweight blocks instead of bulky page builders. This means faster loading times, cleaner code, and fewer compatibility issues. As Gutenberg is the core editor, expect even smoother building and better themes in the future.
The Gutenberg editor, introduced in WordPress 5.0, revolutionized website creation with its intuitive, block-based system. While WordPress 6.0 brought new blocks and design enhancements, the real magic lies in Gutenberg block plugins. These plugins extend the editor’s capabilities, enabling you to add and customize elements like buttons, sections, and icons.
In this article, I will explore the best Gutenberg block plugins for WordPress, highlighting top picks that will help you effortlessly build and enhance any type of website. Discover how these plugins can transform your site-building experience and unleash the full potential of the Gutenberg editor.
What Is the WordPress Block Editor?
The WordPress block editor, also known as Gutenberg, is the modern way to create content in WordPress. Introduced in 2018, it replaced the classic editor. Imagine building your pages with Lego blocks. Each block is a content element like a paragraph, image, or button.
You drag and drop these blocks to structure your content and easily create media-rich layouts. This visual approach makes WordPress editing more intuitive, especially for beginners.
Best Gutenberg Block Editor Plugins
We explored 10 top Gutenberg block plugins to enhance your WordPress site building. These plugins add functionalities beyond the default blocks, giving you access to features like advanced columns, pricing tables, and animations, all while maintaining the speed and ease of Gutenberg.
1. Qubely – Advanced Gutenberg Blocks
Qubely is a feature-rich Gutenberg block plugin designed to enhance the WordPress editing experience with advanced functionality and design options. It offers a comprehensive set of customizable blocks that allow users to create intricate and visually appealing layouts without coding. Qubely’s intuitive interface and pre-built sections make it easy to build professional websites quickly.
The plugin includes a wide range of styling and configuration options, ensuring that your site looks polished and performs well across all devices. Qubely is ideal for users looking to maximize the potential of the Gutenberg editor with minimal effort.
Features:
- Extensive library of customizable blocks
- Pre-built sections and starter packs
- Advanced styling and animation options
- Responsive controls for mobile and tablet devices
- Custom CSS support
- Integration with popular WordPress themes
Pricing: Free, Pro version starts at $39/year for a single site license
2. Spectra – WordPress Gutenberg Blocks
Spectra offers an extensive suite of Gutenberg blocks designed to enhance and streamline the WordPress editing experience. Ideal for users seeking to create visually appealing websites with ease, Spectra provides a rich set of customizable blocks that cater to various design needs.
Its pre-designed templates and block patterns allow users to build professional websites quickly, without needing to write code. With advanced styling options and responsive design controls, Spectra ensures your website looks great on any device. It integrates seamlessly with popular WordPress themes, making it a versatile and valuable tool for both beginners and experienced developers.
Features:
- Customizable blocks for various content types
- Pre-designed block templates and patterns
- Advanced styling options
- Responsive design controls
- Seamless integration with popular WordPress themes
Pricing: Free
3. Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE
Otter Blocks offers a lightweight, yet powerful collection of Gutenberg blocks that extend the functionality of the Gutenberg editor. It is designed to support full-site editing (FSE), providing users with the tools to create comprehensive and dynamic web pages. With a variety of content and layout blocks, Otter Blocks enables users to add interactive elements and design complex layouts effortlessly.
The plugin includes animation and CSS effects, customizable block settings, and a library of pre-built templates and patterns, enhancing the creative possibilities for WordPress sites.
Features:
- Variety of content and layout blocks
- Full-site editing (FSE) support
- Animation and CSS effects
- Customizable block settings
- Pre-built templates and patterns
Pricing: Free
4. Essential Blocks – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates
Essential Blocks is a versatile plugin offering a wide range of Gutenberg blocks, patterns, and templates to enhance your WordPress site’s design and functionality. With over 40 customizable blocks, this plugin allows users to create highly engaging and visually appealing content. Features such as block animations, effects, and a library of pre-designed templates and patterns simplify the design process.
Essential Blocks integrates smoothly with popular WordPress themes and receives regular updates to ensure compatibility and introduce new features, making it an invaluable tool for both novice and experienced WordPress users.
Features:
- 40+ customizable blocks
- Block animation and effects
- Pre-designed templates and patterns
- Integration with popular WordPress themes
- Regular updates and new blocks
Pricing: Free
5. Gutenverse – Gutenberg Blocks – Page Builder for Site Editor
Gutenverse enhances the Gutenberg editor with a robust set of blocks designed to facilitate complex layouts and sophisticated designs. It provides a comprehensive library of blocks with advanced styling and customization options, enabling users to create responsive and visually stunning web pages. Gutenverse supports full-site editing, allowing for seamless site-wide changes.
The plugin also offers pre-built block patterns, which help users save time and maintain design consistency across their site. It’s an excellent choice for those looking to leverage the full potential of the Gutenberg editor.
Features:
- Comprehensive block library
- Advanced styling and customization options
- Responsive design controls
- Full-site editing capabilities
- Pre-built block patterns
Pricing: Free
6. Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks
Stackable transforms the Gutenberg editor into a powerful page builder by offering over 40 versatile blocks. These blocks come with extensive customization options and global settings that allow users to create cohesive and visually appealing websites. Stackable’s advanced design controls, including responsive editing and pre-designed block templates, make it easy to craft professional-looking pages.
The plugin’s flexibility and rich feature set cater to both beginners and advanced users, providing a robust solution for enhancing the functionality and aesthetic of WordPress sites.
Features:
- 40+ versatile blocks
- Global settings and presets
- Advanced design controls and customization
- Responsive editing
- Pre-designed block templates
Pricing: Free, Premium version starts at $49/year
7. Gutenberg Blocks – PublishPress Blocks Gutenberg Editor Plugin
PublishPress Blocks enriches the Gutenberg editor with a wide array of advanced blocks and layout options, perfect for content creators and publishers. The plugin features customizable content blocks, layout and grid controls, and advanced block settings. It also includes access control and permissions, allowing users to manage who can edit and publish content.
With the ability to add custom CSS to blocks, PublishPress Blocks provides the flexibility needed to create unique and professional web pages. This plugin is particularly useful for sites that require extensive content management capabilities.
Features:
- Customizable content blocks
- Layout and grid controls
- Advanced block settings
- Access control and permissions
- Custom CSS for blocks
Pricing: Free, Pro version starts at $79/year
8. GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor
GutenKit offers a diverse range of Gutenberg blocks, patterns, and templates designed to simplify the creation of beautiful and functional web pages. Its extensive library includes blocks for various content types, ensuring versatility and ease of use. With pre-built patterns and templates, users can quickly set up professional-looking pages.
GutenKit’s customizable block options and responsive design features ensure that websites look great on all devices. Regular updates and new additions keep the plugin current, making it a reliable tool for enhancing the Gutenberg editor’s capabilities.
Features:
- Extensive library of blocks
- Pre-built patterns and templates
- Customizable block options
- Responsive design features
- Regular updates and new additions
Pricing: Free, Pro version starts at $79/year
Gutenberg vs Page Builders
Here’s a comparison table highlighting key differences and features between Gutenberg and popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi:
| Feature/Aspect | Gutenberg | Elementor | Beaver Builder | Divi Builder |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| User Interface | Block-based, integrated with WordPress | Drag-and-drop, visual front-end editor | Drag-and-drop, visual front-end editor | Drag-and-drop, visual front-end and back-end editor |
| Ease of Use | Easy to use for simple tasks | Very user-friendly with extensive options | User-friendly, simpler than Elementor | User-friendly with a steeper learning curve |
| Performance | Lightweight and fast | Generally fast, can be heavy with many widgets | Lightweight, good performance | Can be resource-intensive, slower with many elements |
| Customization | Basic customization, extended by plugins | Extensive customization options | Moderate customization, extended by add-ons | Extensive customization options |
| Built-in Templates | Limited, varies with themes | Extensive template library | Moderate template library | Extensive template library |
| Responsive Design | Good, with basic responsive controls | Excellent, advanced responsive controls | Good, with responsive controls | Excellent, advanced responsive controls |
| Third-party Add-ons | Growing library of block plugins | Extensive third-party add-ons | Moderate selection of third-party add-ons | Extensive third-party add-ons |
| Theme Compatibility | Compatible with most themes | Compatible with most themes | Compatible with most themes | Compatible with most themes |
| Integration with Plugins | Good, especially with block plugins | Excellent integration with popular plugins | Good integration with popular plugins | Excellent integration with popular plugins |
| SEO Friendliness | Good, integrates with SEO plugins | Good, integrates with SEO plugins | Good, integrates with SEO plugins | Good, integrates with SEO plugins |
| Pricing | Free, part of WordPress core | Freemium, Pro version starts at $49/year | Premium, starts at $99/year | Premium, starts at $89/year (includes themes and plugins) |
| Support and Updates | Regular updates with WordPress releases | Regular updates, strong community support | Regular updates, strong community support | Regular updates, strong community support |
This table provides a snapshot of the differences and features of Gutenberg compared to popular page builders, helping users choose the best tool for their website-building needs.
Why Use the Block Editor in WordPress?
Using the Block Editor in WordPress, also known as Gutenberg, offers numerous benefits. It provides a modern, intuitive interface that simplifies content creation by breaking down pages into individual blocks, each with specific functionalities. This modular approach allows users to easily customize layouts and designs without needing coding skills.
The future of the Block Editor is promising, with ongoing updates and enhancements planned to expand its capabilities. It’s designed to integrate seamlessly with WordPress’s full-site editing (FSE), allowing users to edit every part of their site using blocks.
The Block Editor is both easy and fast. Its drag-and-drop functionality makes it accessible for beginners, while its advanced customization options cater to experienced developers. Blocks can be quickly added, rearranged, and styled, significantly speeding up the content creation process. This combination of ease of use, flexibility, and rapid development makes the Block Editor a valuable tool for WordPress users.
Why Gutenberg is better than Elementor?
While both Gutenberg and Elementor are great tools for building WordPress sites, Gutenberg offers some key advantages for a smooth and fast website, especially for the future:
Simplicity and Speed: Gutenberg, being the default WordPress editor, is lightweight and integrates seamlessly. This translates to faster loading times for your website. Elementor, a plugin, adds another layer that can potentially slow things down.
Compatibility: Since Gutenberg is built into WordPress, it’s guaranteed to work with any theme or plugin. Elementor, while generally compatible, might require occasional troubleshooting if there are conflicts.
Learning Curve: Gutenberg’s interface is similar to the classic WordPress editor, making it easier to learn, especially for beginners. Elementor offers a visual drag-and-drop experience, but it has a unique interface requiring a bit more time to master.
Future-Proofing: As the core WordPress editor, Gutenberg receives continuous updates and improvements from the WordPress development team. This means you can expect even smoother building experiences and better integration with themes in the future.
However, Elementor does have its strengths:
Advanced Customization: Elementor offers a wider range of design options and pre-built templates, allowing for more creative freedom. Gutenberg, while improving, still lags behind in advanced customization features.
Frontend Editing: Elementor allows you to see the design changes live on the frontend as you edit, offering a more intuitive experience. Gutenberg currently lacks this functionality.