Gutenberg Block Control

Take control of the block editor by disabling blocks you don’t need. Simplify the editor for clients, enforce design consistency by removing problematic blocks, or clean up the inserter by hiding rarely-used options.

Use Cases#

• Simplify the editor for clients by disabling 40+ advanced blocks, leaving only paragraph, image, and heading
• Enforce brand consistency by removing Custom HTML and Shortcode blocks that could break designs
• Focus WooCommerce product editors by hiding content blocks not needed for product descriptions

How It Works#

1. Open the Gutenberg Block Control settings
2. Browse or search for blocks to disable
3. Click blocks to toggle their disabled state
4. Save settings
5. Disabled blocks no longer appear in the block inserter

Settings Interface#

Search#

Type to filter blocks by name. Categories with no matching blocks are hidden.

Block List#

Blocks are organized by category:

• Text - Paragraph, Heading, List, Quote, etc.
• Media - Image, Gallery, Video, Audio, etc.
• Design - Columns, Group, Separator, etc.
• Widgets - Archives, Categories, Latest Posts, etc.
• Theme - Site Title, Navigation, Query Loop, etc.
• Embed - YouTube, Twitter, Vimeo, etc.

Visual Indicators#

• Enabled blocks - Normal appearance
• Disabled blocks - Marked with red ✕

Refresh Button#

Click “Refresh Block List” to reload available blocks. Useful after installing new plugins that add blocks.

First-Time Setup#

Blocks are cached when you load the editor. If the list seems incomplete:

1. Open any post or page in the block editor
2. Return to Switchboard
3. Click “Refresh Block List”
4. The page will reload with all blocks visible

Common Blocks to Disable#

For Non-Technical Clients#

• Custom HTML
• Shortcode
• Code
• Preformatted
• Classic (if using only Gutenberg)

For Design Consistency#

• Custom HTML (prevents arbitrary code)
• Columns (if layout should be controlled)
• Table (if using custom table styling)
• Buttons (if using theme buttons only)

For Focused Editing#

• All embed blocks (if not using embeds)
• Widget blocks (if not needed)
• Theme blocks (for content-only editing)

Verification#

After disabling blocks:

1. Open any post or page in the block editor
2. Click the + button to open the block inserter
3. Verify disabled blocks don’t appear
4. Search for disabled blocks—they should not be found

FAQ#

Block Categories Reference#

Technical Notes#

This module uses two methods to disable blocks:

1. PHP filter (allowed_block_types_all) - Removes blocks server-side
2. JavaScript (wp.blocks.unregisterBlockType) - Removes blocks client-side

This dual approach ensures blocks are properly hidden regardless of caching or loading order.