Classic Block Phase Out
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Good to know. The response I got from WP as noted above was to “convert” to their new HTML editor, which is much more limited than their current (classic) editor. For many years I had been used to adding a new row in their HTML editor then switching back to “edit visually” and linking media to images that way. The new HTML editor doesn’t do that. It merely provides a visual update of my code but there is no visual editing. The tech support person (“happiness engineer”) was very nice and confirmed that my plans to use SeaMonkey’s Composer module for visual editing is the way to go and it deal with Blocks. I have three degrees, including a MD and a MBA and have been involved with IT for a few decades. After trying to use their new Blocks editor on my site, even with reading all their material about it, I just gave up. It wasn’t worth it. The UX is awful and some things one would expect, like a toolbar that provides access to my media, etc. aren’t there. So I’m sticking with HTML and that at least won’t mess up my tables unless I goof.
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I just wrote an article for tomorrow in Classic Editor, tried converting it into blocks, and the images wouldn’t center, which could be my outdated theme but still a problem. So I undid that and went with HTML. I understand wanting to end the classic editor for programming reasons but maybe keep the classic block because the system still has some issues to overcome.
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I could deal with classic block, but they took it away. I would say that “the system still has some issues to overcome” is an understatement. The block editor is simply not suitable for purpose for long form traditional blogging. It’s for web designers. The only thing that was keeping me from moving to Ghost was the ability to host short documents for teachers to download.
It’s not that I am too dumb to use the block editor. I tried to switch to it in 2019. I have written whole posts in it. It just gets in the way of what I want to do. It was actually more usable 7 years ago when I first tried it. And now, it has messed up that basic file linking ability with the “file” block. It is very frustrating when you just want to write a post and the editor gets massively in the way.
I went down the rabbit hole of looking at the GIT site where the programmers were discussing this. The goal is to get rid of all of the TinyMCE code in the code base. They are trying to figure out how to do this without breaking things. The future of this does not look hopeful.
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I know I am becoming annoying in this thread, but I wrote this post in the block editor and put the file block at the end because it displays the whole file instead of just a link. Now, if anyone clicks on it, it takes them to the very end of the post to display the file. They have to scroll up to read the actual post.
Reading Difficult Texts
This is incredibly stupid. If I write in the Classic Block, this would never happen.
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I edited the post I linked to above after installing the Classic Editor plugin and it now behaves as expected. Let’s hope that this plugin continues to be supported. In some ways, however, the Classic Block was a better solution than the Classic Editor because it was possible to mix Classic with other blocks. I sometimes found a use for the Poetry Block for example. The Classic Editor is an all or nothing move. Still, it makes WordPress much more usable for me, and I think for many others.
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I have been using it for archives of my comics and prose stuff, so I’m not against the blocks. It’s just not what I need for the majority of work. Also, I’m on the free side so I can’t use plugins. All I can afford is the URL, and even that’s debatable.
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I’m beyond frustrated that the Classic Block has been removed from the Inserter. The article referred to (https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/05/07/whats-new-in-gutenberg-23-1-07-may/#other-notable-highlights) says it’s an experiment, so maybe they’ll revert back.
The main thing I loved about the Classic Editor was the toolbar–everything I needed was right there. With the Blocks, I can’t find most of those functions.
But I especially miss the indent feature. I do a lot of book reviews and set off quotations by indenting them. But sometimes I indent a paragraph for emphasis. Yes, there’s a Quotation block, but it converts text to a smaller font and italicizes it. I’ve tried removing the italics command in HTML, but it doesn’t work. There’s also a Pull quote block, but I don’t like how it looks.
I wish we had the option to keep the Classic Editor for simple blogs that don’t needs all the bells and whistles of the Blocks.
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You can add the plugin “Classic Editor and Classic Widgets” According to the plugin, this”Disables Gutenberg editor totally everywhere.” This seems to take WordPress back to around 2019 or so. It works, but you lose access to blocks entirely. That is probably fine. No block I have ever used did exactly what I wanted it to and almost always did things I didn’t want.
This link has more about installing the Classic Editor plugin:
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guitarsophist: You can’t add plugins on a free account.
barbarah I use the quote button on the classic editor for my quotes, but otherwise I know what you mean. When you’re used to how you’ve been doing it, a change that doesn’t give you the look you want or are use to messed the whole formatting of what you’ve done for years. Consistency matters.
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On a free site, if you go to “posts” the “add post” button has a drop down that allows you to choose “block editor” or “classic editor.” The classic block was more flexible because you could mix it with other blocks if you wanted to, but it is apparently still possible to choose the classic editor.
I wonder why none of the happiness engineers have joined this thread. We seem to be supporting ourselves here.
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For whatever reason (and people have tried to help but I can’t find the problem) the BW site doesn’t have that option, even though my other site does. I don’t know if it’s because the theme is outdated and another glitch occured (I’ve had a couple, and wrote a different post about changing it, also worrying about block conversion interestingly enough), but I have to use the bookmarked editor post to use the classic editor and then play URL games to eding with it.
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Thank you. An explanation I can actually follow. Still a concern that they’re trying to get rid of the classic editor altogether and yet the blocks won’t format it right now that the classic block was removed. I still feel like I’m delaying the inevitable.
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Hello everyone!
I completely understand the concern, and I want to reassure you that you’re not being left in the lurch here.
A few things that I hope will help ease your mind:
Your existing content is safe. Any posts or pages that already contain Classic blocks will continue to work just fine. They are not being changed or removed automatically. There is no deadline to convert them. You can leave untouched any post or page you don’t need to edit. (https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/switch-from-classic-to-blocks/)
The Classic block was hidden from the inserter, not deleted. What changed recently is that new Classic blocks can no longer be added from the block inserter. But existing Classic blocks in your content remain fully functional. This is a gradual transition, not a sudden cutoff.
About the formatting concern. When you do choose to convert, you have two options:
- Convert to blocks — this transforms your classic content into individual blocks (paragraphs, images, etc.) which is the recommended path for most content.
- Convert to HTML — this preserves your original markup code exactly as it is inside a Custom HTML block, which is ideal if you have complex formatting, shortcodes, or custom HTML you want to keep intact.
And here’s the safety net: converting does not delete your underlying content. If something looks off after converting, you can simply hit Undo (Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z) before saving to revert. You can also save the post as a draft first so you always have a previous version in your revisions. (https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/classic-block/)
You can go at your own pace. There’s no rush, and you can convert one post at a time as you need to edit them. Many users find that once they give the block editor a try for writing, it starts to feel quite natural. And the block editor is actively being improved all the time based on feedback from users just like you.
If you run into any specific formatting issues during conversion, please don’t hesitate to share the details here or reach out to support. We’re happy to help you work through any rough spots!
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Yeah, I know. That’s the party line. Resistance is futile. Actual bloggers were the original market for WordPress, but now it’s for web designers. I get it.
Thanks for showing up anyway.
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That solves a few worries, although if Classic is being thrown out altogether it’s still going to mess with years worth of formatting on older articles. It’s already one of my worries going to a new theme since Selecta is not supported but I’m worried that this will be another forced change. (I have one I could go with but things like quotes are going to look different and might not match the theme and flow of my story discussion blog.) They don’t have a block that preserves my layout. Even the few I converted to HTML Block isn’t quite the same. If Classic Editor is still there I might be able to convert to HTML after I’m done, but it still wouldn’t be the block from what I can tell.
I’m just happy with the quick and easy method of getting an article together, though the blocks are better for my various archive pages of other content. Making it more difficult shouldn’t be the result because I know it’s not the goal. I’m not anti-block, I just don’t want to lose the block that works for how I’ve come to format my pages over the past decade plus. (Oh God, my site’s that old.)
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https://wordpress.com/forums/topic/classic-block-phase-out/page/2/#post-4105686
Thanks. That’s good to know. But I already converted to HTML with the new HTML editor. I am ok with that but would love to have been able to stick with the visual editor for HTML sites like mine. Is there any way to go back? I’ve updated some content since I converted so I’d rather not revert to an older version of the code. Thanks.
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Hi everyone,
I understand the frustration here. Many of you have been building and maintaining your sites for years with workflows that work well for you, and a change like this can feel unsettling. Your concerns are completely valid, and I want to address the open questions directly.
Your existing content is safe. The recent change only removed the Classic Block from the block inserter, meaning you can no longer add new Classic Blocks. But every existing Classic Block on your posts and pages still works exactly as it did before. Nothing has been automatically converted, and your published content hasn’t changed.
The Classic Editor is still available, even on free-plan sites. When you go to Posts or Pages in your dashboard, click the dropdown arrow next to “Add new post” (or “Add new page”) and select “Classic Editor.” You can also append
?classic-editorto your URL to open the Classic Editor directly.@bwmedia: For your BW site where the Classic Editor dropdown isn’t appearing: go to Settings → General and look for “Admin interface style” and make sure it’s set to “Default” rather than “Classic.” That should restore the dropdown option or Classic Editor option. Your older articles don’t need to be converted, they’ll continue to display as they always have.
@dtoub : Since you’ve already converted some pages to Custom HTML blocks and updated content since then, reverting the whole page to a prior version might lose those updates. However, WordPress.com keeps revisions of your posts and pages, so you can compare versions and selectively restore content: https://wordpress.com/support/posts/post-revisions/. For ongoing editing of your HTML-based site, using the Custom HTML block to maintain your table layouts is a solid approach as it preserves your markup exactly as-is.
@guitarsophist : Regarding the File block displaying the entire file inline: in the File block’s settings sidebar, you can toggle off “Show inline embed” to display just the download button/link instead of the full document preview. That should give you the subtle link behavior you’re looking for. Here’s a guide on it: https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/file-block/#embed-a-pdf-file
I hear the broader feedback loud and clear. The Classic Editor and Classic Block served a real purpose for longform bloggers and HTML-savvy users, and the transition path needs to respect that. Your feedback here is noted and I’ll make sure it gets passed along to the product team.
If anyone has follow-up questions or runs into specific issues with their site, don’t hesitate to start a new support thread and we’ll be happy to help.
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My posts average 25 to 35 images with text for each one. Using the Classic editor I can copy all the images in at one time and then insert the text between them. I also copy to Word and back for a macro I wrote to standardise image sizing. With the Block Editor I’d have to insert each item one at time which would be a huge hassle.
But I have a Business Plan so I asked support about this. He said: “The Classic Block is being phased out and no longer is being supported on new posts. This is due to the dropping number of people using them now.
As a result it’s no longer possible to create new posts with Classic blocks.
The only way to do that now would be to go to the full classic editor plugin, which converts the whole site back to the traditional original WordPress view.
Or I can switch a flag on your site to activate the classic blocks but we can’t guarantee they will always work on new posts going forwards and if issues occurs there wouldn’t be a fix introduced. “Converting the site back to “the full classic editor plugin” would be fine because I have never used the Block editor (except to test it), but I asked him to switch the flag on. In any case I can at least try to continue what I have been doing for some time. That is, I don’t create new posts but rather I duplicate an existing post and modify it to create a new post. I asked him whether that would continue to work and he said: “Really can’t be sure, I’m afraid, as there is no team on it anymore.
Existing posts will work that were set up when the block was still supported but new posts may see issues. “.So that also answered a question I was about to ask on what happens to existing posts. I have a photographic travel Blog with 1,200 posts, 20,000 images and 500,000 words (and links to another 20,000 live music images). I really didn’t want to have to go through and modify that.
Should anyone be interested, my Blog is murrayfoote.com.
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Hey @murrayfoote!
Thank you for sharing the extra details!
I’m not able to find a recent support interaction with us, but in the general aspects of this, what you received is correct. As you have a plugin-enabled website, you’re more than welcome to use the Classic Editor plugin for managing your website.
Should anything else capture your interest or curiosity, don’t hesitate to let us know. We’re always ready to help!
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