Alternative to Gutenberg editor? When WordPress 5.0 announced that Gutenberg would become the default WordPress editor, many WordPress users were worried.
They thought this is something they have to swallow with a lot of pain. And sadly, it happened.
Gutenberg was overkill, an unnecessary learning curve, and complication which they don’t want to deal with. It’s a waste of time. Many web designers are also annoyed with Gutenberg because their clients have come to them for a solution to a problem they didn’t create.
That brings us to today’s topic. We are going to list out the top alternative to Gutenberg editor. yes, we are going to list the solutions that have given the user of WordPress a sense of relief.
So, let’s see who they are.
Top Alternative to Gutenberg Editor
You have two main personas using WordPress:
1. Web designers
Web designers and advanced users who create WordPress websites for their clients or for themselves have the know-how and expertise to tweak and tune the framework to excellent results. They use WordPress page builders to quickly create custom pages and designs without the burden of fiddling around with shortcodes.
2. Average users
These users are good enough with WordPress to be able to post, edit and update stuff mostly, but they are not typically interested in “designing” their site.
These are the users who are mostly annoyed at the new block editor in WordPress.
That is why these users are looking into these solutions,
- Elementor.
- Beaver Builder.
- WP Markdown Editor
- Divi Builder.
- Thrive Architect.
- Classic Editor
Let’s discuss them at length shall we?
Elementor
Elementor created a storm when it first landed. It is one of the most famous page builders right now. With over 5million+ active installations, it has many excellent third-party add-ons to make your designing experience worthwhile.
And it is quickly becoming the best alternative to Gutenberg.
So, what you get from Elementor? well,
- Great design experience
- Good user experience
- Very lightweight
- Doesn’t lag
- Over 40+ widgets
- Exclusive features
- Amazing templates
- Compatibility with WooCommerce
- Great support
- Regular updates.
There are two versions of the plugin: the free version (available for free from the plugin repository) and the Pro version.
Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is a powerful drag & drop front-end page builder that allows you to design a website using some clicks. In addition, it has the full capability to make any type of website that you need for your personal or professional use.
However, it has many amazing features and functionalities, including a visual editor, Gutenberg support, custom post types, 40+ pre-build templates, WooCommerce compatibility, SEO optimization, etc. So you don’t need to worry about your site-building, it will take all the responsibility of your site.
You will get features like,
- Responsive Design
- Easy Import/Export Feature
- Ability to Handle Multiple Sites at Once
- Pre-made template & block library
- Amazing design features
- User-friendly interface
- Top-notch support.
WP Markdown Editor
Well, this plugin is the new edition to the WordPress repository. However, in short amount of time, it not only became one of the best alternatives to Gutenberg, but also invented a new to write in WordPress.
This plugin helps writers get relief from the monotonous WordPress writing environment and gives a new perspective. With some amazing features and color schema, this Markdown plugin helps writers concentrate more and give their best.
You will get features like,
- Write post/page with markdown syntax
- Syntax shortcut
- Copy all content as markdown
- Table of contents
- One click dark mode on dashboard
- Edit typography with 4 Different Fonts
- Ready-Made Color Schema
- Custom Color Feature
- Emoji Support
- Live Preview.
Divi Builder
Elegant Themes is another of the big vendors when it comes to WordPress. Their main product, Divi, is one of the most popular themes of all time and has both a huge fan base and plenty of critics.
All in all, Divi has been a runaway success — thanks largely to its drag-and-drop page builder tool. And it has the potential to become one of the best alternative to Gutenberg editor.
However, it’s actually possible to get access to that very same page builder tool without switching to the Divi theme. Thanks to the release of the Divi Builder Plugin, you can now add this powerful visual content editor to any WordPress website — no matter what theme you’re using!
You will get features like,
- Drag-and-Drop Visual Content Editor
- Pre-Made Website and Page Layouts
- Selection of Content Modules
- A/B Testing Tool
- Role Editor
- Customizer Options
- Full-width Content
- Vast Number of Settings and Options
- Easy Duplication of Elements
- Work with Any WordPress Theme.
Thrive Architect
Whether for eCommerce focused websites, list-building, sales landing pages or niche affiliate sites, Thrive Architect is a WordPress page builder that essentially allows users to integrate conversion-oriented features into a single page or post.
It has notable features like,
- 270+ pre-built landing page templates
- Drag-and-Drop elements
- Call-to-action buttons, Testimonials, Count-down timers, Lead-generation forms, pricing tables
- Real-time front-end editing
- Great performance.
Classic Editor
One cannot forget about the editor that has stood the test of time. This editor, in all its simplicity, has been trusted by so many for so long, that’s it’s hard to understand why Gutenberg was not made optional rather than the default editor.
This would have let the community get used to Gutenberg slowly, at their own convenience — and that would have made the transition so much smoother for everybody.
While the WordPress Classic Editor might need none of the extended practicality of the page builders mentioned on top of, those who are used to it are able to achieve excellent results. A testament to this are the millions of websites running WordPress who have used this editor for dog’s years.
In fact, this is still my own trusted plugin. Here’s the toolbar I find myself working with most often:
The good thing is that the plugin might not default, but it’s only a few seconds away from using the Classic Editor plugin.
Once you install and activate it, you can choose to disable Gutenberg permanently or have two options which allow you to switch between Gutenberg and the Classic Editor in Settings > Writing Settings:
Conclusion
People like to have more options. They don’t ,like to stuck at one place for long. So when Gutenberg was launched and made into the default WordPress block editor, many of the users felt frustrated.
That is why, to give them some relief, we have assembled the list of top 5 alternative to Gutenberg editor.
We tried to bring all the features to the front of these alternatives and give you a clear context as to why they are considered the next best thing. You can choose any of them and start designing your website with the utmost ease.
It doesn’t matter if you are a regular user or a WordPress designer, you can use any of them to create a professional website.