MRW Simplified Editor

Help your site’s editors create semantic content and style it with the theme for consistent formatting and portable content. This plugin removes blocks and other styling options to help editors focus.

I built this plugin for use on client sites. I hope you’ll find it useful! This is an opinionated plugin. Read an in-depth reasoning behind the decisions made by this plugin in the post “A WordPress Formatting Manifesto.” If you find it compelling, then you’ll probably like this plugin!

Contribute on Github.

Block Editor Features

This plugin greatly simplifies the block editor by hiding all of the following features. Filters are provided for developers to adjust what is hidden (including making it easier to hide additional blocks).

• Infrequently Used Core Blocks such as Verse, Table, Audio, Video, etc., and all Query- and Site-related blocks. See FAQ for full list of hidden blocks.
• All Core Block Styles and the “Default style” feature
• Some Block Editor Settings: Drop Cap, Heading 1, Heading 5, Heading 6, font sizing by pixel, open links in new tabs (mostly hidden), duotone, text styles like line-height and letter spacing, inline formats including Highlight and Inline Image, etc.
• Default color, gradient, and duotone settings (Custom theme palettes/settings are never hidden)
• Core Block Patterns (WP 5.5+)
• Block Directory (WP 5.5+)
• Infrequently Used Jetpack Blocks – See FAQ for full list of hidden blocks.
• “Upload” and “Insert from URL” image options to encourage use of Media Library

The plugin also improves the editor by:

• Increasing prominence of contrast errors
• Styling “Save draft” as a button

Classic Editor / Classic Block Features

Reduces editor to a single row of buttons: “Styleselect” (Headings 2-4 and Blockquote as well as Strikethrough, Subscript, Superscript, Preformatted, and Code), Bold, Italic, Add/Edit Link, Break Link, Horizontal Rule, Paste as Plain Text, Remove Styles, Special Characters, Undo, Redo, Help, Distraction Free Mode.

Note on WordPress version Support

Due to frequent changes to the block editor, features are only guaranteed for the latest version of WordPress.