This might feel like a wild rant, but I promise it’s not. I’ve been cleaning up WordPress sites that I didn’t build for much of the year. Part of that process involves removing unnecessary plugins. There’s one plugin that I see over + over that I hate seeing… Disable Gutenberg.
I’ll explain why + warn you about issues removing it, but first check to see if you have it. Log into your site + head to Plugins in the left hand menu. Scan for Disable Gutenberg + if it’s inactive, just delete it. You’re not using it. If it’s active, let’s continue.
The reason Disable Gutenberg exists
This plugin absolutely had a purpose, back in 2018. 😬 In fact, I installed it on a number of sites, 8 years ago. Because back then, WordPress released their major version that used Gutenberg instead of the Classic Editor. And if you weren’t ready to redo or rebuild your site, things were going to break with that new WordPress version. Installing this single plugin saved business owners from having to spend thousands of dollars.
But it’s been long enough.
Somewhere in the past almost decade was a chance to plan a revamp or an overhaul of your site to use Gutenberg. In fact, it’s my builder of choice because it’s part of WordPress (no extra licensing required) + doesn’t bloat your site the way other builders do.
The other issue I have with this plugin is the number of people that have it installed but also use a completely different page builder. You do not need Disable Gutenberg installed if you use Divi or Elementor to build every page on your site. (Every is a key detail.)
Don’t get left behind with what WordPress can do because you’re handcuffing your own site with this silly plugin. Plan that site improvement project or see if you can even delete it today.