Gutenberg certainly had its critics when it was first released. Indeed, some bloggers even went so far as to say that, rather than offering a new editing experience, it would bring about the end of WordPress.
However, this has proved to be far from the truth. Yes, the launch of the new WordPress content editor could have been handled better. But it is clear now that Gutenberg has evolved into an excellent tool for designing great looking WordPress websites.
One of the biggest advantages is the sheer number of Gutenberg WordPress plugins you can find to extend your website. No matter your level of coding experience you can find plugins to perform many of the website-building tasks you want to perform.
Below you can find 10 of the best Gutenberg plugins.
Toolset
If you want to turn your website from basic to custom without any coding then Toolset should be the first Gutenberg plugin you download.
With Toolset’s blocks, you can add features all professional websites need including custom post types, a custom search, galleries, the ability to display custom lists of content and much more. All in just one plugin and without coding.
Not only that, but you can also use Toolset to turn normal, static Gutenberg blocks dynamic so that they display the correct content for each page/post. For example, on a real estate website, you might need a template to display your houses. With Toolset, you can add a dynamic image block so that when you click on each house you see the correct property.
Toolset also offers responsive designs so you can optimize your pages for different screen sizes such as mobile or tablet.
You can test out all of these tools using one of Toolset’s demo sites which you can download for free.
Atomic Blocks
Atomic Blocks offers a number of additional blocks to further extend your website. If you want to add a testimonial, newsletter subscription form or author profile to your website you can do it with Atomic Blocks.
In addition, if time is of the essence, then Atomic Blocks provides a Section and Layout block which contains a library of pre-designed sections and layouts to instantly add to your website.
If you have yet to pick a theme then Atomic Blocks also offers its own free theme which is built specifically for Gutenberg.
Kadence Blocks
Kadence Blocks is a useful Gutenberg plugin if you want to recreate some of the essential features of a page builder.
Its most impressive feature is the Row/Layout block which you can use to create custom layouts with up to 6 columns to nest content inside. Not only that, but you can edit the default max-width for pages and posts depending on whether or not you want a sidebar, for example.
Kadence Blocks also comes with a design library with pieces of content to drop into your websites and responsive controls similar to Toolset which you can tweak depending on the screen size.
Advanced Gutenberg
Besides a large number of blocks for each user, Advanced Gutenberg is a great option if you have multiple content creators working on your website.
With Advanced Gutenberg, you can create multiple user profiles and assign privileges and roles to each of them.
Furthermore, you can check out its wide array of blocks which allow you to perform various functions including the ability to organize the latest posts and WooCommerce products.
Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg
One of the most popular Gutenberg plugins with more than 200,000 downloads, Ultimate Addons offers more than 20 blocks which are ideal for all types of websites.
Amongst the 20 blocks, you can insert blocks that will immediately enhance your website including a price list, a multi-button block to include multiple designer options within a block, social share icons and much more.
Perhaps one of Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg’s biggest sells is that it is created by the same team behind Astra, one of the most popular themes on WordPress. So you can be secure in the knowledge that you are getting a reliable theme that works perfectly alongside the blocks.
Stackable
Stackable is a useful plugin for casual designers who are looking for a set of blocks which will be simple to understand and insert. Stackable calls upon more than 24 blocks which look great out of the box.
One of the biggest selling points of Stackable is the intuitive UI in its page builder which has a great configuration and the ability to toggle block options.
Similar to many of the other Gutenberg WordPress plugins, Stackable offers a number of ready-made templates – more than 230.
CoBlocks
CoBlocks bills itself as the last page builder you will ever need and it certainly contains many of the most important features for building websites including blocks for posts, forms, buttons and much more.
CoBlocks stands out with its responsive margin and padding setting which offers a drag and drop feature to adjust the size of each of your blocks and to space out your content so it looks exactly how you planned it.
In addition, its typography controls give you the freedom to style your text in whatever way you want.
Conditional Blocks
Conditional Blocks is another useful Gutenberg WordPress plugin that performs one particular job very well – showing and hiding blocks based on the user.
For example, you can use Conditional Blocks to hide and show blocks depending on if the user is logged in or not. Furthermore, Conditional Blocks can show blocks based on the referral link used, the device and the user role.
Like some of the other blocks mentioned above, Conditional Blocks also allows you to target different screen types with tailored blocks.
Custom Color Palette for Gutenberg
Custom Color Palette is a great plugin for extending the default colors which are available for you as you edit your Gutenberg blocks.
You can easily replace the palette of the WordPress color and theme with a number of categories including main colors, grayscale and primary colors.
Photo Gallery by GT3
If you’re looking for a Gutenberg WordPress plugin to handle all of your image and video needs Photo Gallery by GT3 is a great option.
You can customize any photo or video gallery. For instance, you can add various types of image layouts including grid, masonry and thumbnails. Furthermore, you can extend the number of columns to 9, create different types of sliders and incorporate your content into custom post types.
Photo Gallery by GT3 is, of course, completely integrated with all GT3 themes.
Conclusion
One of the advantages of Gutenberg compared with page builders is that the number of plugins that are built specifically for the content editor is increasing rapidly. This will mean more options to further extend the WordPress core editor. And as WordPress has publicly committed to its editor you can expect developers to start innovating around Gutenberg.
These 10 Gutenberg plugins serve as a great starting point for building your WordPress website and we expect to see many more in the future.
