How to Stop WordPress Users from Adding New Gutenberg Blocks

The Gutenberg block editor makes it easy to add and edit content in WordPress.

However, sometimes you want to do just the opposite! Sometimes your content should not be updated. With the PublishPress plugins, you can completely prevent some users from adding new blocks to your WordPress content.

In this guide, I'll share two ways that you can stop users from adding new blocks.

Option #1. PublishPress Capabilities

With PublishPress Capabilities plugin, you can also prevent users from adding new blocks inside the Gutenberg editor. This is very useful for preventing users from updating and adding to your content. To prevent users from adding blocks, we're going to have to remove two icons. I've highlighted both of the icons in this image below:

• Go to the “Editor Features” screen in PublishPress Capabilities.
• In the top-left corner, choose the user role you want to edit.
• Check the “Add block” option. This will remove the add new block icon in the toolbar.

• Click the “Add new block” option lower down the screen.
• Click “Save Post Restrictions”.

Option #2. PublishPress Blocks

With the PublishPress Blocks plugin you disable all block adding with a single setting:

• Go to “Settings” then “Block Features”.
• Choose the user role you want to modify from the “Select Role” dropdown.
• Check the box next to “Disable all block adding”.

Get more control over Gutenberg with PublishPress Capabilities

The PublishPress Capabilities plugin gives you wide variety of options for controlling the Gutenberg editor.

You can hide elements in the Gutenberg with the Editor Features screen. You can also force users to use either Gutenberg or the Classic Editor.

Also in the PublishPress suite of plugins, you can use PublishPress Blocks to hide specific blocks from users. What is more, you can also prevent users from having access to some blocks, or even stop them adding any new blocks.

The Best Plugin to Control Your WordPress Users

PublishPress Capabilities enables you to customize what users see in every area of WordPress from editing posts and pages to admin menus, profile pages.

Get the Capabilities plugin

Your Complete Toolkit for the WordPress Block Editor

PublishPress Blocks is the plugin that gives you more control over the WordPress block editor. You get a complete set of management tools for your blocks.

Get the Blocks plugin