Description
Content Blocks Builder (CBB) is a tool that helps you create your own custom blocks, variations, styles, and patterns directly in the Block Editor without using a code editor.
Unlike other page builders and block library plugins, CBB does not include a library of customized blocks. CBB uses core blocks and enhances them by adding the ability to group them into a container block that has native features like typography, colors, spacing, border, etc., and a bunch of custom advanced features. You can create common layouts such as grid, carousel, accordion, modal, off-canvas, etc. You can also create repeater blocks to display repeating content that works similarly to the ACF repeater field. For more information, please check out the detailed guide about CBB blocks.
The goal of CBB is to help you build a complex website with WordPress using only core blocks and native Gutenberg features with any block theme. You don’t need a custom theme, a feature-rich theme, or a block library plugin.
Key Features
- Manage custom blocks: Create, edit, copy, import, and delete your own custom blocks.
- Support repeater blocks like ACF repeater fields that support grid, carousel, accordion, and vertical stack layout
- Advanced block support features: Modal, off-canvas, toggle content, sticky, etc.
- Manage block variations & styles: Create, edit, copy, import, and delete block variations. It works on any block.
- Manage block patterns: Create, edit, copy, import, and delete custom block patterns.
- Enhance the Query Loop block: Add grid, carousel layouts, and advanced filter and sorting settings.
- There is a library of pre-built blocks, variations, styles, and patterns
- Load Google Fonts easily with a few clicks
- Import/export custom blocks, variations, and patterns from/to other sites
Why do we create this plugin and why will you need it?
WordPress with the Gutenberg Block Editor is a powerful page builder. It comes packed with lots of blocks that you can use on your site. However, sometimes you may need something more specific or unique for your website that is not available in the default blocks or the plugins that you have installed. Or you may not want to install a bloated-block plugin library just to use a few of them. This plugin helps you create those unique layouts and features.
Based on our experience in developing hundreds of client websites with the “classic” workflow using meta field frameworks and custom theme/plugin development, we created this plugin to help us transition to the new workflow in the Gutenberg era with custom blocks, block themes, and full site editing. With CBB, you don’t have to spend time with PHP/React building custom blocks, custom themes, or plugins. Most of the tasks can be done just by using the default Editor. As a result, it will make the process of building websites simpler and more enjoyable.
Below is a video tutorial that demonstrates how you can use this plugin to design your site directly on the Editor:
How does it help?
Create custom layouts
You can create common layouts with CBB such as grid, carousel, accordion, and vertical stack. CBB includes 5 built-in layout blocks: Advanced Group, Grid, Carousel, Stack and Accordion. You can use them or build your custom blocks easily.
Watch the video tutorial to create a simple responsive grid using the built-in Grid block.
Create a similar layout by creating a custom grid block.
Watch the video tutorial to create a banner slider using the built-in Carousel block.
Watch the video tutorial to create a FAQ section using the built-in Accordion block.
Create popup, off-canvas, and toggle content
With the toggle content feature, you can build a popup, off-canvas, toggle content easily and you can put anything in there.
Watch the step-by-step video tutorial to create modal, off-canvas content.
Create a responsive header with hamburger menu and search bar toggle.
Create a notification bar.
Create a video popup.
Create a cookie popup.
Create an off-canvas content.
Enhance the Query Loop and other blocks
CBB provides a bunch of advanced features to add style to custom blocks like responsive width, height, spacing, border, box-shadow, transform, alignments etc. And by wrapping around other blocks, you can add those features to other blocks as well.
Watch the video tutorial to create a custom blog page.
Create a banner slider using the Query Loop block.
Create a carousel of posts using the Query Loop block.
Create a blog layout with overlay style using the Query Loop block.
Create block variations, block styles, and block patterns
CBB helps you create custom variations, styles, and patterns directly in the Block Editor without using WordPress API.
Watch the video tutorial to create a glow effect variation for the core button block.
Create variations and styles for the core image block.
Create variations for any block.
Create patterns.
Google Fonts
This feature does a really simple job, it loads a font for headings text and another for the body text from more than 1000+ Google Fonts easily with a few clicks. If you are worried about GDPR compliance, there is an option to load fonts from Bunny Fonts instead of Google Fonts.
How to use Google Fonts and be GDPR compliant.
Where is the demo?
Please check out the Design Library of templates/patterns created only by this plugin and the TwentyTwentyTwo theme without any custom code.
Which theme should I use with this plugin?
It is compatible with all Gutenberg-ready themes, but our recommended themes are default themes such as Twenty Twenty Three, Twenty Twenty Two, or Astra theme.
How does it work with other blocks/plugins?
This plugin works with all third-party blocks but we recommend using single-block plugins for lightweight and performance. We also develop several single block plugins, that work great with this plugin, please see them in the below section.
Design library
We have already included a library of block patterns for you to quickly use or customize to fit your design. There is a popup inserter in the block editor for you to find and insert patterns with a few clicks.
How to use the pattern inserter popup.
Browse the Design Library to see what the plugin can do for you.
Block and Variation library
Besides the pattern library, we have built an external library of content blocks and common block variations. All of the blocks/variations in this library have been created by CBB directly in the Block Editor. With a few clicks, you can easily import blocks or variations into your site. You use them directly or customize or learn from them.
Watch some video tutorials to learn how to use the library:
Import the particles background block.
Import the basic header block.
Import the Query Loop variations.
Import the arrow buttons.
Learn CBB
Check out the documentation at contentblocksbuilder.com.
Watch all tutorials on Youtube.
We’re still recording video tutorials, so please subscribe to our youtube channel to get a notification when new videos are released.
Pro version
The professional version adds more advanced features to your content such as:
- Custom CSS Editor
- Copy/Paste styles from one block to another across domains
- Support multiple edit styles
- Parallax and infinite scrolling effects for background image
- Advanced features for the carousel layout like entrance animations, customized pagination, navigation…
- Advanced features for the toggle content layout(modal, off-canvas) like custom entrance animations, delay time, and closed state saving.
- Advanced features for the sticky content. Allows only getting sticky when scrolling up
- Add custom JS, custom CSS and external scripts and stylesheets for blocks
- Add custom CSS for custom variations
- Reveal animation effects
Watch our video tutorials to see how the Pro version can help you build advanced features for your sites:
Create a custom block for the image zooming effect like Medium using an external script.
Create a page title bar with a parallax background effect.
How to create an animated heading block.
How to create a Back To Top block.
How to create an image compare block.
Create a custom variation/style for the core button block.
Go premium to unlock advanced features with CBB Pro.
If this plugin is useful for you, please do a quick review and rate it on WordPress.org to help us spread the word. I would very much appreciate it.
Other plugins
Please check out my other plugins if you’re interested:
- Meta Field Block – A block to display a meta field, custom field as a block on the front end, supporting ACF fields. It can also be used in the Query Loop block.
- SVG Block – A block to insert inline SVG images easily and safely. It also bundles with more than 3000 icons and some common non-rectangular dividers.
- Icon separator – A tiny block just like the core/separator block but with the ability to add an icon to it.
- Breadcrumb Block – A simple breadcrumb trail block that supports JSON-LD structured data.
- Block Enhancements – A plugin to add more useful features to blocks like icons, box-shadow, transform…
- Counting Number Block – A block to display a number that has the number-counting effect.
- Better Youtube Embed Block – Embed Youtube videos without slowing down your site.
The plugin is developed using @wordpress/scripts.
Installation
How to install it from wordpress.org
Please see the video tutorial to install it from your site dashboard:
How to install it manually
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/content-blocks-builder
directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress
FAQ
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Why do you need this plugin?
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To change the way of creating sites with WordPress from the legacy Classic Editor to the new Gutenberg Block Editor.
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Who needs this plugin?
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This plugin is made for developers or designers but anyone familiar with the Block Editor can use it.
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Is there a built-in design library?
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Yes, there is a library of production-ready block patterns.
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Is this another block library?
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No. It’s like a tool to create custom layouts for core or third-party blocks without coding. However, it provides five custom block types: Grid, Carousel, Stack, Accordion and Advanced group.
Besides the five above block types, we have built an external library of content blocks and common block variations. You can easily import and use them in the plugin. -
Which themes does it support?
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It is compatible with all block-based themes and some popular classic themes like Astra, but our recommended themes are default themes such as Twenty Twenty-Three, Twenty Twenty-Two, and Astra theme. If you find it doesn’t work with your theme, please let us know. We’ll work on it.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Content Blocks Builder” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
ContributorsTranslate “Content Blocks Builder” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
2.4.10
Release Date – 13 November 2023
- Fixed – A syntax issue on dynamic CSS
- Updated – Ignore the content width of the main block on the edit variation screen
- Updated – Load the default color settings (palette, gradients, duotone) to unsupported themes
- Updated – Respect the content width on vertical alignment but not justify alignment