How to Restore the Classic Editor in WordPress

One plugin does it. Install Classic Editor, and WordPress returns to the TinyMCE editing screen. Everything below is configuration and the consequences worth knowing before you commit.

Install and configure

1. Plugins → Add New, search for Classic Editor, install and activate.
2. Go to Settings → Writing.
3. Choose the default editor for all users: Classic editor or Block editor.
4. Decide whether users may switch editors themselves.

Setting "Allow users to switch editors" adds an option per user profile and a link in the row actions on the Posts list, so a single post can be opened in either one. On a team where some people want blocks and some do not, that is usually the right configuration.

What happens to existing content

Block markup opened and saved in the classic editor can become invalid, because the editor reformats HTML the block editor expects in a specific shape. The practical rule: keep block-built posts in the block editor, and use the classic editor for new posts and older ones.

If a block later shows "this block contains unexpected or invalid content", Attempt block recovery usually restores it — the mechanics are in what is a block in WordPress.

Reasons to switch back that hold up

• A workflow built on classic meta boxes that the block editor renders awkwardly.
• A theme or plugin whose editing experience genuinely depends on the classic screen.
• A large team mid-project, where retraining now is worse than retraining later.
• Custom post types where the block editor adds nothing — a simple text-only type, for example.

Reasons that usually do not

• "The block editor is slow." Often a plugin conflict or a heavy meta box rather than the editor. Test with plugins disabled on staging before deciding.
• "I cannot find anything." Two hours with the list view and the block sidebar generally resolves this. The layout is unfamiliar, not missing.
• "It breaks my formatting." Usually the theme lacking editor styles, which is a theme problem that follows you regardless.
• "Blocks are a fad." Core development is entirely block-oriented. Site editing, patterns and styles all build on it.

Disable the block editor for specific post types instead

A narrower change than switching the whole site, in a site-specific plugin:

<?php
// Classic editor for one post type only.
add_filter('use_block_editor_for_post_type', function (bool $use, string $post_type): bool {
    return $post_type === 'product_doc' ? false : $use;
}, 10, 2);

This keeps the block editor for pages and posts while giving a custom type the simpler screen. Put it in a plugin rather than the theme, per how to add code to a WordPress page.

Planning for the eventual move

The Classic Editor plugin is a transition aid with a stated end. Rather than treating the switch as permanent:

• write new content in the block editor where you can, so the backlog stops growing;
• rebuild key landing pages in blocks over time;
• check whether the plugin that pushed you back to classic has since improved;
• if the site is due a redesign anyway, consider a block theme, per what is a WordPress block theme.

Related things people actually want

Sometimes "I want the classic editor back" means something more specific:

• The old widgets screen — a separate plugin restores classic widgets without changing the post editor.
• A distraction-free writing view — the block editor has one in the options menu.
• The HTML view — available per block via Edit as HTML, or for the whole post via the Code editor in the options menu.
• Fewer options on screen — much of the sidebar can be collapsed, and unused panels hidden under Preferences.