VisiBlocks

The block editor hides most of its controls behind hover states and precise mouse positioning. Where a block begins and ends, that a block can be selected at all, and where a new block would go are invisible until the cursor happens to land in the right place. Experienced users have learned to live with this. Clients, editors, and anyone who updates a page once a month have not.

VisiBlocks makes those controls visible. Every enhancement is a separate setting, and they all start switched on, so you can see what the plugin does right away and then switch off anything your editors do not need.

It is not a page builder. The block editor stays exactly as it is, and VisiBlocks only removes friction around it. Blocks do not need to be rewritten or to opt in, so it works with core blocks, ACF blocks, and third-party blocks alike. Disable the plugin and the editor behaves as it always did.

Block outlines

Draw a boundary around blocks so their edges are visible. Choose “Always” to outline every block, or “On hover” to show the boundary only for the block under the cursor. Selected blocks and their parent containers are distinguished, so it is clear which block you are in and what it sits inside.

Colors follow your WordPress admin color scheme.

Add-block hints

Place a faint “+” at each block boundary, and between columns, so it is obvious where a new block would go. As you approach one, WordPress’s own inserter takes over, so clicking behaves exactly as it normally does.

Add-block buttons at the edges

Add a working “+” above the first block and beneath the final one, the two spots where WordPress offers no inserter of its own. There is always an obvious place to start writing and to continue, rather than a thin strip of page to hunt for.

Delete button in the block toolbar

Deleting a block is a common, deliberate action, but WordPress keeps it inside the toolbar’s overflow (“three dots”) menu. This adds a Delete button to the toolbar itself, in its own group just before that menu. It is withheld for blocks WordPress will not let you remove, and deletion undoes normally with Ctrl+Z.

Remove-block button

Put a matching “minus” button beside the “+” that appears on a new empty block, so a block added by accident can be removed on the spot instead of through the toolbar’s overflow menu. Removal undoes normally with Ctrl+Z.

View in same tab

Add a “View” button that opens the post in the current tab, next to the stock button that opens a new one, so a long editing session stops piling up browser tabs.

Reposition the save notice

Move the “saved” confirmation from the far bottom-left corner up to the top-right, near the Save button you just clicked.

Adjustable editor sidebar

Give the editor settings sidebar a roomier starting width and add a draggable edge so each editor can choose how much room it needs. The resize control also works with the keyboard, and WordPress remembers each editor’s chosen width. It can grow to 75% of the viewport, making it useful for quick responsive checks inside the editor.