Classic Editor
Quick Definition
The Classic Editor is the original WordPress content editor based on TinyMCE. It was the default editor until WordPress 5.0 (2018) and is still available as an official plugin with 9+ million active installs.
What Is the Classic Editor?
The Classic Editor is the original WordPress content editing interface that was the default from WordPress's early days until version 5.0 (December 2018), when it was replaced by the Block Editor (codename Gutenberg).
The Classic Editor is built on TinyMCE, a well-established WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor. It provides a single, familiar text area — similar to writing in Microsoft Word or Google Docs — with a formatting toolbar for bold, italic, links, lists, headings, and media insertion.
When the Block Editor became default, WordPress released the Classic Editor as an official plugin. According to wordpress.org, it has 9+ million active installations and a 4.9/5 star rating — making it one of the most-installed plugins in the directory. It's maintained by the WordPress.org team itself.
The Classic Editor in Practice
To use the Classic Editor today, install the Classic Editor plugin from Plugins → Add New in your dashboard. Once activated, it offers several configuration options under Settings → Writing:
- Default editor for all users — choose Classic or Block as the site-wide default
- Allow users to switch editors — let each user pick their preferred editor
- Per-post switching — open any post in either editor regardless of the default
The Classic Editor interface includes:
- Visual tab — WYSIWYG editing with formatting toolbar
- Text tab — raw HTML editing
- Meta boxes — panels below the editor for categories, tags, featured image, excerpt, custom fields, and more
Should you use it? If you're starting a new site in 2026, learn the Block Editor — it's the future of WordPress. The Classic Editor is best for: existing sites that depend on older plugins incompatible with blocks, or users who strongly prefer the traditional writing experience.
Why It Matters
The Classic Editor represents 15+ years of WordPress editing history. While the Block Editor is the future, 9 million sites still actively use the Classic Editor — a testament to its reliability. Understanding both editors helps you work with any WordPress site. See our beginner's guide and dashboard walkthrough for more.