GenerateBlocks is a small set of flexible blocks for the WordPress block editor, made by the team behind GeneratePress. Instead of dozens of single-purpose blocks, it gives you a few building blocks you can style into almost anything. We use it on most of the sites we build, though not for everything. Here is how it fits.
What it gives you
GenerateBlocks 2 is built around a handful of blocks:
- Element: a container you can turn into a section, a grid, a card, a link wrapper or any HTML tag.
- Text: headings, paragraphs and buttons with full style control.
- Media and Shape: images and SVG dividers.
- Query and Loop: list posts, custom post types or other content in any layout.
Each block has detailed controls for spacing, typography, colors, borders, layout and responsive settings, and it only outputs the CSS the page actually uses.
Free vs. Pro
The free plugin covers layouts and queries. GenerateBlocks Pro adds global styles you can reuse across the site, a pattern library, overlay panels for mega menus and modals, accordions and tabs, and more advanced dynamic data. For client sites we use Pro, mainly for global styles: change a card style once and every card updates.
How we use it
- Page layouts on top of the GeneratePress theme: hero sections, feature grids, pricing tables.
- Templates through GeneratePress Elements, such as the single post layout you are reading now, with dynamic tags for the title, date and categories.
- Structured content with Advanced Custom Fields: a team or case study post type whose fields are pulled into a GenerateBlocks layout.
For simple text-heavy pages like this article we use core WordPress blocks. They are easy for clients to edit and do not need extra styling controls. For complex interactive features we write custom ACF blocks instead.
Why not a page builder?
Page builders like Elementor add their own editor, their own layout system and a lot of front-end code. GenerateBlocks works inside the normal block editor and outputs lean HTML, so sites load faster and stay easier to maintain. See our comparison of page builders and the block editor.
Getting started
- Install GenerateBlocks from Plugins → Add New.
- Open a page, add an Element block and set it to a full-width section with a max-width inner container.
- Add Text blocks inside it and style them.
- Save a section you like as a pattern so you can reuse it.
Want a site built this way, or an existing site rebuilt on a faster foundation? Tell us what you need, or start with a free site review.