Block Areas
Introduces a simple method for defining block areas to use the block editor outside of the post content.
Consider an alternative
Block Areas shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 50+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 7 years ago, and scores 32/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (50+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 7 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 5.2 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Block Areas stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| blocks | >100 |
| editor | >100 |
| gutenberg | >100 |
| theming | >100 |
| wprig | #1 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
About Block Areas
From the official readme · v0.2.0Description
Introduces a simple method for defining block areas to use the block editor outside of the post content.
This is an experimental plugin that explores basic usage of Gutenberg blocks outside of the content bubble, on a sitewide level.
In the long term it will likely eliminate itself once WordPress core and Gutenberg will have completed the next phase of advancing to the sitewide level. The plugin exists as a baseline to have an easy way for experimenting with similar functionality already today.
Usage
After activating the plugin, you can create and edit block areas under Appearance > Block Areas. There should be two block areas already, header and footer.
Block areas are identified by their unique slug. Since header and footer are expected to exist, make sure not to delete them.
In order to print a specific block area, for example in your theme, use block_areas()->render( $slug ) (e.g. block_areas()->render( 'header' )).
You can also explicitly add theme support, specifying which block area slugs your theme relies on (e.g. add_theme_support( 'block-areas', 'header', 'footer' )).
Installation
- Upload the entire
block-areasfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory or download it through the WordPress backend. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
Changelog
0.2.0
- Allow themes to explicitly add
block-areastheme support and specify which areas they use.
0.1.0
- Initial release
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
Block Areas: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 17, 2026
Is Block Areas free?
Yes. Block Areas is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Block Areas safe to use in 2026?
Block Areas shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 50+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 7 years ago, and scores 32/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Block Areas?
Block Areas is active on 50+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 279,579 times since it launched in July 2019. It was downloaded 78 times in the last 30 days.
Does Block Areas work with WordPress 7.1?
Block Areas is officially tested up to WordPress 5.2.29, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Block Areas need?
Block Areas requires PHP 7.0 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Block Areas last updated?
The latest version, 0.2.0, was released on August 20, 2019 (7 years ago).
Who makes Block Areas?
Block Areas is developed and maintained by Felix Arntz.
What are the best alternatives to Block Areas?
The most popular alternatives to Block Areas are Spectra Legacy (1M+ installs), Kadence Blocks (600K+ installs) and Extendify (500K+ installs).
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