MythThrazz

<p>Most WooCommerce stores ship 80-150 KB of block CSS and JS that the store never actually renders. The WC <code>BlockPatterns</code> scanner is the one that bugs me most – it hits the filesystem on every request to scan a directory of pattern templates you don’t use. Then add core WP <code>global-styles</code>, <code>wp-block-library</code> and font-faces on top, and you’re loading a Gutenberg frontend you probably switched off a long time ago.</p>
<p>Zero Blocks Given turns it off at the source, through WooCommerce’s own dependency injection container. No CSS dequeue band-aid, no UI checkboxes, no PRO upsell. One constant in <code>wp-config.php</code>, pick a tier, done.</p>
<h3>How it works</h3>
<p>Here’s the thing – WC registers its block hooks as closures wrapping instance methods on container-managed objects. So you can’t <code>remove_action()</code> them by string. You have to fetch the same instance back from the DI container and pass it in as the callable. That’s what this does:</p>
<pre><code>$bp = \Automattic\WooCommerce\Blocks\Package::container()->get( BlockPatterns::class );
remove_action( 'init', [ $bp, 'register_block_patterns' ] );
</code></pre>
<p>The DI-container path is the one that survives WC upgrades cleanly. String-callback matching and dequeue tricks tend to drift every release, so I went with the container.</p>
<h3>Four modes. Three ways to set them.</h3>
<p>  Mode<br />
  What it turns off<br />
  When to use it</p>
<p>  <code>patterns</code><br />
  WC <code>BlockPatterns</code> directory scanner only<br />
  Block-based Cart/Checkout – keeps all blocks rendering, just skips the file-I/O scan</p>
<p>  <code>blocks</code><br />
  <code>patterns</code> + <code>BlockTypesController</code> + <code>Notices</code> styles + <code>wc-blocks-style</code> handle<br />
  Classic-shortcode WC stores</p>
<p>  <code>all</code><br />
  <code>blocks</code> + WP <code>global-styles</code> pipeline + <code>theme.json</code> + font-faces + head <code><style></code> strip<br />
  Sites with no Gutenberg frontend at all</p>
<p>  <code>nuclear</code><br />
  <code>all</code> + <code>unregister_block_type()</code> for every core block<br />
  Page-builder sites – strips the editor inserter clean</p>
<p>Default is <code>all</code>. Set the mode you want with any of these:</p>
<ol>
<li>The <code><dialog></code> settings – click the Settings link on the Plugins screen. Native HTML dialog, four radios, save. No menu items, nothing else added to your admin.</li>
<li>A constant in <code>wp-config.php</code> – <code>define( 'ZEROBLG_MODE', 'patterns' );</code>. This wins over the dialog. Good devops escape hatch.</li>
<li>A filter in a theme or mu-plugin – <code>add_filter( 'zeroblg/mode', fn() => 'blocks' );</code>. Used when neither the constant nor the dialog set a value.</li>
</ol>
<p>Resolution order: constant, then settings, then filter, then <code>all</code>. An invalid value at any step just falls through to the next.</p>
<h3>A few real cases</h3>
<ul>
<li>Service-form site on WC. You sell consultations, not products – no cart, no checkout. <code>mode=all</code> strips every block stylesheet across the site.</li>
<li>Classic-shortcode WC store. You use <code>[woocommerce_cart]</code> and <code>[woocommerce_checkout]</code>, no block UI. <code>mode=blocks</code> turns off the block frontend without touching your classic flow.</li>
<li>Block-checkout store with bloated patterns. You run the new Cart/Checkout blocks but never the WC pattern library. <code>mode=patterns</code> skips just the directory scanner – saves the disk hit, leaves your checkout alone.</li>
<li>FrankenPHP / worker mode. All hooks are idempotent, no <code>$GLOBALS</code> writes, <code>\Throwable</code> catches around the DI lookups. Safe in a worker.</li>
<li>Elementor / Divi WC stores. The page builder renders its own checkout, so <code>mode=all</code> clears the WC and WP block CSS your theme never uses anyway.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Why I built it this way</h3>
<ul>
<li>Activate it and it works – <code>mode=all</code> is the default, no setup needed.</li>
<li>No settings page to learn. One constant or one filter is the whole API.</li>
<li>Pure PHP. No database rows, no admin scripts, no frontend JS.</li>
<li>No external requests, no tracking, nothing phoning home. GDPR is a non-issue.</li>
<li>It uses the same <code>Package::container()</code> lookup as WC core, so it follows WC’s own object lifecycle instead of guessing.</li>
<li>Worker-safe – FrankenPHP, Roadrunner, Swoole. No <code>die</code>, no <code>exit</code>, no session writes.</li>
<li>mu-plugin friendly. Drop the folder into <code>wp-content/mu-plugins/</code> and it loads itself.</li>
<li>GPL, no upsells. No PRO tier, no Freemius, no admin notice nagging you for a review.</li>
</ul>
<h3>From the maker of WP Multitool</h3>
<p>This plugin handles the frontend block bloat. If you also want the backend cleaned up, that’s what <a href="https://wpmultitool.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">WP Multitool</a> does – slow queries, autoload bloat, the database bottlenecks that caching plugins just hide instead of fixing. Most optimization plugins guess at the problem. WP Multitool runs <code>EXPLAIN</code> and shows you. 14 tools in there – slow-query analyzer, autoload optimizer, index suggestions, fatal-error recovery – and a free site scanner if you want to see what’s slow before paying for anything. If Zero Blocks Given earned a spot in your stack, that one probably will too.</p>


Zero Blocks Given

Turn off WooCommerce / WP block frontend output at the code level. Four tiers, optional one-click settings, no paywall.

connekthq

Darren Cooney

<p>Block Manager gives you complete control over the WordPress Block Editor by allowing you to:</p>
<p>✅ <strong>Disable Blocks</strong> – Remove unwanted blocks from the Block Inserter and Editor<br />
✅ <strong>Disable Patterns</strong> – Hide block patterns you don’t need with a single click<br />
✅ <strong>Change Block Categories</strong> – Reorganize blocks by updating their categories for better workflow</p>
<p>Simplify your WordPress editing experience by removing clutter and organizing blocks exactly how you need them. Perfect for client sites, custom workflows, and maintaining a clean, focused Block Editor.</p>
<h3>Key Features</h3>
<p><strong>Disable Blocks</strong><br />
– Globally remove any block from the Block Inserter and Block Editor.<br />
– Disable block variations individually while keeping the core block.<br />
– Control Embed blocks (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) to remove unwanted options.<br />
– Toggle entire block categories on/off with one click.</p>
<p><strong>Disable Block Patterns</strong><br />
– Remove unwanted block patterns with a simple toggle.<br />
– Hide core WordPress patterns that don’t fit your site.<br />
– Clean up the pattern library for a focused editing experience.</p>
<p><strong>Change Block Categories</strong><br />
– Update the category of any block to better organize your Block Inserter.<br />
– Create a custom workflow that matches your editing process.<br />
– Improve findability by grouping related blocks together.</p>
<p><strong>Additional Features</strong><br />
– <strong>Code Hooks</strong>: Use filters to control blocks and patterns via <code>functions.php</code>.<br />
– <strong>Search and Filter</strong>: Quickly locate blocks and patterns with built-in search.<br />
– <strong>Export Options</strong>: Generate code snippets for syncing across environments.<br />
– <strong>Status Reports</strong>: View active and disabled blocks at a glance.</p>
<h3>Hooks & Filters</h3>
<p>Use Block Manager hooks to controls blocks via code and sync options across multiple WordPress environments.</p>
<h4>gbm_disabled_blocks</h4>
<p>Use the <code>gbm_disabled_blocks</code> hook to remove blocks via backend code.</p>
<pre><code>// functions.php
add_filter( 'gbm_disabled_blocks', function() {
    return [
        'core/buttons',
        'core/columns',
        'core/freeform',
        'core/table'
    ];
});
</code></pre>
<h4>gbm_disabled_patterns</h4>
<p>Use the <code>gbm_disabled_patterns</code> hook to remove block patterns via backend code.</p>
<pre><code>// functions.php
add_filter( 'gbm_disabled_patterns', function() {
   return ['gbm/core-patterns', 'core/query-standard-posts', 'core/query-medium-posts'];
});
</code></pre>
<h4>gbm_block_categories</h4>
<p>Use the <code>gbm_block_categories</code> hook to update block categories via backend code.</p>
<pre><code>// functions.php
add_filter( 'gbm_block_categories', function() {
    return [
        [ 'block' => 'core/html', 'cat' => 'design' ],
        [ 'block' => 'core/cover', 'cat' => 'design' ],
        [ 'block' => 'core/details', 'cat' => 'design' ]
    ];
});
</code></pre>
<h4>block_manager_user_role</h4>
<p>Update the minimum user role allowed to access the Block Manager plugin.</p>
<pre><code>// functions.php
add_filter(
    'block_manager_user_role',
    'edit_theme_options' // Default: activate_plugins
);
</code></pre>


Block Manager


Extremely useful plugin and one of the first I added to all of my installs. Thank you, Darren!


Clean and handy

Disable unwanted blocks and patterns, organize blocks by changing categories - complete control over your WordPress Block Editor experience.

Zero Blocks Given vs Block Manager