Abs – Additional block styles

Description

Provides new additional creative styles for your WordPress website native blocks in editor (Gutenberg). Simply activate the plugin and use newly available block styles (see “Frequently Asked Questions” for more info).

List of included block styles:

Portfolio gallery
Display caption of gallery images below the image to create a portfolio-like appearance.

Enhanced Media & Text
Enable creative transition between media and text containers. Also, display the media on top for easy feature or service display.

Image effects
Give your Image and Media & Text blocks interesting, unique look with brushstroke, flower, blob or oval shape.

Overlap blocks
Overlap various (container) blocks over content above or below. Or pull them left and right.

Modern quotes
A modern bubble style is provided for Quote block.

List items
Separate list items and latest posts with a border. Or display lists inline.

Remove gaps
You can remove gaps between columns or gallery images. Also, a useful style to remove vertical gap from various blocks is provided.

Column alignment
Use this style with singular column which is not 100% wide. You can then align the column in columns container using these styles.

Shadows
Make various blocks stand out applying a drop shadow style. Or push the Cover block background further to the back with inner shadow.

Responsive styles
Hide a column, or stack columns and Media & Text on tablet screens (in portrait orientation).

Separator styles
New double line and zigzag separator styles are provided.

Edge sapes
Apply wavy top and bottom edge for multiple blocks (props to CoBlocks plugin for inspiration).

Accessibility related styles
You can hide headings accessibly. They will still be accessible for assistive technology such as screen reader, but visually they’ll be hidden.

Got a suggestion?

If you have a suggestion for a new block style, please share it here in support section or in GitHub repository issues.

Screenshots

Installation

1. Unzip the plugin download file and upload additional-block-styles folder into the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
2. Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” menu in WordPress.
3. Plugin works immediately after activation by adding additional block styles into your WordPress block editor. And you can customize plugin options on Settings → Abs screen.

FAQ

I have a suggestion!

If you have a suggestion for a new block style, please share it here in support section or in GitHub repository issues.

How does it work?

Once you enable the plugin, it will do its magic automatically. The plugin adds new block styles for WordPress native blocks in editor (Gutenberg).

With block styles you can change block appearance with one click. Simply choose your preferred style from block options in sidebar on the page/post edit screen and you are done.

→ Video tutorial about how to use block styles.

Are there any plugin options?

Yes, you can set several of plugin’s style properties and choose which block styles to enable on the Settings → Abs screen.

How to change shadow intensity?

You can set shadow properties in Settings → Abs → Shadows screen section.

How to change overlap size?

You can set overlap size in Settings → Abs → Overlapping screen section.

How to disable certain block styles?

You can toggle block styles in Settings → Abs → Toggle block styles screen section.

Are there any custom blocks?

No. This plugin only registers new block styles, which means it only provides CSS code to style blocks differently. There is no custom block included in this plugin.

Are there any custom enhancements to blocks?

No. Just new block styles.

Can I modify plugin CSS variables via `theme.json` file?

Yes. You can set settings.custom.abs object in your theme’s theme.json file, such as follows:

"settings": {
    "custom": {
        "abs": {
            "overlap-value": "100px",
            "overlap-inline-value": "min(10vw, 100px)",
            "overlap-gradient-value": "100px",
            "shadow-blur": "1em",
            "shadow-opacity": ".15",
            "pull": "calc( -1 * var(--wp--custom--abs--overlap-value) )",
            "drop-shadow": "0 calc(var(--wp--custom--abs--shadow-blur) / 10) var(--wp--custom--abs--shadow-blur) rgba(0,0,0, var(--wp--custom--abs--shadow-opacity))",
            "inner-shadow": "inset 0 calc(1.5 * var(--wp--custom--abs--shadow-blur) / 10) calc(1.5 * var(--wp--custom--abs--shadow-blur)) rgba(0,0,0, calc(1.33 * var(--wp--custom--abs--shadow-opacity)) )"
        }
    }
}

Reviews

Perfect for Enhancing Gutenberg Block Styles!

apollosk October 29, 2024 1 reply

I’ve been using Additional Block Styles for a few weeks, and it’s a game-changer! This plugin adds so many creative styling options to Gutenberg blocks, making it easy to give my site a fresh, custom look without needing extra CSS. The options are straightforward, and the styles integrate seamlessly with existing blocks. Highly recommend for anyone looking to take their WordPress design up a notch!

Block style extension as it should be

Bjarne Oldrup June 1, 2024 3 replies

I meant to test Abs for quite some time now, as it cleverly extends the possible styles of the core blocks, not adding a gazillion extra “advanced heading” blocks etc. to your already bloated block inserter. Abs adds a class to the blocks meaning, you can actually disable the Abs plugin entirely, and your content will still render, just with normal core styles. You won’t even get the dreaded “This block contains unexpected or invalid content.” This approach makes Abs very robust, in the way that should you ever encounter a problem with the Abs styling, you just disable that feature in the Abs settings panel, and core WordPress styling will be used. No lock in. No dependencies. Tested with WP 6.5, PHP 8.3, the W3C HTML Validator and WebAIM Wave. No issues found. Definitely give Abs a try. I might not do as much as some block plugins, but what it does, it does extremely well.

Contributors & Developers

Changelog

Please see the changelog.md file for details.