FrontBlocks for Gutenberg/GeneratePress vs Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL)

FrontBlocks is a lightweight toolkit that extends the WordPress Block Editor (aka Gutenberg) with layout controls, interactive blocks, and content enhancements. Build richer pages with the blocks you already use, without relying on a page builder or custom code. Turn Query Loops and grids into carousels, add animations and visual effects, improve layouts, and enable practical site utilities. FrontBlocks works with native WordPress blocks as well as supported GenerateBlocks elements, with optional integrations for WooCommerce, GenerateBlocks/GeneratePress and Gravity Forms. Container Edge Alignment Add custom controls to GenerateBlocks Container blocks and native WordPress Group/Container blocks to remove padding from the left or right side, creating edge-to-edge layouts. This feature only appears for containers using GeneratePress global max-width settings, perfect for creating asymmetric layouts where content extends to one browser edge while maintaining proper spacing on the other side. Carousel/Slider for GenerateBlocks Grid and Query Loop We have added options to Gutenberg blocks that enable you to create a carousel or slider using your preferred blocks. Supported blocks include GenerateBlocks Grid, GenerateBlocks Element, core/group, and the native WordPress Query Loop (core/query). To start using the carousel, go to the grid block or Query Loop block and select the ‘Carousel’ or ‘Slider’ option in the ‘FrontBlocks Grid Options’ section. Carousel/Slider attributes: – Autoplay: automatically changes the slides after a certain amount of time (in seconds). – Items to view: configure the number of items to display for different screen sizes: * Desktop (>1200px): number of items to show on desktop screens. * Laptop (992px-1199px): number of items to show on laptop screens. * Tablet (768px-991px): number of items to show on tablet screens. * Mobile ( , , , ) and event-handler attributes (on*) are stripped before saving, protecting against XSS attacks. Login Block: Add a native Gutenberg login form block to any page or post. Insert the block from the Gutenberg inserter under the FrontBlocks category. Features a toggle to switch between login form and registration form views, with fully customizable labels and styles. Ideal for membership sites or pages requiring a clean, integrated login experience without a shortcode. Post Meta (Native) — FrontBlocks PRO: Display custom field values from post meta inside native WordPress blocks directly in the editor. Select any registered meta key and output its value inline within heading, paragraph, or other text blocks — no shortcodes or custom PHP required. Useful for displaying dynamic data such as prices, dates, or any custom field stored in post meta. Available in FrontBlocks PRO. FAQ Schema (JSON-LD): Automatically generate FAQPage structured data for search engines. Enable the “FAQ Schema” toggle in any accordion block (core/details) to mark it as an FAQ item. FrontBlocks collects all enabled items on the page and outputs a valid FAQPage JSON-LD script in the footer, improving your chances of appearing as rich results in Google Search. Gravity Forms Inline Layout: Display Gravity Forms with fields and buttons on the same line. Perfect for newsletter signup forms (email + subscribe button) or search forms (input + search button). To use this feature: 1. Select a form in the Gravity Forms block 2. Find the “FrontBlocks Gravity Form Options” panel in the block settings where you can: – Enable inline layout with a simple toggle – Adjust the gap between elements (0-50px) – Responsive design: automatically stacks on mobile devices This feature eliminates the need for custom CSS to achieve inline form layouts. Stacked Images Block: Display a set of images with an animated stacking effect. Images appear layered on top of each other and animate in from a configurable direction (top, bottom, left, or right). Insert the block from the Gutenberg inserter under the FrontBlocks category and upload multiple images. Features: – Configurable animation duration and delay between each image. – Container height control to fit any layout. – Smooth entrance animations driven by CSS/JS with no dependencies. Events: Register and manage events directly from WordPress. Enable the Events feature from the FrontBlocks settings page and choose between two modes: a dedicated Custom Post Type (with its own menu and category taxonomy) or storing events as regular posts. Each event includes meta fields for: – All-day toggle – Start and end date and time – Cost – Event website URL Language Recommendation Banner: Display a smart banner that detects the visitor’s browser language and suggests switching to the matching version of the site. Enable the banner from the FrontBlocks settings page. The banner only appears when the site has a translated version matching the user’s browser language, and respects user dismissal via a cookie. Cookie Notice: Show a lightweight, configurable cookie consent banner with Accept and Reject actions. Choose between a full-width bottom bar, a boxed panel (bottom-left or bottom-right) or a centered popup, and customize the message, button labels, cookie policy page, accent color and cookie expiration. Google Tag Manager and/or GA4 are only requested and loaded after a visitor accepts — never before — and returning visitors who already accepted get the scripts on normal page load. The settings page also shows a simple accepted/rejected acceptance-rate stat (admins are excluded from the count). Implements Google Consent Mode v2, so it also holds back tracking from other analytics/ads plugins that respect it — including Google Site Kit — until the visitor decides. Advanced Cookie Management (FrontBlocks PRO): Extend Cookie Notice with separate Necessary, Analytics and Marketing preferences, a customizable preferences dialog and a reusable trigger that lets visitors update their choices later. Google Ads, Meta Pixel and Microsoft Clarity only run after the relevant category is accepted. It also supports the official Meta Pixel for WordPress plugin by holding its Pixel and Conversions API signals until Marketing consent. WooCommerce Features: Included features for WooCommerce FrontBlocks PRO. FrontBlocks PRO: FrontBlocks PRO is a premium plugin that extends the functionality of FrontBlocks. It includes additional features and improvements over the free version. Features: – Enable Gutenberg in the product editor. – Enable simple prices for variable products. – Block added after button. – Product description behaviour. – Disable zoom on product image. – Share buttons. – Custom Post Types Builder: Create and manage custom post types with advanced configuration options: * Create custom post types with a simple interface from the FrontBlocks settings page * Configure post type behavior (Post or Page style – hierarchical or not) * Enable/disable categories taxonomy for each custom post type * Add custom meta fields with multiple field types (Text, Textarea, URL, Date, File, Number, Email) * Individual settings page for each custom post type accessible from the post type menu * Delete custom post types easily with a single click – Disable tabs on the product page. – Horizontal product form layout (price, quantity, and add to cart button in one row). – Checkout Inline: Display billing/shipping fields (email + phone, address line 1 + address line 2) side by side in a two-column layout. Compatible with Block Checkout (WooCommerce 8+) and legacy shortcode checkout. – Full Page Scroll: Create fullpage scroll experiences with smooth section-by-section navigation and automatic side navigation dots. Perfect for landing pages, portfolios, and presentations. – Footer Patterns: Ready-to-use footer block patterns (3 columns, 4 columns, hero contact) for native WordPress and Gutenberg. – Login Block: Native Gutenberg block for user login and registration forms with customizable labels and …

Easily improve site security with WordPress Hardening, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Login Protection, Vulnerability Detection and SSL certificate. Really simple, Effective and Performant WordPress Security Really Simple Security is the most lightweight and easy-to-use security plugin for WordPress. It secures your WordPress website with SSL certificate generation, including proper 301 https redirection and SSL enforcement, scanning for possible vulnerabilities, Login Protection and implementing essential WordPress hardening features. We believe that security should have the absolute minimum effect on website performance, user experience and maintainability. Therefore, Really Simple Security is: Lightweight: Every security feature is developed with a modular approach and with performance in mind. Disabled features won’t load any redundant code. Easy-to-use: 1-minute configuration with short onboarding setup. Security Features Easy SSL Migration Migrates your website to HTTPS and enforces SSL in just one click. 301 redirect via PHP or .htaccess Secure cookies Let’s Encrypt: Install an SSL Certificate if your hosting provider supports manual installation. Server Health Check: Your server configuration is every bit as important for your website security. WordPress Hardening Tweak your configuration and keep WordPress fortified and safe by tackling potential weaknesses. Prevent code execution in the uploads folder Prevent login feedback and disable user enumeration Disable XML-RPC Disable directory browsing Username restrictions (block ‘admin’ and public names) and much more.. Vulnerability Detection Get notified when plugins, themes or WP core contain vulnerabilities and need appropriate action. Login Protection Allow or enforce Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for specific user roles. Users receive a two-factor code via Email. Improve Security with Really Simple Security Pro Protect your site with all essential security features by upgrading to Really Simple Security Pro. Advanced SSL enforcement Mixed Content Scan & Fixer. Detect files that are requested over HTTP and fix them to HTTPS, both Front- and Back-end. Enable HTTP Strict Transport Security and configure your site for the HSTS Preload list. Firewall Really Simple Security Pro includes a performant and efficient WordPress firewall, to stop bots, crawlers and bad actors with IP and username blocks. 404 blocking – Blocks crawlers as they trigger unusual numbers of 404 errors. Region blocking – Only allow/block access to your site from specific regions. Automated and customisable Firewall rules. IP blocklist and allowlist. Security Headers Security headers protect your site visitors against the risk of clickjacking, cross-site-forgery attacks, stealing login credentials and malware. Independent of your Server Configuration, works on Apache, LiteSpeed, NGINX, etc. Protect your website visitors with X-XSS Protection, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, a Referrer Policy and CORS headers. Automatically generate your WordPress-tailored Content Security Policy. Vulnerability Measures When a vulnerability is detected in a plugin, theme or WordPress core you will get notified accordingly. With Vulnerability Measures, you can configure simple but effective measures to make sure that a critical vulnerability won’t remain unattended. Force update: An update process will be tried multiple times until it can be assumed development of a theme or plugin is abandoned. You will be notified during these steps. Quarantine: When a plugin or theme can’t be updated to solve a vulnerability, Really Simple Security can quarantine the plugin. Advanced Site Hardening Choose a custom login URL Automated File Permissions check and fixer Rename and randomize your database prefix Change the debug.log file location to a non-public folder Disable application passwords Control admin creation Disable HTTP methods, reducing HTTP requests Login Protection Secure your website’s login process and user accounts with powerful security measures. Two-Step verification (Email login) 2FA (two factor authentication) with TOTP Passwordless login with passkey login Enforce strong passwords and frequent password change Limit Login Attempts With Limit Login Attempts you can configure a threshold to temporarily or permanently block IP addresses or (non-existing) usernames. You can also throw a CAPTCHA after a failed login (hCaptcha or Google reCaptcha) Access Control Restrict access to your site for specific regions. Add specific IP addresses or IP ranges to the Blocklist or Allowlist. Useful Links Documentation Security Definitions Translate Really Simple Security Issues & pull requests Feature requests Love Really Simple Security? If you want to support the continuing development of this plugin, please consider buying Really Simple Security Pro, which includes some excellent security features and premium support. About Really Simple Plugins Our mission is to make complex WordPress requirements really easy. Really Simple Security is developed by Really Simple Plugins. For generating SSL certificates, Really Simple Security uses the le acme2 PHP Let’s Encrypt client library, thanks to ‘fbett’ for providing it. Vulnerability Detection uses WP Vulnerability, an open-source initiative by Javier Casares. Want to join as a collaborator? We’re on GitHub as well!