Classic Editor
The original WordPress content editor that provides a single text area with a formatting toolbar, used before the Block Editor was introduced in WordPress 5.0.
The Classic Editor is the original content editing interface that shipped with WordPress for over a decade. It gives you a single text area — much like a word processor — with a toolbar for bold, italic, links, lists, and media. If you used WordPress any time before December 2018, this is the editor you know.
When WordPress 5.0 replaced it with the Block Editor, the WordPress team released “Classic Editor” as an official plugin so existing sites could keep the old interface. That plugin remains one of the most installed in the entire WordPress ecosystem.
How It Works
The Classic Editor uses TinyMCE, a JavaScript-based rich text editor, to provide a WYSIWYG editing experience. It operates in two modes: a Visual tab (the formatted view) and a Text tab (raw HTML).
To restore the Classic Editor on a WordPress 5.0+ site, install and activate the Classic Editor plugin. You can configure it under Settings → Writing: