Responsive Block Controls

Responsive Block Controls adds practical responsive controls to supported native Gutenberg blocks. Adjust layouts, spacing, column widths, Query Loop grids, Gallery columns, and Spacer heights without replacing core blocks or moving content into a page builder.

Native WordPress blocks are fast, portable, and theme-friendly, but responsive layout tweaks often still require custom CSS, duplicated blocks, or a full page builder. This plugin keeps your content in native blocks and adds the missing breakpoint controls directly in the block inspector.

Why use it?

• Add responsive controls to supported native Gutenberg blocks.
• Keep existing core blocks, patterns, synced patterns, reusable blocks, and template parts.
• Avoid extra builder markup, shortcodes, and content lock-in.
• Adjust columns, gaps, custom widths, order, Media & Text layouts, Query Loop grids, Gallery layouts, and Spacer heights from the editor sidebar.
• Preserve desktop behavior and theme spacing defaults unless you override them.
• Remove the plugin without breaking the saved content structure.

Supported blocks

Support is added block by block. In this version, responsive controls are available for:

• core/columns — responsive column counts, gap controls, and custom-width mode.
• core/column — per-breakpoint width and order controls when custom-width mode is enabled on the parent Columns block.
• core/post-template inside Query Loop — manual column controls, auto-fit minimum width, responsive gaps, and optional Masonry for supported fixed-column grids.
• core/gallery — responsive columns and gap controls while keeping the native Gallery block.
• core/spacer — tablet and mobile height overrides while keeping the native desktop Spacer height.
• core/media-text — side-by-side or stacked layouts and stacked order across four non-desktop breakpoints.

How it works

The plugin stores settings as native block attributes and renders a small set of CSS classes and custom properties. It does not register replacement layout blocks and does not wrap your content in custom frontend markup.

Your theme stays in control of the base layout. Responsive Block Controls only applies supported responsive values at the configured breakpoints. If the plugin is removed, WordPress ignores the extra attributes and the blocks fall back to their normal core behavior.

Editor experience

• Responsive controls appear only when the selected block is supported.
• Breakpoint tabs follow desktop, tablet, and mobile editing workflows.
• Smaller breakpoints inherit from larger breakpoints until you override them.
• Gap controls support px, rem, and em values with predictable reset behavior.
• Custom-width Columns layouts support per-column width and simple order controls.
• Query Loop grids support manual columns, auto-fit minimum width, and Masonry guidance where available.
• Spacer height can be customized for tablet and mobile previews.
• Media & Text can inherit, stay side by side, or stack with media first or text first at each non-desktop breakpoint.
• Theme spacing defaults are detected when possible.
• Reset actions are scoped to the active setting and breakpoint, so inherited values and unrelated responsive settings are preserved.

WordPress 7.1 responsive styles

WordPress 7.1 introduces responsive values for standard block supports. Responsive Block Controls keeps those native values and its own four-breakpoint values separate:

• Leave Advanced 4 breakpoints disabled to let WordPress control overlapping responsive layout and gap properties.
• Enable Advanced 4 breakpoints when you need separate tablet landscape, tablet portrait, mobile landscape, and mobile portrait values.
• If both systems contain overlapping values, the editor shows a conflict warning and the plugin’s Advanced 4 breakpoints take precedence only for supported overlapping layout and gap properties.
• Switching back to WordPress responsive styles is reversible: plugin settings and native WordPress settings are preserved rather than migrated or deleted.
• Native responsive typography, padding, colors, and other non-overlapping block supports continue to work.

Accessibility and localization

• Inspector controls are keyboard accessible and labeled for screen readers.
• Strings are translation-ready via the responsive-columns text domain.