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Otter Blocks - Settings Reference ​

Otter Blocks is a WordPress Gutenberg page builder plugin that provides 26+ custom blocks, pattern libraries, visibility conditions, animations, and other editor extensions. You find all settings under the Otter Blocks menu item in the WordPress admin sidebar, which opens a dashboard with several tabs across the top.

In this article

Dashboard ​

The Dashboard tab is the default view when you open the Otter Blocks settings page. It contains toggle switches organized into two collapsible sections — Modules and Other — plus a style regeneration action at the bottom.

Modules ​

Enable Custom CSS Module ​

When enabled, you can add custom CSS to any individual block directly in the Block Editor. Each block gains a "Custom CSS" panel in its sidebar where you can write styles scoped to that block. Disable this if you prefer to manage all custom CSS through your theme or a dedicated CSS plugin.

Enable AI Block Toolbar Module ​

When enabled, an AI shortcut button appears in the toolbar of editor blocks. You can use it to run AI-powered text actions (like rewriting or grammar fixes) directly on selected content. This requires an AI provider to be configured — either WordPress's native AI under Settings > Connectors or a legacy OpenAI API key on the Integrations tab. Disable this if you do not use AI features and want a cleaner toolbar.

Enable Blocks Animation Module ​

When enabled, every block in the Block Editor gains an "Animations" panel in its sidebar where you can add CSS entrance animations. The plugin ships with 50+ animation presets. Disable this to remove the animation controls from the editor and stop loading animation CSS on the front end.

Enable Visibility Condition Module ​

When enabled, every block in the Block Editor gains a "Block Conditions" panel that lets you show or hide the block based on conditions such as user login status and user role. The free version includes basic conditions; Otter Pro adds advanced conditions like date ranges, URL query strings, WooCommerce cart contents, and cookie values.

Enable Patterns Library ​

When enabled, the Otter Patterns Library button appears in the Block Editor, giving you access to pre-designed block patterns and full-page templates you can import into your pages. Disabling this hides the library button but does not remove patterns already registered with the WordPress pattern system — those still appear in the standard block inserter.

Enable Dynamic Content Module ​

When enabled, you can bind certain block attributes to dynamic data from your site — for example, displaying a post's title, date, or custom field value inside a heading or paragraph. This covers Dynamic Content, Dynamic Links, and Dynamic Images. Disable it if your site uses only static content and you want fewer options in the editor sidebar.

Enable Theme Setup Wizard ​

When enabled, a "Theme Setup" link appears under the Appearance menu in the WordPress admin. This wizard walks you through initial theme configuration. Disable it once your theme is set up or if you prefer not to see the extra menu item.

Enable Atomic Wind Blocks ​

Enables a collection of basic building blocks—Box, Text, Image, Link, and Icon—so you can easily use Tailwind CSS in your templates.

Other ​

Make Section your default block for Pages ​

When enabled, every new page you create in the Block Editor automatically starts with an Otter Section block already inserted. This is useful if you use the Section block as the primary layout container for every page. Disabled by default.

Optimize Animations CSS ​

When enabled, the plugin only loads CSS for the specific animations used on each page rather than the full animation stylesheet. This reduces page weight on pages that use few or no animations. After toggling this setting, you should click Regenerate Styles (at the bottom of this tab) so the cached CSS files are rebuilt with the new behavior. Enabled by default.

Enable Rich Schema ​

When enabled, the Product Review block outputs structured data (rich schema markup) that search engines can use to display star ratings in search results. Disable this if another plugin already handles review schema or if you do not want review blocks to produce structured data.

Use 1–5 Scale for Review Block ​

When enabled, the Product Review block uses a 1-to-5 rating scale instead of the default 1-to-10 scale. Enable this if a 5-star scale better fits your review format. The change applies to all review blocks on your site. Disabled by default.

Highlight the Dynamic Text ​

When enabled, text that pulls from dynamic content sources is visually highlighted in the editor so you can easily tell it apart from normal static text. This highlighting only appears in the editor and does not affect the front end. Disable it if you find the highlights distracting. Enabled by default.

Anonymous Data Tracking ​

When enabled, the plugin sends anonymous, non-sensitive usage data to ThemeIsle to help improve the product. No personal or site-specific data is collected. Disabled by default.

Regenerate Styles ​

A button that deletes all CSS files previously generated by Otter Blocks. After deletion, styles are automatically regenerated as visitors load your pages. Use this after changing animation optimization settings, after a major plugin update, or if blocks appear unstyled on the front end. The button is disabled if no generated CSS files currently exist.

Blocks ​

The Blocks tab displays a card for every Otter block, each with a toggle to enable or disable it. Disabling a block hides it from the block inserter in the editor, which is helpful if you want to reduce clutter by hiding blocks you never use. Two bulk-action buttons at the top let you enable or disable all blocks at once.

The following blocks are available:

  • Accordion — collapsible content panels.
  • Advanced Heading — heading block with extended typography and styling options.
  • AI Block — generates content using OpenAI. Requires an OpenAI API key on the Integrations tab.
  • Button Group — one or more styled buttons in a row.
  • Business Hours — displays opening hours in a formatted table. This is a Pro block.
  • Circle Counter — animated circular progress indicator.
  • Countdown — countdown timer to a target date.
  • Flip Card — a card that flips to reveal back-side content on hover or click.
  • Form — contact and input forms with email notifications and optional reCaptcha.
  • Google Maps — embeds a Google Map. Requires a Google Maps API key on the Integrations tab.
  • Icon — displays a Font Awesome icon with customizable size and color.
  • Icon List — a list where each item has a custom icon instead of a bullet.
  • Image Slider — responsive image carousel.
  • Live Search — adds live search functionality to your site. This is a Pro block.
  • Lottie Animation — plays Lottie JSON animations.
  • Maps — embeds an OpenStreetMap-based map using Leaflet (no API key required).
  • Modal — content that appears in a modal overlay. This is a Pro block.
  • Popup — content displayed in a popup with configurable triggers and positioning.
  • Posts — displays a grid or list of posts with filtering options.
  • Product Review — a structured product review with ratings, pros, cons, and optional schema markup.
  • Progress Bar — horizontal progress indicator with label and percentage.
  • Review Comparison Table — compares multiple product reviews side by side. This is a Pro block.
  • Section — a column-based layout container for grouping blocks.
  • Sharing Icons — social media sharing buttons.
  • Stripe Checkout — a payment button that opens a Stripe checkout session. Requires a Stripe API key on the Integrations tab.
  • Tabs — tabbed content panels.
  • Timeline — vertical timeline for displaying events or steps.

Pro blocks show a "Pro" badge instead of a toggle when Otter Pro is not installed and activated with a valid license.

Integrations ​

The Integrations tab is where you enter API keys for third-party services and configure related options. Each service has its own collapsible section.

Google Maps ​

Google Maps API ​

A password field where you enter your Google Maps API key. This key is required for the Google Maps block to load and display maps. You need to enable both the Maps JavaScript API and the Places API in your Google Cloud console for the key to work. Without a valid key, the Google Maps block shows an error message on the front end.

Fonts Module ​

This section is replaced by a functional toggle when Otter Pro is active.

Save Google Fonts Locally ​

When enabled, the plugin downloads Google Fonts files and serves them from your own server instead of loading them from Google's CDN. This can improve page load speed and helps with GDPR compliance by avoiding third-party requests. In the free version, this toggle is visible but disabled — it requires Otter Pro.

IPHub API Key ​

A password field where you enter your IPHub API key. This key is required in order to use IP-based locations.

Google reCaptcha API ​

Site Key ​

A password field where you enter the site key from your Google reCaptcha account. This key, along with the secret key below, is required to use the reCaptcha field inside the Form block. Both keys must be for the same reCaptcha version (v2 or v3). Without valid keys, the reCaptcha field in forms does not function.

Secret Key ​

A password field where you enter the secret key from your Google reCaptcha account. This works together with the site key above to validate reCaptcha responses on form submissions.

Stripe ​

Stripe API ​

A password field where you enter your Stripe secret key (or a restricted key). This is required for the Stripe Checkout block to create payment sessions. You can use a restricted key with limited permissions for better security. Without a valid key, the Stripe Checkout block cannot process payments.

AI Provider ​

This panel controls the AI provider that powers the AI Block and the AI Content toolbar actions. Otter can use either of two backends:

  • WordPress AI — when your site has native WordPress AI support, Otter uses the AI providers you configure under Settings > Connectors. Use the Manage Connectors link to open that screen.
  • OpenAI API key — a legacy connection used when no native provider is available.

WordPress AI ​

When a native provider is configured under Settings > Connectors, this panel adds two optional preferences:

  • AI provider — choose which configured connector Otter should use, or leave it on Auto to use the first configured connector.
  • Model — choose a model from the selected connector's catalog, or leave it on Auto to let WordPress choose.

Click Save provider settings to store your choice. If no native provider is configured yet, Otter shows a notice pointing you to Settings > Connectors to set one up.

OpenAI API ​

A field where you enter your OpenAI API key. On sites with native WordPress AI support this field is labeled OpenAI API (Deprecated) and is kept only as a fallback — Otter uses it when no connector is configured. On sites without native AI support, this key is the only way to enable Otter AI features. Use Get API Key to create a key, then Save to store it.

Toolbar Actions ​

This section only appears once an AI provider is configured — either a connector under Settings > Connectors or a saved OpenAI API key.

A list of the actions available in the AI Content toolbar. Each action has an Action Name (the label shown in the toolbar) and a Prompt (the instruction sent to the AI). You can:

  • Edit the name and prompt of any action.
  • Enable or disable individual actions.
  • Reorder actions by dragging the handle.
  • Add up to five custom actions with Add custom action.
  • Restore any removed built-in actions with Restore default actions.

Eight actions are provided by default: Rewrite, Summarize, Expand, Shorten, Translate, Change Tone, Fix Grammar, and Simplify. Click Save Actions to apply your changes.

Template Cloud ​

This section only appears if you have previously used pattern sources on your site.

The Template Cloud panel lets you manage external pattern sources — remote WordPress sites that share block patterns with your site. You can add a new source by providing an API URL and access key, sync existing sources to pull in their latest patterns, or remove sources you no longer need.

When no sources are configured, a prompt invites you to add your first source. When sources exist, you see a list of connected sources with Sync Sources and Add Source buttons. Sharing your own patterns across multiple sites requires either Otter Pro Agency or the Templates Cloud plugin.

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