Bento grids are the hottest design trend right now (popularized by Apple and modern SaaS dashboards). But building them from scratch is an absolute nightmare. The Brutal Bento Grid block gives you a highly flexible, visual canvas to craft stunning “bento box” layouts directly inside the Gutenberg editor.
Unlike our Dynamic version, this manual WordPress bento grid block is built for curation. It is the perfect tool to showcase your social media highlights, external links, portfolio pieces, or favorite resources exactly how you want them.
🔥 What makes it brutal?
- Pixel-Perfect Curation: You are in total control. Each cell allows you to manually set a gorgeous background image, add your custom title/content, slap on a sleek category badge, and link it anywhere you want.
- Customize the Vibe: Keep it sharp with square edges or toggle the rounded corners on to give it that authentic, modern app feel.
- Flawlessly Responsive: Forget about broken layouts. It looks incredibly premium on desktop monitors and smartly adapts to mobile screens and sidebars by stacking the cards cleanly one on top of the other.
💸 FREE vs. PRO
The Free version is a great taste of the bento trend, but to build a real layout, you’ll need the firepower of the PRO version.
- FREE Version: Perfect for a quick teaser. It limits you to a maximum of 3 cards per grid.
- PRO Version (Unleash the Beast): Unlocks the true bento experience. Build stunning asymmetrical layouts with up to 12 cards. Got more to show? Push it beyond 12 cards, and the block automatically scales into a beautifully clean, classic grid layout.
🛠️ Quick Help: Up and running in seconds
Crafting a trendy manual bento layout is incredibly satisfying. Here is how:
- Click on the + icon in your editor and type “Brutal”, then click on Browse All. Alternatively, click the + icon on the top left corner of the editor screen, scroll down to the Brutal Blocks section (or type “brutal” in the search field), and drag and drop the “Brutal Bento Grid” onto your layout.
- Simply add cards by clicking + on the editor (up to 3 in Free, unlimited in PRO -a classic grid will apply with 12+ cards).
- Click on each individual cell to manually add your background image, write your title/content, set your badge, and paste your destination link.
- Toggle the rounded corners on or off in the block settings to match your style.
- Save your page and watch your custom layout shine.