WordPress 6.6: The 6 highlights in this release!

WordPress 6.6 is here and it comes with a suite of new features and improvements. Features that will give you more control over the look of your website, peace of mind when auto-updating plugins, and introduce you to some improved workflows. Here’s a sneak peek into the key highlights of this release.

Page previews in the site editor

The site editor now comes with a visual overview of your pages, also allowing you to preview a page before clicking edit. It creates a very natural workflow and makes working from the site editor easier. Make sure to check it out. You can find the editor under Appearance in the side menu of your WordPress dashboard.

More control over design

As they’ve done for the past couple of releases, the WordPress team has once again added loads of features that allow WordPress users more freedom in web design. WordPress 6.6 allows for more color palettes and font sets within one theme, making it easier for users to customize their website without compromising overall design and consistency. This feature, although aimed at theme developers, benefits everyone using a block theme.

But this release also comes with the ability to easily set negative margins for blocks, add background images to be used site-wide, section-specific styling, box shadows for our featured images and more.

Override your synced patterns

Are you familiar with synced patterns in WordPress? A synced pattern can be described as a few blocks, grouped together, to be used in different places on a website. To give an example, the image below shows a standard synced pattern that comes with a WordPress theme and it consists of a heading, paragraph, button and image.

You can add this pattern to different pages for consistency (and it can save you loads of time). The new feature in WordPress 6.6 now adds the ability to do an ‘override’ of this pattern that allows you to tweak the pattern where needed. You can edit headings, paragraphs, buttons and images blocks to customize the pattern per instance while continuing to use the overall pattern for consistency. Simply go to your synced pattern, click edit, select the block you want to change and go to Advanced in settings to find the override feature.

Keep your plugins up to date

A really cool feature in WordPress 6.6 is the optional rollback for your automatically updated plugins. The idea is that you can set your plugins to auto-update without having to worry about any unexpected negative impact. This new feature makes it possible to restore your plugin to the previous version if anything goes wrong. This allows you to keep your plugins updated and improve your security. While also making sure your website keeps working and behaving as it should.

What’s new in the block editor?

This latest release comes with a new publish flow in the sidebar of your post or page. It shows the featured image at the top and shows all the other page settings in a list. You can simply click the setting you want to edit and it will give you a pop-up as shown in the screenshot below. It might take you a few seconds (or clicks) to figure out where everything has moved. But it looks very clean and makes everything feel very unified.

Another small and nifty feature I’d like to highlight is the shortcut that you can now use to group blocks together. Select the blocks of your choice and use Ctrl + G on Windows or ⌘ + G on MacOS.

Performance and accessibility

What’s a WordPress release without any performance and accessibility enhancements? Of course, WordPress 6.6 comes with a bunch of them. Performance updates such as a 40% reduction in template loading time in the editor, removing unnecessary WP_Theme_JSON calls and getting rid of lazy loading post embeds. The accessibility improvements have been mainly focused on interaction with blocks and patterns and the data views component that powers the new site editing. Read all about this and more in the WordPress 6.6 release notes.

Read more: WordPress 6.5: The features you want to know about »

WordPress 6.5: The features you want to know about

It’s almost time for a new WordPress release! On the 26th of March, WordPress 6.5 will be released. Once again, the WordPress team, consisting of people from all over the world, has lots of new improvements in store for us. To get you excited, we already had a quick look at what features it will bring. So let’s see what we can expect and how you can use these changes to improve your own WordPress website when the release is out.

Introducing the Font Library

The upcoming release includes a new Font Library for the block editor. This library gives you more control over the typography you use throughout your pages. What’s cool about it is that it allows you to install and activate local fonts and Google Fonts on your website. By allowing us to add the fonts of our choice, regardless of the chosen theme, this library gives you more freedom when it comes to design. So make sure to give it a try now that you can manage your used fonts.

New features in the block editor

There are loads of tweaks made to the block editor, so we’ll highlight a few cool ones here. First of all, WordPress 6.5 will make it possible to rename your blocks in the list view. Right now, this is already possible for your group blocks but the new release will allow you to rename individual blocks as well. Especially with longer pages or pages that consist of lots of different types of blocks, this can be very helpful in keeping an overview while you’re working on that page.

The upcoming release also brings us a few new design options. The drop shadow effect will be available for more blocks, such as the image block and columns. This helps you give a little bit more depth to your pages, make elements stand out and play with the design of your pages. Another design feature that’s coming our way is getting more control over the look of your cover blocks. You will be able to set aspect ratios and add color overlays that are based on colors in your chosen image. Which helps you really customize these cover blocks to fit into the overall look and feel of your website.

Renewed overview of style revisions

WordPress 6.5 comes with an improved style revision that shows you more information about the changes made during each revision. Go to the editor and click Styles, where you’ll see an option to view past revisions. These are also accessible while you’re working on the design of your templates. The fun thing about this overview of revisions is that it’s a lot more visual than the revision overview you get when editing a page or post.

This overview is shown next to the page and it allows you to view past designs and even apply them again. Overall it feels easier to use and more efficient as it shows you the effect on the page right away. It’s good to know that this is only available for themes that use the block editor.

The Interactivity API

This release also comes with something called the Interactivity API. This feature provides developers with a framework to build interactive front-end experiences while using blocks. The idea is that interacting with these elements doesn’t come with a new page load, making them more interactive than regular pages. This framework is intended to simplify the process without having to use external tools. To give you an idea of what the Interactivity API can be used for, the WordPress team created a WP Movies demo website you can visit.

Improvements in performance and accessibility

The upcoming WordPress 6.5 includes loads of performance updates. One of the main things that comes out of this is a huge improvement in speed when using the Block Editor and Site Editor. In addition, translated websites will see a much quicker load time due to a new, lightweight library.

This new version of WordPress also comes with a bunch of accessibility improvements (more than 65 to be exact). To name a few changes, there have been fixes to contrast settings, positioning of elements and cursor focus. Staying true to the WordPress promise of working towards a platform that is accessible for everyone. If you want to dive into the features of WordPress 6.5 a bit more, I would recommend going through their Field Guide to read up on all the changes in this release.

Read more: WordPress 6.4: A more intuitive building experience »

WordPress 6.4: A sneak peek at what’s coming up

Exciting times are ahead for WordPress users! The upcoming WordPress 6.4 update is on the horizon, and it’s bringing some interesting features and enhancements. WordPress 6.4 is planned to be released on November 7th, 2023. So, what can you expect from this release? From a brand-new theme to make your site shine to several blocks that’ll make editing easier, there’s a lot to look forward to. And that’s not all; imagine showing off your images in a whole new light and enjoying a faster, smoother website. Curious? Let’s have a quick look at what’s coming!

Many fixes and performance improvements

First off, WordPress 6.4 isn’t just about new features; it’s also about polishing the existing ones. This update addresses numerous bugs, enhancing overall performance and stability. Whether you’re a developer or a casual user, these tweaks contribute to a smoother, more reliable WordPress experience.

A new default theme: Twenty Twenty-Four

And say hello to a fresh face: the Twenty Twenty-Four theme. This new addition is all about giving your website a clean and modern look. Whether you’re starting fresh or thinking of a makeover, this theme is something to get excited about!

With three different use cases in mind, this theme comes with lots of patterns and templates that help you build pages in a matter of seconds. The use cases that they chose are creating a website as an entrepreneur/small business owner, a photographer/artist, or a writer/blogger. But even if you have a website outside of those use cases, the variety of patterns will most likely offer you a few great options to create engaging and good-looking pages.

Enhancements to blocks

The block editor continues to evolve with improvements that promise a more intuitive building experience. This update introduces background images for group blocks, renaming of group blocks in the list view, and more. These enhancements aim to streamline content creation, allowing you to build rich, dynamic pages and posts with ease.

Users can now also add categories to their block patterns. This is an update to a feature that was added in 6.3, where users can create and save their own block patterns in the editor. Paragraphs, headings, next and previous links and footnotes have a new option for vertical text. This feature has to be enabled by the theme.

Lightbox for images

WordPress 6.4 understands that visuals are at the heart of any good story. With the new lightbox feature, your images can now be viewed in a larger format when people click on the image. Which can help you offer great images without losing too much room and pushing down other content.

Renaming group blocks and more

Organization is key, especially when working with complex page structures. The ability to rename group blocks directly within the list view is a game-changer for site builders, allowing for better management and identification, ultimately leading to a more efficient building process.

Background images for group blocks

Creativity knows no bounds with WordPress 6.4. Now, you can set background images for your group blocks, adding an extra layer of aesthetic appeal to your sections. This feature is perfect for creating visually striking hero sections, banners, or any other segment that needs a touch of creativity.

Attention, developers! Prepare for a slew of tools designed to make your coding life easier. From advanced block hooks to configurable typography controls, WordPress 6.4 is set to boost your development capabilities, offering more flexibility and control in crafting online experiences.

Nofollow link setting

The Advanced link settings has a new option:  “Mark as nofollow”. To use the option you first have to add a text block, for example, a paragraph. Add the link via the block toolbar, select the link again, and click on the pen icon to open the options. Next click on the button that says “Advanced” to open the advanced panel, and check the checkbox “Mark as nofollow”.

WordPress 6.4: Coming soon!

WordPress 6.4 is packed with features designed to improve usability, enhance aesthetics, and provide developers with advanced tools. Whether you’re looking to build a more dynamic website or create content effortlessly, the new WordPress is here to make your digital experience better than ever. Like we said, you can expect this update on the 7th of November, so mark that date in your calendar to enjoy all these new features!

Read more: WordPress is 20 years old: The CMS that revolutionized the web! »