Tag: wordpress releases

Whatâ€™s New in WordPress 6.3 (Features and Screenshots)
WordPress 6.3 has been released as the second major WordPress release of 2023.

This new WordPress version has several significant updates, new features, enhancements, and bug fixes that make WordPress even more powerful and useful.

In this article, we’ll show what’s new in WordPress 6.3 and which features you should try after the update.

Note: WordPress 6.3 is a major release, and unless you are on a managed WordPress hosting service, you’ll need to manually initiate the update. Follow our guide on how to safely update WordPress for instructions.

Important: Don’t forget to create a complete WordPress backup before the update.

That being said, here is a breakdown of what’s new in WordPress 6.3
New Site Editor Navigation

WordPress 6.3 introduces a more polished navigation experience for the site editor.

The left column will now show Navigation, Styles, Pages, Templates, and Patterns. Users can easily locate the section they want to edit from here.

The new navigation interface includes a search button at the top. Clicking on it will bring the new command palette (more on this later).

You’ll also notice that Template Parts are not among the main navigation items. That’s because they are moved under the Patterns.

Improved Pattern Management

WordPress 6.3 now includes an improved pattern management experience in the Site Editor. Starting with the Site Editor navigation, which now has Patterns as one of the main navigation items.

Clicking on Patterns shows synced and unsynced patterns along with template parts.

Reusable blocks are now called Synced Patterns. You can find your reusable blocks under the My Patterns tab. These can be used across your website, and changing them affects all places where the pattern is used.

Unsynced patterns are those that can be used anywhere, and changing them doesn’t affect the original pattern.

You can also click on the Add (+) button to create a new pattern or template part.

At the bottom of the navigation column, you will find links to manage all your patterns and template parts.

Edit Pages in The Site Editor

A lot of folks coming from other web platforms may want to add or edit a page when editing their website.

WordPress 6.3 makes creating and editing pages directly from the site editor easy.

Simply click on the Pages menu in the Editor navigation, and it will show you a list of your pages.

You can click on a page to start editing it or click on the add (+) button to create a new page draft.

Manage Navigation Menus in The Site Editor

WordPress 6.3 also introduces a new way to manage navigation menus inside the Site Editor.

Previously, users had to add a navigation block and then edit it. Now users can create, edit, and manage menus by clicking on the Navigation tab in the site editor.

This will show you all the navigation menus you have created on your website.

To edit a menu, click to open it in the site editor.

First, you will see the menu items as a list in the navigation column. If you just want to rearrange them, you can move the menu items up and down.

To edit a menu, click the edit button or the editor canvas and start editing the menu in the site editor.

Easily Switch Theme Styles in The Site Editor

Earlier, theme styles were tucked away under the Styles panel inside the site editor. This made them a little less noticeable for beginners.

Now users can see the styles in the site editor navigation itself. This way, they can start with the style they prefer and immediately start editing it to their liking.

Preview Themes in The Site Editor

Before, users were able to preview WordPress themes using Theme Customizer. This allowed users to preview a theme without activating it on their website.

WordPress 6.3 will allow you to preview block themes inside the site editor. Go to the Appearance page in the admin area and click the Live Preview button below a block theme.

This will open the theme in the site editor with a live preview of how your content would appear in the new theme.

You can also edit the theme, try different styles, use your own colors, and make any changes before actually choosing the theme. However, to save those changes, you’ll need to activate the theme.

Note: Classic themes without site editor support will still show the live preview using the old theme customizer.

Style Revisions to Easily Undo Changes

WordPress saves multiple revisions of your content while you work on it. This allows you to easily undo changes to your posts and pages.

Similarly, WordPress 6.3 now allows you to see revisions for your styles and easily undo any changes.

Simply select a style or block that you want to edit in the Styles panel. Click on the â€˜Revisionsâ€™ button and then select â€˜Revision historyâ€™.

This will show you the changes you have made to that particular style or block. You can move between different revisions to see how an item looked at that time.

To undo changes, simply click on the Apply button, and WordPress will restore that revision.

Introducing the New Command Palette Tool

Keyboard shortcuts help you become more productive by quickly doing things without taking your fingers away from the keyboard.

WordPress comes with a bunch of keyboard shortcuts already, but with WordPress 6.3, it now has a command palette tool too.

To give it a go, simply edit a WordPress post or page or open the site editor. Once you are in the editor, press the CTRL+K or Command+K keys on your keyboard.

It will show a search popup where you can find keyboard shortcuts to toggle panels, create new posts or pages, navigate to the site editor, and more.

The command palette tool also has an API that allows third-party developers to add their own commands to the tool.

Two New Blocks in The Block Editor

The block editor in WordPress 6.3 ships with two brand-new blocks that you can use.

Footnotes Block

Footnotes are the easiest way to provide references to resources at the bottom of your article. However, WordPress users had to create them manually or use separate plugins to add footnotes.

Now, with WordPress 6.3, you can just use the Footnotes block. Simply select the ‘Footnote’ option using the three-dot menu in the toolbar.

The Details Block

Details block allows you to hide content requiring users to click on an item to reveal the hidden content.

Simply add the Details block and provide the content you want users to see. Below that, you can provide content that will be revealed when users click on the visible content.

You can add any kind of block to be hidden, including paragraphs, images, media, blocks added by plugins, and more.

You can also add multiple detail boxes together to create a FAQ section, trivia questions, info panels, and more.

Better Padding and Margin Tools

Previously, when users unlinked padding and margin tools, they took up a lot of space.

The new padding and margin tools now take up much less space and are more user-friendly.

Select Aspect Ratio for Your Images

WordPress 6.3 allows users to select the aspect ratio to display an image. Instead of resizing and cropping an image, users can now choose an aspect ratio that looks good across devices.

Improved Top Toolbar

WordPress shows a toolbar over the block you are working on in the post editor.

It also has the option to move the toolbar to the top for a cleaner editing experience.

However, the top toolbar appeared just below the toolbar on the top.

It took up more space and didn’t look great.

WordPress 6.3 now includes an improved toolbar on the top panel for easier and quicker access.

Cover Block with Layout and Color Options

The Cover block also has also received a facelift in WordPress 6.3.

Just like the Group block, users can now choose the Layout for the Cover block.

It also includes more design options in the block settings panel.

You can also use Duotone filters with a Cover block like the Image block.

Link Control Enhancement in WordPress 6.3

Link control is the tool used by the block editor to add links. WordPress 6.3 comes with improved Link control settings.

For instance, you can now create a page directly from the link control popup.

WordPress 6.3 has also moved the toggle to open a link in a new tab or window.

It is now located under the Advanced settings when adding a link.

Under The Hood Changes

WordPress 6.3 also includes several changes intended for developers. Here are some of the most significant under-the-hood changes.
- Image performance enhancements to improve page load speeds and resolve some of the common core web vital issues such as rendering of the LCP and prioritizing images in users’ viewport. (Details)
- Improved emoji loader to reduce the time spent on loading the emoji script. (#58472)
- Defer and async support added to the WP Scripts API. (#12009)
- Fetch priority support was added for images. (#58235)
- Skipping lazy loading for images outside the loop in classic themes. (#58211)
- Attempt rollback for failed plugin and theme updates. (#51857)
- Merge get_posts() and get_pages(). (#12821)
We hope this article helped you discover what’s new in WordPress 6.3 and which new features to try out. We are particularly excited about all the changes to the site editor and performance improvements.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to ourÂ YouTube ChannelÂ for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us onÂ TwitterÂ and Facebook.

The post Whatâ€™s New in WordPress 6.3 (Features and Screenshots) first appeared on WPBeginner.
10.08.2023
Whatâ€™s New in WordPress 6.2 (Features and Screenshots)
WordPress 6.2 has just been released, and it is the first major WordPress release of 2023.

This new version is packed with significant improvements and new features. Many of them focused on the block editor and site editing in WordPress.

In this article, we’ll show you what’s new in WordPress 6.2 and which features you should try after the update.

Note: WordPress 6.2 is a major release, and unless you are on a managed WordPress hosting service, youâ€™ll have to initiate the update manually. Hereâ€™s how to safely update WordPress.

Important: Donâ€™t forget to create a complete WordPress backup before updating.

That being said, hereâ€™s all thatâ€™s new in WordPress 6.2.
WordPress Site Editor Comes out of Beta

The site editor comes out of the beta.

It has been around for the past few WordPress releases, the removal of the beta label is merely an invitation for more users to try it.

This also indicates the completion of phase 2 of the WordPress development roadmap which started out with the release of the new block editor back in WordPress 5.0 (late 2018).

WordPress 6.2 includes several new features added to the site editor, including some brand-new tools which we’ll talk about later in this article.

Note: Full site editor is available with block themes that support this feature. You can try it out even if you are using the older classic editor with a block-enabled theme.

Improved Navigation Menu Block

Navigation menus help you define your website layout to your users. However, creating them in the full site editor had been a bit difficult for beginners.

WordPress 6.2 now comes with an improved ‘Navigation’ block.

You can now create and manage the Navigation block by editing items in the sidebar.

To add a new menu item, simply click on the ‘add (+)’ button. You can also drag and drop menu items to rearrange them.

Want to use a different menu? You can now easily switch between menus you have created earlier by clicking on the Three-dot menu in the sidebar.

Overall, this is a significant improvement to the older Navigation block where you had to edit items inline which was not a good experience for beginners.

Improved Template Browsing Experience

WordPress 6.2 comes with a new template browsing experience.

This allows users to browse different templates to find out which one they need to edit if they want to make changes to a certain area of their website.

To edit a template or template part, simply click to load it inside the preview window. After that, just click on the preview window to start editing.

Want to exit the site editor?

Simply click on the WordPress or your site logo at the top left corner of the screen to enter the template browser. Then click again to exit and return to the WordPress dashboard.

The template browser screen will now also show you that you have unsaved changes.

It also offers an improved saving experience showing what changes you are saving.

Template Parts Highlighted with Colors

A template in the site editor may include several template parts, like the header and footer.

These are global elements that can be used in multiple places on your WordPress website. If you edit a template part on one page, those changes will be reflected all over your site.

Previously when editing a template part, the only indication was the label at the top changed to show the template part name.

Editing template parts affects all templates that include those elements. This makes it important to indicate that users are editing a global template part and not simply the page they are looking at.

WordPress 6.2 now makes this more noticeable by adding colors and an icon to indicate that you are editing a template part.

Modify Your Theme With The Style Book

WordPress 6.2 comes with a style book feature in the site editor.

This is basically one convenient place to browse how your theme displays all the blocks. To access it you need to switch to the Styles panel and then click on the Style Book icon. It is the one that looks like an eye.

This will show you all the blocks, and how they are styled in your theme. They are organized into different categories so that you can easily locate the block you want to edit.

Click to start editing a block and you will see all the tools that you can use in the sidebar panel. Changes you make here will apply globally to your theme.

Basically, you can change the appearance of your entire theme by editing individual blocks here and creating a completely new style of your own.

Want to edit block styles individually? Don’t worry there are even more design tools at your disposal to edit blocks.

Ability to Add Custom CSS to Your Theme or Blocks

By default, the site editor hides the legacy Theme Customizer interface. Many users added their custom CSS in the ‘Additional CSS’ panel available with the legacy customizer.

Until 6.2, it was a problem to add custom CSS using the default tools available.

WordPress 6.2, however, now allows you to add custom CSS that applies to your entire site. Simply click on the Styles panel and choose Custom CSS under the three-dot menu.

You can also add custom CSS to individual blocks as well.

Switch to the Style panel and then click on Blocks.

Now, you need to select the block that you want to modify.

After that, click on the ‘Additional Block CSS’ tab to enter your custom CSS code.

WordPress 6.2 makes it easier to add custom CSS if you need to. However, it comes with a ton of built-in design tools which are much easier to use than adding custom CSS.

Copy and Paste Block Styles

Another styling feature that reduces the need to add custom CSS is the ability to simply copy and paste block styles.

Let’s say that you just made some changes to a block and want to make the same changes on another block as well.

With WordPress 6.2 you can simply click on ‘Copy styles’ under the block options.

After that, click on the block options for the block where you want to paste the style and select ‘Paste styles.’

Note: Your browser will ask for permission to allow your website to view the contents of the clipboard. You need to click â€˜Allowâ€™ to continue.

Improved Pattern Insertion

WordPress block patterns are a collection of pre-made design elements that you can use for creating custom content layouts faster.

By default, WordPress comes with several built-in patterns. Your WordPress theme may also include its own pattern. Plus, you can find more patterns in WordPress Patterns Directory.

WordPress 6.2 comes with an improved pattern insertion interface.

Openverse Free Media Library Integration

WordPress 6.2 now adds a ‘Media’ tab in the inserter as well.

Here, you can choose media from your own WordPress media library or browse royalty-free images from Openverse.

Openverse is a sister project of WordPress.org. It allows openly licensed and public domain works to be discovered and used by everyone.

Once you select an image it will be inserted into the editor and downloaded to your WordPress media library as well.

WordPress will also save the image caption which may include a link back to the original source. You can delete this caption if the image is in the public domain.

New Sub Panels for Block Settings & Styles

WordPress 6.2 now uses sub-panels to separate block settings and styles.

This helps users understand where they need to look if they want to change the appearance of a block.

New Distraction-Free Mode

Historically, WordPress has always provided options to hide the formatting buttons and toolbars on the post editor screen.

Here is how it looked in WordPress 4.1 with the older classic editor.

However, the block editor had the option to be used in full-screen mode. WordPress 5.4 started using the full-screen mode as the default.

This allowed users to have a much cleaner writing interface, but there was no distraction-free mode.

WordPress 6.2 now comes with a completely clean and calm distraction-free mode.

Users will be able to choose it from the editor settings, and it removes all toolbars and editing panels from the screen.

Import Classic Widgets as Template Parts in Block Themes

WordPress 6.2 provides a nice fallback for importing classic legacy widgets in block themes when switching themes.

Users with classic widget themes lost their legacy widgets when they switched to a block theme. Now, you can import them as template parts.

Simply create a new template part by clicking on the ‘Add New Block’ button (+).

From the template part settings panel, click on the Advanced tab to expand it, and youâ€™ll find the option to import a widget area from your previous theme.

Miscellaneous Enhancements

WordPress 6.2 contains a ton of enhancements. It merges 10 Gutenberg releases (‘Gutenberg’ is the codename for the original block editor project) into WordPress core so there are many refinements and new features to explore.

Here are some of the most useful enhancements.

1. Captions Button in Image Block Toolbar

Previously WordPress automatically added the caption area below the image and moved the cursor automatically to the caption.

This led many users to continue writing their text not realizing that they are writing it in the caption area.

WordPress 6.2 fixes this by adding a caption button to the toolbar. Users can now use it to add a caption if needed.

2. Improved Calendar Block

The calendar block now comes with more color options.

3. The List, Outline, and Info Panels are Merged

The list view, outline, and info panel are now merged into one convenient location.

4. Group Block Layout

The ‘Group’ block now lets you choose a layout.

5. The Download Link for Media Files

The media screen will now show a ‘Download File’ link in the list view.

6. New Icon for Settings Panel

The icon to display the settings panel previously used a gear icon. It is now presented with a panels icon.

Under The Hood Changes

WordPress 6.2 also includes a ton of changes intended for developers. Following are some of these changes:
- A new HTML API called WP_HTML_Tag_Processor is introduced. (Details)
- A new client-side filter called blockEditor.useSetting.before is introduced. It allows developers to change block settings before the editor is rendered. (Details)
- Patterns API extended to include template_types property. (Details)
- Faster updates by moving directories instead of copying them. (Details)
- A new switch_to_user_locale() function is introduced. (Details)
- Create autosave revisions only when content is changed. (Details)
- Add a style variation tag to themes that use style variations. (Details)
We hope this article helped you uncover whatâ€™s new in WordPress 6.2 and which new features to try out. We are particularly excited about all the changes to the site editor and performance improvements for block themes.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to ourÂ YouTube ChannelÂ for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us onÂ TwitterÂ and Facebook.

The post Whatâ€™s New in WordPress 6.2 (Features and Screenshots) first appeared on WPBeginner.
29.03.2023