WordPress 6.0, named Arturo, is launched and you should receive the update this week. This update introduces nearly 1,000 updates and enhancements that make WordPress more intuitive to use for both developers and end users.
Some of the changes, like faster website performance , will be felt immediately. Others, like the brand new page creation patterns are features for theme developers to roll out.
Every update to WordPress is named after a jazz artist. This version is named after the Grammy-winning jazz musician Arturo O’Farrill. He is associated with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
A much-awaited WordPress 6 feature, global style variations, lets users and theme authors create bundle block themes with unlimited style variations.
WordPress users can choose different templates and edit their site’s look with a click of a button. It reduces the reliance on page builders by giving them a chance to create ready-made child WordPress themes loaded with predefined styles.
WordPress 6 will introduce several new core blocks and block-related features, such as:
Besides the new blocks, WordPress is also working to improve existing blocks. These additions will help improve the user experience:
These features will make organising the Query Loop block easier.
WordPress has come a long way since it introduced patterns in version 5.5.
Starting in WordPress 5.9, users could choose from patterns featured on the Pattern Directory, but designs were limited to those shared by official contributors, in version 6, WordPress lets anyone in the WordPress community create and submit patterns to the Pattern Directory using the Pattern Creator. Besides the Pattern creator, pattern-related developments in WordPress 6 include improvements to block patterns.
In addition, watch out for the Quick block inserter, which shows you pattern options instead of block options when you click the plus (+) icon on the content area of the WordPress site editor.
A useful addition is the ability to create dynamic flex-based containers by stacking blocks into a column or a row layout.
A flex-based container is so-called because it is flexible and automatically adjusts to viewport, shrinking for smaller mobile devices and expanding when necessary.
The block theme exporter is another much-awaited feature in WordPress 6.
This feature lets you download your theme with its changes and customisations, which you can then upload to another website.
Besides the exporter, WordPress 6 also introduces new template types, such as Author, Category, Date, Tag, and Taxonomy.
WordPress 6 also introduces the new Webfonts API, allowing users and theme developers to load web font options for WordPress websites. The feature is compatible with the global styles interface.
You can register for web fonts using your theme.json file, a standard since WordPress 5.8.
WordPress 6 will be an exciting release, changing the way we use WordPress forever.
The new WordPress version will be the last one in Gutenberg’s second phase. After that, WordPress will move to the third phase, which will introduce collaborative editing similar to Google Docs.
Looking for a WordPress website? Or need a hand updating your WordPress website to WordPress 6 along with fixing plugins to become compatible? Feel free to contact me.