Wordpress 6

WordPress 6.0 is finally with us. This is the second massive update of the year and the change of generation from fifth to sixth. Although the previous version 5.9 seemed to be a small step from 6, it is true that more than 600 improvements have been incorporated and also half a thousand bug fixes. In this note we cover the most significant developments.

Introduction

Returning to the web world, WordPress 6.0 arrives with a Huge amount of improvements in stability, performance and usability. The block site editor has been refined, adding a global style switcher, block style retention, an improved writing experience, and container block transformation. Let's see:

new blocks

As expected, WordPress 6 brings us new design blocks, including:

feedback loop

In WordPress 6.0, the Post Comments block was replaced with a new option: Block of Queries and Comments in loop. It comes armed with customizable sub-blocks, such as Comment Author Name, Avatar, Content (of comment), Edit Link and more.

We can individually edit each new Comment Block to add more style to that section on our blog. Ultimately, we achieve more enjoyable and engaged user experience.

"Read more" block

The new WordPress allows us place the review “Read More” to our extracts via the corresponding block. Being a block its appearance is customizable so that we can give it the touch of emphasis of our liking.

Block “There are no results for your search”

When inserting a search block, it is now possible to insert, within it, a customizable “No Results” block.

Post Author Bio Block

The new Post Author Biography Block can be used in conjunction with the Post Author and Avatar blocks.

avatar block

The new Avatar Block, as we imagine, leaves us present a User avatar, that is, an image or profile picture. We can choose if we want to show the Avatar for a specific user or show the Avatar of the Author of the current Post or Page.

Block editor improvements

WordPress 5.9 introduced ESF (Full Site Editing), and WordPress 6 is part of what has been done, bringing us many improvements and expansions of use.

Global Styles Switcher

This action allows us to visualize the available style variations. By clicking on the style boxes we change the design automatically. The animation below shows it clearly.

Featured Image of Tickets direct to a Cover Block

WordPress 6.0 added a new feature for the Cover Block: now a single click on the Cover Block toolbar is enough to dynamically attach featured image as Overlay background.

Being a dynamic link means that if we change the Post's featured image, the change will be reflected in the Cover Block that uses that image.

Navigation Block Improvements

The Navigation Block got a rich preview feature for the Page Link Block. When we link the navigation to a web page, the preview will appear in the toolbar.

New Template Styles

WordPress 6.0 adds new template types: author, category, date, tag Y taxonomy. We can access these types by adding a new template in the Blocks Editor. To do this, just open the Templates panel in the left sidebar of the Editor and click on add new in the upper right corner of the screen. Six templates will be displayed to choose from.

Code Editor

The block editor now comes equipped with a code editor. This allows us to edit the HTML code of a theme at will. To access it, we must click on the three dots icon in the upper right corner of the screen and select Code Editor.

Theme Exporter with our customizations

Yes, WordPress 6.0 gives us a tool to export our Theme. In other words, it allows us download the current Theme with all its customizations in a .zip file.

Blocks that were upgraded

We already told you about the new blocks, and now we tell you about the improvements made to the existing ones. Let's see which blocks were updated in their functionality to give us a better user experience with more customization options.

Better selection of text between paragraphs

Those of us who use Gutenberg know that text selection used to be somewhat difficult, if not somewhat “bugged”. But, as of WordPress 6.0, we can select the desired text very easily and even move the selection cursor through the blocks without difficulties.

Responsive Group Blocks and Row Blocks

Now, thanks to WordPress 6.0, we can choose how our Blocks behave on different screen sizes. For Group Blocks, we will see the option to display the inner Blocks as a row or a stack.

It is also possible select multiple blocks and then decide whether to responsively handle them as rows or as a stacked layout. Example:

quick links

In WordPress 6 we can create quick links just by typing double bracket at the beginning of the link. The animation below shows it clearly:

Multiple selection in the Block List

This functionality was highly requested, and surely those of us who are familiar with Gutenberg were sorry that it was not something possible… until now. WordPress 6.0 already leaves us select multiple blocks in list view. This includes using Shift+click or Shift+Up+Down to select multiple adjacent blocks.

Of course, we can move all the selected blocks by dragging and dropping and even perform other typical group actions (What copy).

Add Borders to Columns

As you will have already understood just by reading the subtitle, the new WordPress added the possibility to create borders for the Columns Block and its consequent customization.

“Air” for the Image Gallery

Now it is also possible to space the images/photos within the Image Gallery Block. Personalization allows us manually adjust the streets between bitmaps at will.

Copy Image URL from Media Gallery

As long as we're in the list view, the actions concerning our graphic elements now includes the “Copy URL to clipboard” shortcut as shown in the screenshot below:

Accessibility: WordPress for everyone

Another of the goals always present in WordPress updates is the integration of your content for all audiences. In fact, each version of WordPress is characterized by improvements to its main core with a view to returning our most accessible preferred CMS for all users.

In WordPress 6, these are the most important accessibility improvements:

● Post title is used as ALT text for featured images when ALT is empty.
● Improved tabbing in blocks with placeholder elements.
● It is now possible to search for ads within the Search Block.
● It is possible to read the description of the blocks with a placeholder configuration.
● Admin bar text labels are now readable by screen readers on smaller displays.
● Announcements are now more descriptive for screen readers when saving a draft.

Core improvements

WordPress 6.0 also comes out of the box with important changes aimed at web developers. Here are some of these programming enhancements.

● Webfonts API now provides Theme developers with a much more efficient way to manage local fonts via PHP or theme.json.
● Created an API to prevent Blocks from appearing on the Widgets screen.
● get_the_author_link connectable.
● Improved sticky post query.
● The new filter was created edit_custom_thumbnail_sizes to work with individual image sizes.

Conclusions

WordPress 6.0 enhances the full site editing experience (FSE) with several improvements to blocks and the user interface. The new Blocks expand the possibilities allowing us to better express our creativity. Each improvement to Gutenberg gave us more control over the design of our site, and WordPress 6 is hitting the gas in that direction.

We definitely recommend upgrading our site to WordPress 6.0 to access all its benefits but also to protect ourselves from the vulnerabilities found in the previous version.

Before updating our website, it is always convenient to make a backup copy and also check the compatibility of our installed Theme and Plugins. Optimally, we can create a Test Environment of WordPress to test the sixth generation in a closed environment that does not compromise our online website.

We hope that the news has met your expectations. We invite you to leave comments of your impressions or doubts below. Good luck and thanks for reading.