Have you guys heard the buzz lately? WordPress 6.0 “Arturo” is here and how!
It is the new kid in town, the latest WordPress release. It is named after Arturo O’Farrill, the Grammy-winning jazz musician, known for his influence on Afro Cuban and contemporary Latin jazz. It was released to the public on 24 May 2022.
If you are an expert in WordPress development, this very jazzy version is touted to help you unleash your creative spirits and aid in an intuitive site-building experience. The new version was realized through the contribution through enhancements and fixes from over 500 WordPress community members across 58 countries.
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WordPress as a Platform
WordPress is known to power more than 42% of the world’s websites and we don’t think they are going to slow down anytime soon! Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of WordPress, reminisces that the new release is an example of the WordPress community’s commitment at tackling tough situations as a single unit. The version’s planned writing experience updates, enhanced block functionality, addition of intuitive style switcher etc. makes it a proud achievement for the company.
WordPress 6.0 “Arturo”
WordPress 6.0 is the second major release from the platform in 2022. It is armed with more than 1000 changes – both enhancements and bug fixes. We are sure this version would be a delight to work with for developers and business owners globally. The database version (db_version in wp_options) for version 6.0 is updated to 51917, and the Trac revision to 53445.
How to Download Version 6.0?
The new version can be downloaded automatically from the Dashboard > Updates menu in your site’s admin area or visit the release archive on the WordPress website. The step-by-step instructions to install and update the new version is available on the WordPress site under the “Updating WordPress” tab.
What is New in WordPress 6.0 Update?
Why is this version important for your business? Or is it relevant for you? Read on to find out.
It is said to have more than 1000 delightful changes up its arsenal and we would be more than obliged to list out some of the most important ones for your reference and ease of use. So here we go!
1.Improved Performance
This new release is focused on improving the performance of WordPress sites. There are several updates and enhancements that aid in the process. They cover a large range of areas including improved page speed and post load speed, caching, reducing query execution time, navigation menus and the like.
2.Enhanced Accessibility
WordPress believes in fostering an inclusive community and has all kinds of users around the world. This fact makes accessibility an important part of the WordPress mission. WordPress has dedicated around 50 updates in the latest variant focusing just on accessibility of the platform.
3.Superior Writing Experience
The latest version has writing enhancements meant for every purpose – be it creating a shiny new post or adding or deleting from the existing content. It helps you streamline your creative process with the below features.
- Tag clouds and social icons are more appealing with updated settings and controls
- For quick access to recent posts and pages, just type two open brackets `[[`
- Texts can be selected across multiple blocks for easy copy and paste
- Create customized buttons that retain their style customizations
- Preserve existing style changes when transforming blocks
4. Style Switching
Try out new style variations in block themes. You get to switch the look and feel of your sitre within a single theme. In some cases, you can change both available settings and style options with just a few clicks of your mouse. You could change minute options like font weight and default color palette.
5. Five New Template Choices
WordPress 6.0 has 5 new template options for block themes, namely, author, category, date, tag and taxonomy (Refer below picture for clarity). Content creators gain more flexibility with these additional changes. You can tailor these templates with the tools that exist in your kitty. The below options are added advantages of the new variant.
- The query blocks supports multiple author filtering, customer taxonomies and other customizations
- Discover new layout options with patterns and templates that the quick inserter shows to help you work faster during editing at the root or between blocks
- Cover block can display featured images
- Featured image sizing controls make getting results a cakewalk
6. Integrated Patterns
Patterns are available in more locations like the quick inserter or while creating a new header or footer. If you are a block theme author, you can use `theme.json` to register patterns from the Pattern Directory. This will help you prioritize specific patterns that are most helpful to your theme users.
7. Extra Design Tools
Each new WordPress release comes out with powerful and intuitive design tools and this one is no different. The additional features are below.
- The gap support functionality in the Gallery block can be used to create different looks, from adding spacing to removing spacing altogether between images
- Group block allows controlling of gaps, margins, typography, and more on a collection of blocks, at once
- Set the border to your liking with the new border controls
- The new color panel design saves space by showing all the options at a glance
- You get more creative color options with the color transparency levels
Switch between stack, row, and group variations to position groups of blocks with more layout flexibility
8. Easy List View
The new keyboard shortcuts enables users to the following.
- Select multiple blocks from the list view
- Modify blocks in bulk
- Drag and drop blocks within the list
- Easily open and close List View
- Expand to the current selection whenever they select a block
9. Block Locking Controls
WordPress version 6.0 allows you to lock your blocks. You get to choose to disable the option for moving or removing a block, or both. This simplifies project handover quite a bit and allows clients to be creative without worrying about accidentally breaking something on their site.
Things to Consider Before You Upgrade to WordPress 6.0
- Run a backup of your site before you switch to the new version
- Make sure nothing is broken on your site before the upgrade
- Watch the brief overview and how-to videos on the site to understand the major features
- Join interactive learning sessions on the website for specific topics
- Developers can explore the field guide prior to execution
- Refer the WordPress 6.0 Release Notes for comprehensive information
WordPress 6.0 - Final Note
We would suggest that online store owners and administrators should upgrade to the newest version to take full advantage of the myriad stability, performance, and usability enhancements at the earliest possible time. WordPress content creators will be ecstatic about the new suite of features geared toward improving their designing and writing experiences.
