WordPress 6.0 called Arturo is up and ready. This update introduces nearly 1,000 updates and enhancements that make WordPress more intuitive to use for developers and end users.
Some changes, like faster website performance, will be felt immediately. Others, like the brand new page creation mode are features introduced by theme developers.
Every update to WordPress is named after a jazz artist. This version is named after Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Arturo O’Farrill. He is associated with the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble.
The official WordPress announcement explains:
“The latest version of the software takes full site editing a step further and aims to solidify the ‘no-code’ experience of site building, extending existing customization tools, introducing new modules, and focusing on authoring and design workflows.
An example of this is the block theme’s new style switcher, one of the most anticipated features as it introduces flexibility and creative opportunities without having to switch themes.
“With thoughtful updates to the writing experience, building better blocks functionality, and adding a new intuitive style switcher, I’m very proud of the work I’ve done in this release to provide a great website editing experience,” said the Executive Director of WordPress. Joseph Harden Chomforsey.”
WordPress 6.0 is an incremental update
WordPress 6.0 is the work of over 500 people in at least 58 countries and includes nearly 1,000 improvements.
Often, when there is a version change of a product, such as a new Android phone model, end users expect to see dramatic changes. WordPress version changes are not the case.
While this is a “dot 0” release, version 6.0 is best understood as part of a series of incremental improvements aimed at maintaining backward compatibility while introducing improvements.
WordPress 6.0 is a version number change, but it’s not a huge one. Improved publishing experience between versions 5.9 and 6.
According to the official WordPress announcement, there is no need to worry about updates, and all site owners are encouraged to update now to enjoy the many benefits of this release.
“Site owners and administrators should upgrade to take advantage of today’s many stability, performance and usability enhancements.
WordPress content creators will enjoy a host of new features designed to improve the writing and design experience. “
A spokesperson from WordPress shared with Search Engine Journal:
“This release picks up where 5.9 left off – focusing on bringing full site editing further into view, and improving the overall experience of the block editor, no matter where you use it.
6.0 has a bunch of new features designed to improve the writing and design experience that most WordPress users share.
Of course, like all recent WordPress releases, this release includes performance enhancements, typical stability improvements to the core code, and many small improvements that enhance the site-building experience. “
WordPress performance improvements
WordPress 6.0 comes with performance improvements that will help make WordPress faster for website visitors.
Improvements have been made to how queries are executed against the database and how caches are managed.
This means fewer numbers and types of database calls, leading to greater efficiency, which translates into faster performance.
New features end users will love
page creation mode
One of the most important changes is page creation mode feature.
Often, when creating a web page, a publisher might start with a blank layout. Page creation mode is a way to choose from multiple layouts as a starting point.
WordPress core itself doesn’t come with layouts, which is something theme developers need to build into their themes.
block lock
Block locking is a feature that prevents end users from accidentally deleting or moving important blocks. New functionality is available through the Block Settings drop-down menu.
Andrew Wilder of WordPress support company NerdPress (@NerdPress) makes his point, although 6.0 comes with “Ton“An improvement that end users will love, and he thinks the Page Creation Mode feature is the one they appreciate the most.
Wilder said:
“For many of our clients, page creation mode will be very useful, especially when plugins are available with pre-built modes specific to their content. This can be a huge time saver!
I’m also excited to see the new block locking feature – now it doesn’t allow you to lock changes to block content, but it prevents you from accidentally moving or deleting blocks. “
stack and line changes
A useful addition is the ability to create dynamic flex-based containers by stacking blocks into column or row layouts.
It’s called a flex-based container because it’s flexible and can automatically adjust to the viewport, shrink for smaller mobile devices, and expand when necessary.
WordPress released a video to show how it works:
Multiselect: Select text across multiple blocks
In the new block-based WordPress editor, so-called blocks, building blocks, can be used to create web page layouts.
Blocks are like containers into which content can be inserted. The content can be images, text, etc.
An example of an incremental but exciting change in WordPress 6.0 is the ability to select text across multiple content blocks.
This allows the user to select content within multiple blocks without selecting the multiple blocks themselves. This enables publishers to write and control content in the intended way, providing a more intuitive writing experience.
Soon, you will be able to select text across blocks in WordPress while retaining the basic mechanics of content blocks. ☄️
Main honors @ellatrx For the steady work that brought us here! pic.twitter.com/e6tL7r434j
— Mattias Ventura (@matias_ventura) March 28, 2022
WordPress released this animation to show how multiple selection works:
Wilder at NerdPress tested the new feature ahead of time and was enthusiastic.
He said:
“I’m really excited about being able to select text across multiple blocks.
It sounds like a small detail, but it frustrates me at times – these little details really add up to a better, easier editing experience. “
style change
Another exciting new feature is called global style changes.
Style changes allow theme authors to provide their clients with a way to easily change the look and feel of a website without editing CSS or HTML, significantly speeding up the process of getting a website up and running.
This is a feature implemented on the WordPress theme developer side to improve the end user’s WordPress publishing experience.
The WordPress team shares with Search Engine Journal:
“Introducing style variation in block themes allows theme authors to provide people with multiple options to switch the look and feel of a website with a few clicks within a single theme.
This means you can quickly change things like font weights and default colors in a coherent way without editing CSS. “
Notable changes for developers
I asked the WordPress team about the most important changes developers should know about.
They responded:
Accessibility Improvements in WordPress 6.0
Numerous improvements to WordPress accessibility documented here.
Highlights include:
WordPress 6.0 Aria-Related Accessibility Fixes
RichText: reverse disableLineBreaks Determine aria-multiline status.
Remove character attribute on SVG Means “decoration”.
This is how WordPress describes the changes in how media is handled in 6.0 for accessibility:
- “The attachment attribute is preserved when cropping a custom logo. This means that the image’s alt text, title, description, and title will migrate to the cropped copy of the image after cropping.
- If the URL is focused, stop the arrow keys to switch media.
- Added “Copy URL to Clipboard” feature to list table view.
- Set up hyphenation on sample permalinks so that the full permalink will be visible in posts, media and comments on mobile devices.
- Remove target blank attribute from media uploader edit link.
- Remove target=”_blank” from the link to change the permalink structure and change the link text to clarify the purpose of the link. “
The official WordPress announcement states:
“Accessibility is an integral part of WordPress’ mission to foster inclusive communities and support diverse users around the world.
With this in mind, WordPress 6.0 includes over 50 updates specifically aimed at enhancing the accessibility of the platform. You can read about these updates and learn more about ongoing accessibility initiatives. “
WordPress Total Site Editor Beta Tags
One thing that might be useful about WordPress 6.0 is that the Full Site Editor (FSE) is still marked as Beta.
WordPress 6.0 makes the editing experience easier for end users, makes the writing process easier, and makes it easier to conceive unique website layouts without having to deal with code. But FSE is still considered a beta product.
The good news, according to the WordPress team shared with Search Engine Journal, is that the full site editor will see continuous improvements.
The WordPress team shared:
“While 6.0 moves WordPress in the right direction, there’s more to be done around creating a cohesive website editing experience, so if you’re waiting for a full website editing to feel more intuitive, look forward to 6.1 and beyond .”
