WordPress 6.0 codenamed ‘Arturo’, is now available with almost a thousand new features and improvements.
WordPress 6.0, dubbed “Arturo,” has been launched and is ready to go. This update includes nearly 1,000 new updates and enhancements to WordPress, making it easier for developers and users.
You can find out more about several notable updates in the sections below.
- Faster website performance
- Design patterns for page creation
- Block locking
- Variations of stack and row
- Variations in global style
- Ability to select text from multiple blocks
Some changes, such as faster website performance, will be visible immediately. Other features, such as the new page creation patterns are available for theme developers.
Each WordPress update is named after a jazz musician. This version is named after Arturo O’Farrill, a Grammy-winning jazz musician. He is also associated with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
This is the official WordPress announcement:
The latest version of the software allows site editing to be done more intuitively. It consolidates the site-building experience with no code, expands upon existing customization tools, and introduces new blocks. It also focuses on writing and designing workflows.
This is an example of it: the new style switcher block themes. It’s one of the most sought-after features because of its flexibility and creative possibilities, without the need to switch themes.
“With thoughtful updates to writing experience, better block functionality, and a new intuitive style switching, I’m proud to be a WordPress Executive Director,” said Josepha Haden Chomphosy.
WordPress 6.0 Is an Incremental Update
WordPress 6.0 results from more than 500 people working in at least 58 countries. It includes close to 1000 improvements.
End users see dramatic changes when a product’s version is updated, such as an Android phone model. WordPress version changes are not like that.
Although this release is a “dot 0”, version 6.0 can be understood as part of a series of incremental improvements that preserve backward compatibility and introduce improvements.
WordPress 6.0 is a revision, but not on the same scale as a complete redesign. There are improvements in the publishing experience between WordPress versions 5.9-6.
According to WordPress’ official announcement, you don’t need to be afraid of updating. We encourage all site owners to upgrade now to take advantage of the many benefits offered by this release.
Site administrators and owners should upgrade to fully take advantage of the stability, performance and usability enhancements available today.
WordPress content creators can enjoy a new suite of features that improve writing and design experiences.
A spokesperson for WordPress contacted Search Engine Journal:
“This release continues from 5.9 and focuses on the full site editing experience.
WordPress 6.0 includes several new features that will improve most WordPress users’ writing and design experience.
Like all WordPress releases in recent years, it includes performance enhancements and stability improvements to the core code. There are also a lot more small improvements that improve the site-building experience.
WordPress Performance Improvements
WordPress 6.0 comes with performance enhancements that will make WordPress more user-friendly.
There have been improvements in the way queries are executed against the database and how caches are managed.
This results in fewer database calls, which means more efficiency and faster performance.
End users will love new features
Page Creation Templates
The Page Creator Patterns are one essential features.
A publisher may start with a blank layout when creating a website. You can choose from several designs when creating a page.
WordPress core won’t come with layouts. This is something theme developers will need to add to their themes.
Block Locking
Block locking is a feature that prevents users from accidentally moving or deleting essential blocks. This new feature can be accessed via a drop-down menu called block settings.
Andrew Wilder, the WordPress support company NerdPress ( @NerdPress), stated that while 6.0 ships ” tons,” he thinks that most end-users will appreciate the page creation patterns feature.
Wilder stated:
“The Page Creation Patterns will be beneficial for many of our clients. Especially when plugins are made to create patterns specific to their content. This could save you a lot of time!
I am also happy to see the new Block Locking function – it won’t allow you to lock changes to block content at the moment, but it can prevent you from accidentally moving or deleting a block.
Stack & Row Variations
It is possible to create flexible containers with dynamic layouts by stacking blocks in a column or row.
Flex-based containers are so-called because they can be adapted to the viewport and shrink for smaller devices. They can also expand when needed.
Multi-Select: Select Text across Multiple Blocks
The new block-based WordPress editors allow you to create a web page layout using blocks.
Blocks can be thought of as containers in which content can be placed. Images, text, or any other content can be included in blocks.
One example of a small but significant change in WordPress 6.0 that is exciting and encouraging is the ability to select text from multiple content blocks.
This allows users to choose the content from multiple blocks without having to select multiple blocks. This will enable publishers to create and control content predictably, resulting in a more intuitive writing experience.
Wilder from NerdPress tried this feature before it was released and is enthusiastic about it.
He said:
“It is a great feeling to be able to select text from multiple blocks.
Although it may seem like a minor detail, it has been frustrating to me at times. These details add up to make editing more accessible and more enjoyable.
Style Variations
Global Style Variations is another exciting feature.
Style variations allow theme authors to give their customers the ability to change the look and feel of their website without needing to modify HTML or CSS. This dramatically speeds up the process of setting up a website.
This feature is available on the WordPress theme developer side and improves the WordPress publishing experience for end-users.
Search Engine Journal was a partner of the WordPress team:
“The introduction style variations in block themes allow theme writers to offer multiple options for people to change the look and feel on a site with just a few clicks.
This allows you to modify font weights or default colors without editing CSS quickly.
Notable Changes for Developers
I asked the WordPress team about the most essential changes developers should be aware of.
They replied:
- Style variations include different fonts powered by a private themes.json handler.
- Enhance block theme creation and tooling within the site editor.
- It is easier to integrate patterns (creating new pages in the inserter, etc.)
- Register blocks within themes.
- Updates to the @wordpress/create-block templating system.
Accessibility Enhancements to WordPress 6.0
Many improvements have been made to WordPress accessibility, which are documented here.
The highlights include:
- Multiple accessibility improvements were made to alt texts used on featured images.
- You can also upgrade to by tabbing into a block placeholder.
- There were also numerous improvements in screen readers.
- Modifications to the Navigation Block
- WordPress List View: Improvements
- Improved Media Handling
Aria-Related Accessibility Solutions To WordPress 6.0
RichText – Reverse disable line breaks in order to determine the aria-multiline state.
Removing role attributes from SVGs intended for “decoration”
This is how WordPress explained changes in media handling in 6.0 for accessibility.
“Preserve attachment property when cropping custom logo. This means that after cutting, the cropped image will have the alternate text, title, description, caption, and caption.
If URL is focused, stop the arrow keys from switching media.
To the list table view, add a “Copy URL from clipboard” function.
Break-word set on sample URL so the entire URL will be visible on mobile devices when you post, comment, or use media.
Media uploader edit links: Remove target blank attribute
To clarify the association’s purpose, remove target=”_blank” from the link and modify the link text.
According to the official WordPress announcement:
“Accessibility is an integral part of WordPress’ mission to foster an inclusive community and support users of all kinds around the globe.
WordPress 6.0 contains more than 50 updates that are specifically designed to improve accessibility. These updates are available to read and learn about ongoing accessibility initiatives.
WordPress Full-Site Editor Beta Label
One thing to remember about WordPress 6.0: The Full Site Editor (FSE), still called Beta, is something you might want to be aware of.
WordPress 6.0 makes it easier for users to edit their content. FSE is still considered a beta product.
According to the WordPress team’s communication with Search Engine Journal, the site editor will continue to improve.
The WordPress team shared the following:
“While WordPress 6.0 is a positive step in the right direction, there are still many things to do to make site editing more intuitive. You can expect this to happen in 6.1 and beyond.
