WordPress 6.0: what’s new and what to expect

When WordPress 5.9 was released, the innovative Full Site Editing feature was introduced. Now WordPress is starting the second phase of the Gutenberg project: WordPress 6.0. To prepare for this new update, it is important to know what it will include.

Looking forward to WordPress 6.0, this update will include improvements to the site editor. We will also see new blocks, patterns and design tools. Additionally, many of the new WordPress 5.9 features will have improved functionality, making them easier to use.

In this post, we will discuss the new features planned for WordPress 6.0. That way you can know what to expect when this new version launches. Let’s begin!

📚 Table of contents:

1. Advanced full-site editing capabilities

WordPress 5.9 introduced the site editor, which provides a way to edit your site globally using blocks. A block design allows you to create your content by customizing templates and template parts:

However, this first version of Full Site Editing has limitations. WordPress 6.0 allows you to add more specific options.

These include templates for authors, dates, categories, tags, and taxonomies:

Another exciting improvement in the site editor will be its global style switcher. You can use ready-made theme presets to implement a new style throughout your website. This setting makes it easy to change the look and feel of your website:

After you create new templates, layouts, and styles, you may want to use them on another website. WordPress 6.0 allows you to export your block design. This will simply transfer your design while preserving the changes:

In addition, you can expect significant user interface (UI) improvements. In previous updates, selecting text across multiple blocks automatically selected the entire block.

In contrast, WordPress 6.0 allows you to select the specific text that you need to edit. You can also transform blocks without losing color and typography settings.

In addition, WordPress 6.0 will be introduced Browse mode and Structure of the interface navigation. Browse mode allows you to interact with your website and test all of its links:

When adding a navigation block, a menu opens to manage its structure. Each link in the block is isolated as a post type:

You may also see minor design improvements for the sidebar. There will likely be a way to save drafts and schedule changes in the site editor.

2. A focus on patterns

Although WordPress patterns already exist, with WordPress 6.0 they become the central tool for creating templates and pages. After clicking on the + icon you will see options to add patterns instead of blocks:

You can easily select patterns from your theme with this quick inserter. This feature can greatly speed up the content creation process when designing templates and pages.

You can either search for a specific pattern or click on it Search all. This will take you to the pattern library, which contains an extensive collection of new patterns:

Currently you can only use templates to create new pages and templates. However, WordPress 6.0 may also include options to change the layout of existing content.

3. New blocks

If you access WordPress 6.0, you can use a new set of blocks. These blocks mainly focus on displaying comments.

For example, you can expect to see a Post comment form block. This element makes your comment form fully customizable in the post editor:

Another new feature is the comment loop block. Since it is similar to a query loop block will loop through this element and display your blog’s most recent comments:

Along with comment loop block there are further comment-related sub-blocks. These can include a comment’s author name, avatar, content, and more.

WordPress 6.0 will also add an improved one Continue reading Block. Instead of just typing text, you can adjust the background, border, and color to make it stand out:

During query loop already exists, you can now add one as well No results block to it. This is an option if your query doesn’t show any results.

You also have access to the Post author avatar and biography Blocks. These elements can present your author information and profile picture.

In addition, there are plans to include previews for block styles. This feature displays a frontend preview while editing.

4. Block editor enhancements

Like the site editor, the block editor will also include noticeable improvements in features and functionality. Currently, many UI components automatically display a bottom border.

WordPress 6.0 will add borderless styles option. There are also many design improvements to specific blocks.

For example the columns Block will support a border. You can edit width, style, color and radius:

After adding images to a gallery block, you can adjust their spacing. These changes can help you create a more unique photo gallery than the default options:

WordPress 6.0 also introduces a shortcut for adding links. By entering “[[page title]]”, you can automatically insert a link from your website:

You can also select text across different blocks when editing paragraphs. Previously, this automatically selected all text in both blocks:

With this update you can also select blocks in the list view. If you hold down the layer button and click on multiple blocks, you can move them to another area of ​​the list:

Finally, you can lock specific blocks. This setting saves any changes you make and restricts changes made by other users:

These functions are intended to simplify the use of the block editor. Therefore, content creation is likely to become faster and easier.

In WordPress 6.0 there is an effort to improve all block editing tools. Although each block has its own settings and features, this update attempts to bring block design tools together.

It is currently difficult to change the spacing of the blocks. To make this easier, there is a ticket to introduce a consistent Panel dimensions. This feature consolidates height, padding, width, and alignment in one place.

You can also transform the layout of multiple blocks. After selecting more than one block, you can convert them group, Rowor stack Blocks.

Additionally, WordPress 6.0 aims to make blocks instantly responsive. To do this, it can be Minimum and maximum CSS Features. Once implemented, it becomes easier to create a well-designed page, regardless of the breadth of the theme.

6. Accessibility improvements

Because web accessibility is a legal requirement, each WordPress software update typically includes new tools to make your site accessible. In WordPress 6.0, many improvements Actively consider people with disabilities.

First, your post’s title will automatically be the alt text for a selected image. Even if you don’t specify any alt text, you don’t have to worry about people not being able to see your main photo.

In the site editor there is also an option to show text labels on user interface buttons. If you enable this feature, you will not have inaccessible button icons:

If you can’t use your mouse while editing content, you can tab to a block placeholder. This function can make your block keyboard accessible.

In addition, the block manager allows you to announce search results with a screen reader. Likewise, you can enable VoiceOver to read your placeholder descriptions.

WordPress 6.0 will also include a saved in draft notification. This is a more descriptive warning that may be beneficial to those using screen readers.

Finally, there will be accessibility improvements for the list view. You can use keyboard shortcuts to select multiple blocks and perform other basic actions.

7. Changes for Developers

WordPress 6.0 will bring many new features for WordPress users of all levels. There will be several changes under the hood for developers that can help you manage your projects.

Although WordPress intended to include the Web Fonts API in its 5.9 update, this feature was carried over to WordPress 6.0. Now theme developers can manage local fonts in PHP or a theme.json File.

Additionally, Gutenberg assumes all blocks will work in widgets, but some may conflict with older widgets or shortcodes. You can now prevent specific blocks from appearing in widget areas by providing an API.

This new update also supports a pluggable get_the_author_link. With this feature, you can customize markup, add classes for styling, and the rel Characteristics. In addition, WordPress 6.0 will improve the Sticky post query.

Get ready for WordPress 6.0

With WordPress 6.0, full page editing becomes easier to manage with expanded template options, global styles, and other user interface improvements. Patterns are now becoming the focal point of the content creation process. Also, you can expect better design tools, new blocks, accessibility features, and developer-focused improvements. 🤩