Exciting news for WordPress users! WordPress 6.6 “Dorsey” was released on July 16, 2024. This new version is packed with improvements and new features that will make your website building experience even better. Get ready to dive into a more visual editing experience, explore new design options, and enjoy a smoother workflow. Let’s take a look at what WordPress 6.6 has to offer!
WordPress 6.6: Navigation & View Enhancements for Power Users
In recent WordPress updates, significant improvements have transformed the Site Editor experience. In version 6.6, for instance, you’ll notice a new default side-by-side layout for both viewing and editing pages.
Additionally, pattern management has been enhanced to streamline navigation and reduce the number of clicks needed to reach your desired destination.
Beyond these major updates, there are numerous smaller enhancements. These include improvements to keyboard navigation, bulk editing capabilities, and refinements to the overall design and functionality of the Site Editor. These changes collectively aim to make WordPress editing more intuitive and efficient.
Color palettes & font sets
To enrich any block theme, authors now have the flexibility to integrate a plethora of design options. They can craft numerous unique color palettes and font sets, catering to diverse preferences and needs while maintaining the theme’s coherence. These sets empower users to customize their sites extensively without altering the overall style beyond color and typography settings. This approach ensures that each design choice remains purposeful and aligned with the broader aesthetic vision of the theme.
Quick previews for pages
Streamline your workflow with our new page layout feature. Easily view all your pages and get a preview of any selected page right beside your editing interface in the Site Editor. This enhancement makes navigating and editing your site more intuitive than ever before.
Rollbacks for plugin auto-updates
Automatic plugin updates with a rollback option is a fantastic way to balance security and convenience. Here’s how it benefits you:
- Security: Keeping plugins up-to-date is crucial for plugging security holes. Auto-updates ensure you’re always on the latest, patched version.
- Convenience: No more manually checking and updating plugins, saving you time and effort.
- Peace of mind: With a rollback option, if an update causes issues with your site, you can easily revert to the previous version.
- Minimal downtime: Updates happen automatically, so there’s minimal disruption to your website’s visitors.
Overrides – Empower Content Personalization within Synced Layouts
Introduce the flexibility to tailor content within synced patterns. This enables customization of specific elements in each instance while maintaining a cohesive design across all placements. This streamlines future edits, as you only need to modify the pattern once for the changes to reflect everywhere. Currently, supported content blocks for customization include Headings, Paragraphs, Buttons, and Images.
Performance updates
WordPress 6.6 enhances website performance through several optimizations. These include streamlining calls to WP_Theme_JSON, preventing unnecessary options from autoloading, removing redundant code dependencies, loading post embeds only when required, and implementing a directive for asynchronous data loading. Additionally, the editor benefits from a significant 33% reduction in template loading time.
Accessibility improvements
This release incorporates over 55 accessibility improvements, strengthening the core functionality of WordPress. These enhancements focus on the data views component, which underpins the new site editing experience, and on essential areas like the Inserter, a crucial tool for interacting with blocks and patterns.
Custom default shadow styles
The Styles menu now lets you customize shadow effects! This includes changing the default shadows for images, buttons, and other elements. You can even create your own shadow styles, giving you complete control over this design detail that can add depth and polish to your work.
Final words
WordPress 6.6 “Dorsey” improves website building with a visual editor, design options, and workflow enhancements. It also offers better performance and accessibility.
WordPress 6.6 introduces a wide range of improvements, but we’ve just covered the most significant ones. To see the full list of changes, developers can refer to the WordPress 6.6 Field Guide and also refer Official WordPress Documentation
