The major WordPress 6.4 update will be released on 07.11.2023! There are many exciting new features in the WordPress major release that will make WordPress even better. In the following article, we would like to give you a clear overview of the most important new changes.
Another general and exciting piece of information about WordPress updates: The WordPress community has been working diligently on the big update since April of this year. This is because the new features are put through their paces for you before they are released.
Note on the update: We recommend that you do not install the update on your live instance immediately upon release! Especially with major releases, there are often problems with themes, plugins or WordPress itself at the beginning. Inform yourself regularly about current problems with the new update and always test the update on a staging environment first!
New standard theme: Twenty Twenty-Four
The new WordPress Standard Theme "Twenty Twenty-Four" will replace the previous "Twenty Twenty-Three" theme. What makes it special? The new theme is a real all-rounder that is suitable for different website types and sizes.
Unlike in previous years, development did not focus on one specific use case. The new standard theme should be suitable for several, or to be more precise, the following three areas of application:
- Entrepreneurs and small businesses
- Photographers and artists
- Writer and blogger
The theme promises to combine fresh and modern design concepts with remarkable customizability. The Twenty Twenty Four theme presents a fresh look and feel inspired by current design trends and introduces some exciting new features, which we will describe for you in more detail:
Elegant design and font
The aesthetics of Twenty Twenty-Four clearly stand out from the previous WordPress themes. Among other things, the elegant "Cardo" font, which is used for headings, is immediately noticeable. A sans serif system font is used for the body text, which makes it easier to read. This deliberate choice of fonts gives your website a professional and appealing touch.
Light and dark color palettes
The default Twenty Twenty-Four theme presents a bright and modern color palette that makes your website appear friendly and inviting. Additionally, there is a dark style variant that retains the same elegant typography. To offer even more flexibility, two additional sans serif variants are available: one in light mode and one in dark mode.
Block theme with advanced design tools
Twenty Twenty-Four is a block theme that can be fully combined with the tools of the website editor. It not only supports the standard block elements, but also comes with new design tools such as the detail block and vertical text. This allows you to design content even more flexibly and creatively in the future.
Prefabricated page patterns and template variations
Are you currently creating every new subpage from scratch? The Twenty Twenty Four theme wants to put an end to this by offering entire page patterns and template variations. With predefined layouts and style options, the website creation process is considerably simplified. This saves time and effort when creating a website.
Flexibility and adaptability
One of the most remarkable features of Twenty Twenty-Four is its flexibility. With just a few adjustments to colors and typography, users can create a wide range of website designs to suit their needs.
Overall, the Twenty Twenty-Four theme offers an exciting blend of modern design, customizability and ease of use. With the numerous customization options and ready-made layouts, it's easier than ever to create professional websites.
New functions of WordPress 6.4
WordPress 6.4 is in the starting blocks and brings with it some exciting new features, improvements and revisions. Some features have been long awaited - now the launch is finally here! We'll show you which new and improved functions await you in WordPress 6.4.
Font library
One of the big new features in WordPress 6.4 is the introduction of a font library. This handy feature allows you to install fonts for your entire website and preview different fonts. The font library will be available globally, regardless of the active theme. The application is similar to the existing WordPress media library - so it's clear and intuitive.
Lightbox function
In future, the lightbox will also be available for image blocks so that your images can be displayed in a large view with a single click.
Post formats in block themes
WordPress 6.4 brings further improvements to facilitate the use of post formats in block themes. This includes the ability to use posts without titles in loops and templates, the creation of templates for post series and the revision of the specific formatting of the content block in the loop. These improvements allow users to design their posts even more flexibly.
New blocks
The launch of three new blocks is planned!
- Table of contents: This block facilitates the creation of structured content and offers users a clear way to create tables of contents.
- Time to read: This block allows authors to display the estimated reading time of an article, which gives readers a better idea of how much time they will need to read it.
- Block Scrolling Marquee: This block allows you to add horizontal, moving text to attract attention and highlight important information.
Overall, WordPress 6.4 promises to further improve the user experience and open up new creative possibilities for website owners and developers. With the new features and improvements, you can make your website even more appealing and user-friendly.
Improvement of existing functions
WordPress as a whole is constantly being improved - and so are existing functions! The new WordPress 6.4 update optimizes existing functions to make working in WordPress even easier and more intuitive.
Interfaces and tools
Existing tools are continuously being improved to make it easier to create websites and write articles. In this context, the focus is on iterations of the list view with user-defined naming of group blocks, the media preview for gallery and image blocks and keyboard shortcuts for duplicating blocks.
Page editing
Editing the navigation block and global styles will be improved. Measures to improve general website usage include adding the "Show template" function when editing pages, inserting discussion settings, displaying current changes in the "Browse styles" area, decoupling templates and template parts when changing the theme and hiding page or post titles when editing the website.
Footnotes
The Footnote Block, which was only introduced in the last major release, will be further improved in 6.4. Among other things, the entire design (background, font type and size, text colors, etc.) will be easier to customize and links will be easier to insert.
Design tools
Thanks to these improvements and additional functions, you should be able to realize even more complex designs in the future:
- Box Shadow (new)
- Configuration of own viewport widths for theme developers (new)
- Simplification and expansion of layout controls
- Improvement of the user-defined CSS
Global styles
Global styles are a powerful setting that can save you a lot of work for future customizations or even a complete redesign. WordPress 6.4 brings changes to style revisions, stylebook customizations with features like "reset to default" and page comparison as well as changes to the display hierarchy.
Sample
New functions have been added to make patterns even more user-friendly:
- Adding categories
- Improvement of the "insert" process
- Improved compatibility for non-block themes.
Administration and navigation
Every update brings with it better usability - which is why the administration and navigation are constantly being improved. This time we are pleased about the following improvements:
- Adding a menu overview
- Creation of user-defined symbols
- mobile links for different devices
- Improvement of the fallback
Performance
As WordPress Host website performance is extremely important to us! And the WordPress development team is also focused on continuously improving the performance of WordPress:
- Use of the new script loading strategy APIs in Core, which
- Identification and elimination of server performance bottlenecks that
- Improved reliability and flexibility in the application of the loading optimization attributes "loading", "fetchpriority" and "decoding" as well as the
- Expansion of the options for automated performance test workflows and the dashboard.
These insights provide just a small overview of the extensive improvements and revisions in WordPress 6.4. For more details, you can check out the WordPress website for the latest updates.
Gutenberg Block Editor - The Collaboration Phase in WordPress (Phase 3)
It's time for the next big step in the Gutenberg Block Editor: With the next WordPress update, the collaboration phase (phase 3) will begin, which will further improve collaboration and user-friendliness.
Gutenberg has evolved a lot since its introduction in WordPress 5.0. The handling of creation and administration has been improved, new blocks have been introduced and the overall flexibility has been improved. Having grown out of its baby shoes, it is now possible to create complex designs in a user-friendly environment. The introductory phase is therefore officially recognized as complete.
With the completion of the introductory phase, phase 3 begins. Phase 3 is all about collaboration in WordPress. The main goal is to further increase usability and promote seamless collaboration between different users. This is mainly made possible by the ability for multiple users to work on the same content at the same time, as well as native commenting, reviewing and sharing features in WordPress.
Conclusion
We are very much looking forward to the upcoming update and the associated innovations. I am particularly impressed by the option to work together natively in WordPress! This will make teamwork easier, better and faster for WordPress users in the long term.
If you want to find out about the changes in WordPress 6.4 and future updates yourself, you can do so directly at here.
