WordPress 5.9

26 Jan' 22 | By christian

The next major release of WordPress has arrived. It is the first major release of 2022 and features the latest advances of the block editor and the first version of full site editing in Core. WordPress 5.9 also brings more refinements to the developer experience and improved compatibility with PHP 8.0 and 8.1 to name a few. In the following paragraphs below, we expand on just a few of the important features you should be ware of.

Twenty Twenty-Two

The very first default WordPress theme that is block based. With the arrival of Full Site Editing and Global Styles, themes are changing structurally and functionally to enable more ways for customisation. To benefit from these new capabilities, Twenty Twenty-Two has been designed to be the most flexible default theme ever created for WordPress.

The theme uses font Source Serif Pro for headlines and sans-serif for body copy with colours taken from nature. The theme utilises a wide range of page templates, headers, footers and other patterns to allows users to make the theme their own. Alongside this are alternate colour palettes and fonts to allow for further customisation. The theme aims to use as little CSS as possible, with the goal being configured styles through theme.json and Global Styles.

Block theme flows

New flows have been added to make it more intuitive to access items, like a template editor, where you can make the changes you want to your homepage or 404 page.

Navigation Block

This is a powerful, new block that unlocks the ability to edit a site’s navigation menu, both in terms of structure and design.

List view

The list view has been updated to include the ability to drag and drop blocks and collapse section to make it easier to navigate complex content.

Design tools

Design tools have been improved with new options added, a more intuitive interface, and more. With a few combinations of these settings, you can create very different layouts from a few simple slight changes to more radical and complex options. Lots of tools have been added to numerous blocks, below are just a few:

• Buttons block: block gap, border controls, dimension controls (padding).
• Columns block: block gap, dimension controls (padding).
• Navigation block: flex layout, block gap, layout controls (vertical and horizontal, alignment).
• Group block: layout controls, dimension controls (padding)
• Cover block: duotone, dimension controls (padding, min height).
• Social Icons block: layout controls (vertical and horizontal, alignment), block gap, dimension controls (margin).
• Featured image block: duotone, dimension controls (width, height, margin, padding).

Gallery Block

You will be able to use the same tools for individual image blocks on each image in the Gallery Block. This added functionality means you can do more customisation – from adding links to individual images and inline cropping to editing on the fly. Apply unique styles for more visually exciting images and apply various duotone filters. Custom CSS can be added to each image due to the ability of adding classes per image. Improved accessibility means you’ll be able to add alt text within the block sidebar and drag and drop images to rearrange them.

Block pattern explorer

The way in which patterns are added from the Inserter is being updated with the introduction of a new modal that allows you to see patterns in a more organised way with larger previews.

Language switcher

A language switcher is being added to the WordPress login page. If you have multiple languages installed on your WordPress website, you’ll be able to choose your preferred language via a drop down.

If you need help updating to the latest version, get in touch now. Email info@syntiro.support or call 01604 638700 for FREE help, advice or emergency WordPress support.