Los Angeles | November 13, 2023 – WordPress, the widely-used content management system, has unveiled version 6.4, dubbed as “Shirley.” This update brings a host of incremental improvements geared towards enriching the writing and site creation experience for users.
A notable addition in WordPress 6.4 is the introduction of the block pattern directory. This directory enables users to explore and find pre-designed block patterns that can be seamlessly integrated into their posts or pages. Block patterns consist of pre-arranged blocks that form a specific layout or design. With the new directory, users can effortlessly locate and apply these pre-designed patterns, streamlining the process of creating visually appealing content and saving valuable time.
The block editor, also known as Gutenberg, has undergone enhancements in this update. Users now have the ability to resize media and text blocks, offering greater flexibility in designing the layout of their content. This feature proves particularly useful when working with images or text that require adjustments to fit a specific space. Additionally, the group block now features the option to incorporate a background color, empowering users with more control over the visual presentation of their content.
The site health feature in WordPress has also received enhancements in version 6.4. Site health provides users with insights into the overall well-being of their site and alerts them to any issues requiring attention. With this update, identifying and resolving site issues is made more accessible. The site health screen now provides more detailed information about detected issues, coupled with recommendations on how to address them. This improvement facilitates users in maintaining a healthy and optimized website.
In addition to these new features, WordPress 6.4 includes bug fixes and security updates. These updates play a crucial role in ensuring a more stable and secure platform for users, safeguarding their websites against potential vulnerabilities.
WordPress remains a cornerstone in the realm of content management systems, powering millions of websites worldwide. With each new release, the platform continues its commitment to enhancing the user experience and introducing features that elevate the functionality of websites.
The unveiling of WordPress 6.4, codenamed “Shirley,” marks a substantial improvement in the writing and site creation experience. The new block pattern directory simplifies the process of discovering and utilizing pre-designed block patterns, streamlining content creation. Enhancements to the block editor, such as resizable media and text blocks and the ability to add background colors to group blocks, offer users greater flexibility in content design. The improvements to the site health feature make it simpler to identify and address site issues, ensuring the maintenance of a healthy and optimized website. Coupled with bug fixes and security updates, WordPress 6.4 is a valuable upgrade that enhances the website creation and management experience for users.
Developers can benefit from useful features such as block hooks.
According to WordPress:
“Block Hooks permits builders to routinely insert dynamic blocks at particular content material places, enriching the extensibility of block themes via plugins.
Whereas thought of a developer instrument, this characteristic is geared to respect your preferences and offers you full management so as to add, dismiss, and customise auto-inserted blocks to your wants.”
According to Andrew Wilder (LinkedIn profile) of WordPress assist firm NerdPress.internet:
“Many of the modifications I’m seeing for six.4 aren’t terribly “attractive” — however there are lots of of smaller enhancements that, collectively, will preserve WordPress transferring ahead properly, so I’m joyful to see the progress being made.
The modifications to attachment pages might be a giant assist for web optimization. By default, WordPress creates a separate “attachment web page” for each media merchandise, which may create lots of (or hundreds!) of ineffective, “skinny content material” pages. We nonetheless see shoppers who’ve these attachment pages however aren’t utilizing them, and even conscious that they exist. Significantly with the Useful Content material Updates not too long ago, eliminating these can actually assist enhance a web site’s total web optimization posture.
This replace received’t change any current websites — particularly as a result of some websites, like images websites, should need them — however new WordPress installations can have these attachment pages disabled by default.”
Katie Keith (LinkedIn profile), CEO of Barn2 Plugins (a plugin growth firm) was captivated with this launch.
Katie noticed:
“I’m delighted that the brand new Twenty Twenty-4 theme has been launched as a part of WordPress 6.4 as a result of it’s far superior to the previous couple of years’ default themes.
Like different latest themes, it’s a totally accessible block theme – however this time, it has a clear, generic and trendy design which might be appropriate for a variety of non-public and enterprise web sites.
The brand new picture lightboxes in WordPress 6.4 might be actually helpful, as so many website guests anticipate to have the ability to click on on a picture to see an even bigger model of it.
In reality I’m shocked that this wasn’t already accessible!
I used to be happy to see that WordPress 6.4 has a brand new choice to mark hyperlinks as nofollow. Beforehand, you had to do that by switching to code view and including the nofollow attribute manually, so having an possibility for that is rather more user-friendly.”
Source: Searchenginejournal.com
Key Points about WordPress 6.4 “Shirley”
- WordPress 6.4, nicknamed “Shirley,” has been officially released.
- This update focuses on incremental enhancements to improve the overall writing and site creation experience.
- A notable addition is the introduction of a new block pattern directory, enabling users to explore and find pre-designed block patterns conveniently.
- Improvements to the block editor include the ability to resize both media and text blocks, as well as the option to add a background color to the group block.
- The update also features enhancements to the site health functionality, streamlining the process of identifying and resolving issues on the site.
- WordPress 6.4 addresses various bugs and incorporates security updates, reinforcing the platform’s stability and security.
In summary, WordPress 6.4 brings a range of improvements, from a new block pattern directory to enhanced block editing capabilities and improved site health features, all aimed at providing users with a more refined and secure platform.
