WordPress is one of the widely used Content Management System software which is available for free for the developers and the users. The majority of the websites all across the world are developed on the WordPress Platform only as it offers beautiful features, powerful designs, and tools as well as the freedom to customize as per the requirement of the user. And this is the reason that companies hire WordPress Developer so that they can match the trend and develop the best website for their business and services.
The developers of WordPress have been working hard to built-in new features and lots of improvements, resulting in them releasing Gutenberg 11.6 recently in late September. And this new version has many features related to bug fixing, enhancing the existing features, and taking the website editing experience to the next level. This not just motivated the existing users but also attracted many of the developers from other platforms to use WordPress as nothing is better than what it offers. WordPress Development Company has started getting so many inquiries on what best can be done with the latest released version and how it will impact their existing website.
Gutenberg has actually streamlined the experience of editing the website. Digital publishers all around the world simply use the drag and drop web design interface to take full control of the website development which also matches the requirements of the end-users. The new features help to develop technology for more sophisticated websites. But everything has its own limitations and so does Gutenberg. So, most of the changes in this new version are enhancements of the features which are used by the developers in routine. Below mentioned are some of the major changes brought in the new version of WordPress.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN GUTENBERG 11.6:
GUTENBERG SITE EDITOR
The drag and drop web design interface offered by Gutenberg is an amazing feature that has made it easier to develop the website. For example, if one wants an image at any particular location of the website then the developer simply will drag and drop the image at that block. One of the biggest advantages of using the Gutenberg editor plugin is that it lightens fast websites. Also, Gutenberg has a plan to bring in the changes in WordPress in four phases- a) Editing b) Customization c) Collaboration d) Multilingual. And currently, WordPress has reached the second phase only. Below are details of the major changes brought in the new version:
- Native Site Logo Editing
Previously the editor needed to edit the logo before uploading it on the website. But now the publishers have the flexibility to first upload their logo and then edit it using Native Site Logo Editing. Various editing functions are available which include zoom in and out, cropping the image, rotating the image as per requirement. This latest version of Gutenberg offers a bunch of tools that help the logo to get adapted without actually leaving the browser-based editor.
The workflow which is described in WordPress GitHub shows that a person just needs to select the site logo block and then select the media library from where the image is selected.
- Locking control at the Block level
This is another awesome feature offered by Gutenberg 11.6 which is the ability to lock the individual blocks by adding the feature of lock attribute on the block settings. This prevents the blocks from being removed or moved to another place or location. So, this feature prevents the developers or the users from removing the blocks by mistake during the editing process. This also saves a lot of time for the developer as the levels which are blocked remain on the interface in spite of making other changes, so it does not change the overall look of the website.
Once a particular block is locked, the respective toolbars will have the movers hidden and the option of ‘Remove Block’ will also not be available.
- Basic Support for Child Themes
Child Themes are the one which allows the developers to change the look and feel of the website but when the theme is updated then the changes will not be overridden. So, when the child theme is active then the Beta Site Editor becomes available. Thus, the style changes become easier during updates. Thus, the Child theme supports the publishers to make as many changes as they want to make the website look perfect and these changes will not be vanished also while the theme is updated. Some of the other benefits of using the Child themes are given as under:
a)Theme.json is inherited
b)Parts of the Parent theme template can be overridden in the child theme
c)In the child the, the parent theme templates can be overridden
d)In the child theme, Theme.json can be overridden
e)When the child theme is active, the site editor is available only then
- The Writing flow is enhanced
This is one of the biggest updates and makes the work of the publisher quite easier. Now for the hidden active items, the Rich Text Format Toolbar will display a visual clue. Also, now the current filter value is passed to the main inserter without requiring typing it again and again. So, the publishers find it easier as the changes between the inserters are now a more smooth and seamless process. Here, when the quick inserter button is used and the ‘Browse all’ button is clicked, then the current filter value is passed to the main inserter without much need of typing it again.
- Edit Template Part
Template Part Focus mode is added to WordPress which is again an important feature for designing the website. This mode offers one of the ways that when you click on a menu, then it offers the options for customizing only a certain part of the template, for example, the main content area, the widget area, or the area around and above the content area. So, ultimately it helps you to focus and work on a particular part of the template area such as a header or any other part.
To access this feature, when one goes to the Template Part Toolbar and clicks on the Ellipsis menu, the isolated template part editing is then accessible to the developers or users.
Many more changes for the editing of the Template part is coming soon with their series of updates and releases.
- Query Pagination uses Flex layout
The release of Gutenberg 11.6 has come up with the support for the Query Pagination block. Now it supports the flex layout accompanied with an option of justification for the best fit by default or automatic best fit.
- Bug Fixing gets easier
With the introduction of new tools, the bug fixing got easier,
Block Editor
- Fix save-state indicator appearance. (34947)
- Copy Handler: Only handle paste events once. (34430)
- Rich Text: Fix arrow navigation with consecutive formats. (35014)
- Fix bugs in the receive Blocks action resulting in a broken block list. (35076)
- Media Replace Flow: Avoid React warning when selecting media. (34618)
- Remove .has-link-color class upon clearing the link color. (34700)
- Rich Text: Also strip object replacement character when removing padding. (34851)
- Writing flow: Fix focus trap on non-text input types. (32714)
Template Editor
- Fixes left & right floats for blocks that are direct children of .wp-site-blocks. (34635)
- Fix new template form on Submit logic. (34988)
Block Library
- MediaPlaceholder: Fix the media library button opening the file upload modal. (34894)
- Page List Block: Fix gap in vertical page list. (35026)
- HTML block: Prevent external styling of editing UI. (34727)
- QueryPagination: Fix layout support. (34897)
- Query Pagination: Fix center alignment. (34739)
- Group block: Lower CSS specificity of padding declaration. (34854)
Global Styles
- Fix dimensions panel default controls display. (34828)
- Clean theme data when switching themes in the customizer. (34540)
- Cache global stylesheet keyed by theme. (34704)
- Fix for link color in containers. (34689)
Components
- Font Appearance Control: Fix selected Item downshift uncontrolled prop warning. (34721)
- Tools Panel: Remove / re-register panel items if the panel changes. (34726)
- Unit Control: Always display current unit value if valid. (34768)
- Fix Dropdown/Drop down Menu toggle closing in all UAs. (31170)
- Tools Panel: Allow Slot Fill injection of panel items. (34632)
- Toggle Group Control: Fix update when unmounted. (34756)
8)Introduction of New APIs
Design Tools
Inspector Controls: Wrap block support slots in Tools Panel. (34157)
Performance
List View: Try disabling the async mode provider around the selected block in ListView. (34519)
Block API
Introduce lock control at the block-type level. (32457)
Accessibility
Improve file block accessibility by adding aria-described by to download button. (28062)
Button Block: Add prefix to the description ID. (34900)
Snack bar: Fix focus loss on dismiss. (34736)
CONCLUSION:
The above points show how the latest version of WordPress which is Gutenberg 11.6 has transformed the work of the developers and the publishers and made it easier for them to work upon it. These features ultimately will result in the creation of some amazing websites, the editing gets so easy that it saves a lot of time as well as effort. Overall, this new version aimed to increase the performance benchmark of the websites developed on WordPress.