The first major release of 2023 is coming – WordPress 6.2 is officially released on March 29 after a 24-hour delay, so we prepared this article to let you know all about the updates and changes in this version.
Less than five months after the release of WordPress 6.1 “Misha”, the WP community is excited to try out the new changes in this version.
This time around, the WordPress release is named “Dolphy” after American jazz musician Eric Allan Dolphy Jr.
WordPress 6.2: Main Improvements
- Distraction-Free Mode For Writing
- Enhanced Pattern Insertion
- Individual Sub-Panels For Styles and Block Settings
- Option to Import Classic Widgets in Block Themes
- Ability to Copy-Paste Block Styles
- Introducing the Style Book
- Improved Navigation Menus
- Add Custom CSS to Theme or Blocks
- Better Site Editor Template Editing
1. Distraction-Free Mode For Writing
WordPress has always tried to provide a free of distractions mode for writing and publishing, or basically a mode where the toolbars and formatting tools are hidden. The 6.2 version of WordPress introduces the new distraction-free writing mode.
2. Enhanced Pattern Insertion
From now on, WordPress users will be able to take advantage of the new and improved pattern insertion panel. It will display the categories first, and two new categories of patterns will be added in the Header and Footer sections.
What’s more, clicking on a category will showcase the available patterns you can use.
3. Individual Sub-Panels For Styles and Block Settings
The new WordPress comes with an editor that will show two sub-panels for each block – one for block settings, and the other for the styles.
The idea is to help users understand where they have to look to change the appearance of a block.
4. Option to Import Classic Widgets in Block Themes
Unfortunately, those using classic widgets lost them, when they switched to a block theme. Luckily, though, they will now be able to import them by converting their classic widgets to special template parts.
All you need to do is enter the site editor, and then edit the template where you want to import the widget. Then, create a new template by clicking on the Add New Block button (+).
5. Ability to Copy-Paste Block Styles
How convenient! Editing appearances and block styles will now be much easier, due to the option to copy and paste block styles.
Note that your browser will ask for permission to allow your website to view the contents of the clipboard, so you must click on “Allow” to enable this option.
6. Introducing the Style Book
With the new version of WordPress, users will be able to quickly choose styles from the style book option. This will display all the blocks, and how they are styled in the theme you’ve selected.
This will make the process of finding the right block much faster, and you can edit it directly, not to mention customizing the appearance and style, according to your preferences.
7. Improved Navigation Menus
Including navigation menus in the site editor has been an issue for users for a long time. Not anymore. WordPress 6.2 resolves this problem by improving the way menus are created and managed in the full site editor.
For example, users will now be able to add, remove, and edit menus in a subpanel under the navigation menu.
8. Add Custom CSS to Theme or Blocks
It’s now easier than ever to add custom CSS to your themes. Simply switch to the Styles panel, and select the Custom CSS option from the menu.
Additionally, users can decide to apply their custom CSS to the entire theme. Alternatively, you can add custom CSS to individual blocks. Just go to the Style panel and select the Blocks menu.
Choose from a list of blocks. Then, under the Block Styles, click on the additional CSS tab.
9. Better Site Editor Template Editing
Up until now, the site editor automatically loaded the home template of your theme. This, however, turned out to be quite confusing, especially for beginners, so now the site editor will load a template preview window first.
So, you can browse through the different templates, and just click on the Edit button once you’ve selected a template you want to start working on.
Once you are done, just click on the Save button, and your changes will be live.
Other Changes
The new WordPress release also comes with a few minor changes, here’s the deal:
- Openverse (Add Free Images). Users will now have the option to add royalty-free images, using the Openverse integration. Simply go to Add new panel → Openverse.
- New Icon For the Settings Panel. The icon for the settings panel was previously a gear, and will now be shown as a panels icon.
- Download Media Files. The new option to directly download files from the media section will definitely make it much easier and faster for users to quickly download the files they want.
Additionally, the WordPress 6.2 Beta comes with 292 enhancements, 354 bug fixes for the editor, and over 195 tickets for the WP 6.2 core.
Summary
WordPress 6.2 is the first major release of 2023, and as such brings a lot of improvements to the table. Distraction-free writing mode, enhanced navigation menus, and pattern insertion… all that and much more.
We would like to give props to our back-end developers – Neycho Kalaydzhiev, and Aleks Ganev for being among the contributors to WordPress 6.2 – great job guys!
What do you think about the new version of WordPress? Let us know in the comments.
And remember that you can always share your website project with us, we’d be glad to help.
Team DevriX
This article is crafted by DevriX's seasoned marketing team, boasting over four decades of collective expertise in crafting sophisticated marketing funnels, devising comprehensive content frameworks and pillars, implementing engaging email campaigns, and creating impactful social media content designed for scalability.
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