Since March 31, 2020, the WordPress engine has been updated to version 5.4. The new release is called Adderley, named after the American saxophonist Julian Edwin “Cannonball” Adderley. The tradition of naming each version after a jazz musician has been a standard practice since the beginning, introduced by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg – a great fan of this genre of music.
What new features can we expect in the 5.4 update? Here are some of the most important changes!
WordPress 5.4 – innovations in Gutenberg
The most significant, and certainly the most noticeable, changes have been introduced in the visual editing capabilities. The creators of version 5.4 have placed a special emphasis on improving the Gutenberg block editor this time. Since its introduction as the default WordPress editor, there have been as many opinions about it as there are users. However, the fact is that continuously developing Gutenberg is now a much more interesting, functional, and, above all, modern tool that offers users new options previously unavailable. What are they?
First, the interface has become more intuitive to navigate. This applies to both the components of the tabs and the blocks in the status bar. Keyboard navigation has also been improved, mainly by simplifying work using the “tab” key. Upon launch, users are now greeted with an optional Guide, replacing the previous, often annoying tips and hints that popped up during work. Most importantly, calculations indicate a 14% improvement in the loading speed of the editor itself!
What’s new in blocks?
- Paragraph block now allows users to highlight any selected portion of text with a color;
- Gallery block has gained a highly useful option for managing image sizes;
- Columns and group blocks now offer the ability to set custom colors for both the background and text;
- Cover block has been enhanced with a gradient background option, whether using colors or an image as the background;
- Latest posts block now includes an option to display featured images;
- Button block has been improved so that multiple buttons can be added in a single row, and each button can have a different gradient (previously, only solid colors were available);
- Table block now allows for adding captions;
- Media & text block on mobile displays the image first, followed by the text underneath;
- The Adderley version also introduces a completely new block – Social Icons, making it incredibly easy to add interactive features.
WordPress Gutenberg editor – what is it and is it worth using?
Other changes in WordPress 5.4
In addition to the most visible changes, other modifications have also been introduced. While they may not be as spectacular, they are still very important, particularly from a security standpoint. A simple example is improved compliance with user data access settings and enhanced privacy management tools.
Another key improvement includes new functions for developers – such as two new actions that allow adding custom fields to menu items. And all this without the need for writing scripts or adding plugins.
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