WordPress 6.3: Best New Features with The Latest Version

WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) used by millions of bloggers, influencers, and entrepreneurs to manage and maintain their online presence. The interface is pretty beginner-friendly. Thus, it is loved by many people.

Recently, WordPress 6.3, the latest version, was released. WordPress 6.3 was labeled as Lionel after the American Jazz vibraphonist, pianist, and percussionist Lionel Hampton. The update was released on August 8, 2023.

The WordPress newest version came with proficient performance improvements and developers-focused updates. WordPress 6.3 offers new possibilities for the creative expression of designers, creators, website maintenance, and builders. Powerful tools, navigation, and refined controls give users confidence and allow them to manage their sites easily.

Best New Features of WordPress 6.3

Here’s a descriptive explanation of the latest WordPress version.

User Interface:

With each new version of WordPress since Gutenberg’s launch in 5. 0, the user interface keeps getting better. This update includes new features that will make your work faster and allow you to achieve the desired visual result.

Performance Boost:

The latest version, WordPress 6.3, has more than 170+ performance updates, which include defer and async support for the Scripts API and fetch-priority support for images. These improvements can dramatically improve your website’s perceived load time.

Eliminated PHP 5:

In the latest update, WordPress has eliminated support for PHP 5 and raised its standard to support at least PHP 7.0.0. It is suggested to use PHP version 7.4 or higher for optimal performance.

(Note: Websites that run on PHP and WordPress 6.2 will continue getting security updates.)

Command Palette:

WordPress 6.3 has introduced a new feature called Command Palette. This exciting new feature brings enhanced navigation capabilities for WordPress users. The Command Palette feature allows you to access specific pages, templates, or template parts swiftly and even begin creating fresh content using the site editor.

Operating the Command Palette is pretty simple. Here’s how to operate the command palette in macOS and Windows:

In the editor, press Cmd-k (macOS) or Ctrl-k (Windows), and you can start typing to receive a context-aware selection of commands and shortcuts.

This streamlined functionality makes it easier to accomplish tasks efficiently and intuitively.

Site Editor:

WordPress 6.3 brought everything (content, patterns, and templates) together in the Site Editor for the first time. Let’s delve into everything the site editor has to offer.

Page Management

The site editor has undergone exciting and innovative improvements, presenting site developers with enhanced tools and functionalities.

Block Theme Preview

With the block theme preview feature, WordPress 6.3 allows you to preview locally installed themes more efficiently. The power of the block theme preview feature can be experienced by following these easy steps:

Style Revisions

You can now keep track of the changes in the style revisions feature. It has a new audit trail with which you can now see how your site looked at a specific time. All the revisions can be accessed and visualized within a timeline with a one-click option to restore prior styles or changes.

Furthermore, you can now access the Styles from the Side Editor’s main options and the Style Book. This will improve the time you spend configuring your site.

Distraction-free Mode

The improved Distraction-Free mode in WordPress 6.3 was only available for the post and page editor but now can also be used in the site editor. This amazing feature lets website creators see exactly how their site will look when it’s live. It helps you concentrate on your content without any interruptions.

Synced Patterns

Block Patterns have made achieving your desired appearance and arrangement much easier. The new “Curated” filter in the pattern directory helps users tell the difference between patterns that come with the main software and patterns created by the community. You can try out the new block patterns in WordPress 6. 3

Synched Patterns, which used to be called Reusable Blocks, now allow you to make and save your favorite patterns easily. You can use these patterns in a synchronized or unsynchronized way, which helps make your project design more efficient. This helpful feature lets you quickly and easily design your projects by accessing your saved patterns in the Custom Patterns section.

Details Block

Try out the new Details block in WordPress and see its powerful features. This block can hide different kinds of content, like long text, code samples, or spoilers, and make them visible when needed. The Details block has two parts inside: Details Summary and Details Content. The Summary block stays on the screen, but readers can collapse or expand the Content block. This gives them the power to decide what they want to see.

Footnotes:

The new Footnotes block for WordPress is a useful tool that makes adding and styling footnotes easier, allowing users to provide helpful notes in content. Although it is not a block that can be placed inside another block in the usual way, making Footnotes work is very easy.

To create a footnote, choose and select the text you want within any section or paragraph.

Right-click on the highlighted text to open the context menu. Then, go to the “More” option and select “Footnote” to activate the Footnotes block.

Image Aspect Ratios:

The improved Image Block has an easy-to-use new feature that makes it simpler. Before the update, if you wanted to replace an image with another, both images had to be the same size. This was difficult for users.

However, the new Image Aspect Ratio section completely solves this problem. Now, with WordPress 6.3, you can control the size of your image with the Image Size Controller. You can adjust the image’s aspect ratio, scale, width, and height.

Accessibility:

The improved arrow-key navigation, labeling, optimized tab, revised heading hierarchy, and new controls in the admin image editor make WordPress 6.3 highly accessible. It has incorporated over 50 accessibility improvements across the platform, allowing site developers to proceed with their tasks smoothly.

Rollback for plugin and theme updates:

The rollback feature automatically restores the previously installed version to ensure the website remains available to its users upon the failure of a manual plugin or theme update. The Rollback feature uses move_dir() to move files instead of zipping/unzipping them. This helps to use fewer resources and reduces the chances of something going wrong, especially on shared hosting platforms. During updates, temporary backups are saved in a folder called “upgrade-temp-backup.”

Also, there are now two new checks on the Site Health screen to ensure that the folders used for backups can be written to and that the computer has enough space to update safely.

Top Toolbar:

A new and improved Top Toolbar now allows you to select specific blocks within other blocks and has added features for selecting multiple blocks simultaneously. Additionally, a new interface embedded in the title bar offers new functions for easier use.

Development Mode:
WordPress 6.3 presents “development mode,” a highlight that permits engineers to indicate the reason for their site’s improvement. By characterizing the WP_DEVELOPMENT_MODE consistently, designers can show whether their essential center is on center advancement, plugin improvement, subject improvement, or a combination of all three perspectives.

After you need more granularity or specificity, development mode may be a superior choice compared to WP_DEBUG and WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE. It is especially profitable for locales with WP_DEBUG enabled and WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE set to “advancement” or “nearby.”

Development mode encompasses a particular effect on certain ranges inside WordPress 6.3. One such zone is theme.json caching. In most cases, caching this information is solid, but amid dynamic subject advancement, nonstop alterations to theme.json can be awkward if cache negation needs manual mediation. To address this, the subject development mode bypasses theme.json caching, streamlining the development process.

Conclusion:

There is no doubt that WordPress 6.3 will take your site’s WordPress development game to a different level. With tremendous improvements and updates, this content management system (CMS) is the tool many tech-nerds were waiting for.

Suppose you have a business or a passion for becoming an influencer or starting a simple blog for personal branding but struggle to operate WordPress 6.3. In that case, you can seek help from WordPress development services companies. You can hire a WordPress developer from a freelancing website who can help you as they have expertise in that area.

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