WordPress 5.5 new features: What to expect?

WordPress 5.5 release date is around the corner. It is scheduled on 11th August 2020.

This is going to be the second major release from WordPress this year.  As the days are passing the eagerness to know what’s new with the WordPress 5.5 version is also increasing among the WordPress users.

This is quite obvious that the new release will bring with it a lot of new and innovative features and improvements as WordPress always does so. But what to expect exactly is a question for which everyone is searching for an answer.

In this article, we have listed some of the major features that the WordPress 5.5 release will bring along. If you are counting days with an impatient mind, this is for you. As we all know,  every release stuns the users with an end number of new features, to know all that is coming up prior to the release is impossible. But this article will give some relief to your thirsty eyes. 

What is WordPress? 

WordPress is the most widely used content management system in the world. It is the most popular open-source platform for creating blogs and developing dynamic websites. Ever since its release in 2003, it has been a fast-growing web publishing platform. Today it occupies 35% of the total internet space of the world. It is beginner-friendly and easy to use. Any layman can create a  website with WordPress playing with its self-explanatory features. No technical skill required for this. Another important feature is, it is available in both free and premium versions. The beginners can start with the free version initially and then upgrade to the premium ones for better functionalities if they wish to.      

What makes each WordPress release Special? 

One of the most interesting facts about WordPress is that makes it a popular choice among bloggers is that it keeps updating itself. It helps them to keep pace with the time easily. Every release of  WordPress comes with tons of new features. Every time with the announcement of an upcoming resale people keep waiting for the release to get a glimpse of the unveiling of the new updated features.

WordPress 5 revolutionised the content creation process completely with the new Gutenberg block editor. Its user-friendly drag and drop interface turned many non-technical persons into bloggers overnight. Now, it has started working as a substitute for a page builder. There is no need to go for a page builder plugin now unless you want to create a complex page layout like that of a website landing page.  

Now the time has come for the release of WordPress 5.5.  As it happens with every wordpress release, the entire WordPress community or any person who works with WordPress is looking forward to knowing about the new features that the new version will come bundled with.  

Here are some of the major features that WordPress 5.5 will have

Block editor features 

Block editor is the most important feature of WordPress 5. After its launch as the default editor of WordPress, every new version of WordPress has made some new additions to this. WordPress 5.5 is also not an exception. The major features that it has added to the block editor can be categorized under the following heads .

New block directory 

The new block directory that WordPress 5.5 will offer you is actually a set of WordPress auto-updated plugins that will add blocks to the block editor. Hundreds of new blocks with new styles will accompany the new version. 

The new block directory will also work as an inbuilt block search tool. It will allow you to install or insert third party blocks from the editor. You just have to search for the name of the block that you want to add. The discovery feature will find it from the block listing. 

Apart from the facts mentioned earlier, the new editor will let you add backgrounds and gradients to many more types of blocks. For example, media, texts, columns and groups. 

New Block Patterns 

There will be many new block patterns to make complex professional pages. The upcoming blocks with their user-friendly settings will help you to quickly drag and drop them to the area where you want to use them in order to create a stunning layout. 

UI Improvements 

UI improvement is one of the most talked-about features of WordPress 5.5. You will now be able to see borders around buttons and toolbars, new icons and also focus highlighting feature as you move across the blogs while writing. 

Other than these, many new features will be added like pattern search and pattern categories.  The look of the (+) button to add new blocks also will be changed. Now it has become more noticeable.   

Inline Image Editing

The new inline image editing feature will allow you to crop, rotate and zoom images directly from the image block. Now you need to open the image in the media library for editing. The new version will completely do away with this need.  

Streamlined block navigation and movements 

It will now be much easier to move the blocks inside and around the content editor. All you have to do is simply click on the block handle and drag it up or down to take it to the area where you want to place it. You will be able to see and grab the block movers. 

Another important improvement is to find and select the parent block in the nested blocks like the columns and the group blocks. 

Other than the above mentioned features there will be many more like – 

• The device preview feature will let you see how your pages will look on different devices and screen sizes. 
• The multi-select formatting will allow you to change or edit multiple blocks at a time 
• The expanded design toolset for themes will allow you to customize your themes the way you want. 
• The new version of WordPress will support more types of measurements. You will be able to choose ems, rems, per cent graph and more. 

Auto-updates for plugins and themes 

WordPress has an advanced updates management system. It is currently available to WordPress CMS core only. For better security and to prevent site hacks,  in the new version, WordPress the automatic updates functionality will be extended to themes and plugins. 

With the new  5.5 version, you will enable WordPress automatic update features for plugins and themes via the admin dashboard. All you have to do is, simply to go to the themes or plugins pages and click on the “Enable Auto Updated” button next to the theme or plugin you want to be updated automatically. 

Lazy load enabled 

In WordPress 5.5, images wait to load until they’re just about to scroll into view. The technical term is ‘lazy loading.’

Images take longer time to load than texts. It increases the loading speed of your site. Lazy loading feature will fix this issue. It makes sure that an image loads only when a visitor scrolls down to that specific image. It saves bandwidth and helps users who have a slow internet speed to browse the web. 

XML Sitemaps 

XML sitemaps will be enabled by default in the new version of WordPress. It will make the following types of contents indexable – 

• Home page
• Core post types 
• Custom post types 
• Core taxonomies 
• Custom taxonomies 
• Users posts

Better accessibility features 

WordPress always improves accessibility features with all new versions. Here is a list of accessibility improvements – 

• The new list tables will come with extensive and alternative view modes
• You will be able to convert the link list widgets to HTML5 negation blocks
• You will now be able to copy links in media screens and modal dialogues with simply clicking a button 
• The disabled buttons will look disabled now 
• Meta boxes can now be moved directly from the keyboard 
• A custom logo on the front page will no longer link to the front page 
• All the assistive devices will now be able to see status messages in the image editor  

There will be many miscellaneous changes Other than the above-mentioned ones

• Now you will be able to update themes or plugins by uploading a ZIP file 
• More control of redirect _guess_404_permalink()
• Many packaged external libraries are updated. It includes PHP mailer, Simple Pie, Twemoji, Masonry and many more.

Conclusion

Every release of WordPress brings with it a lot of surprises. What we have listed in this article is merely the tip of the iceberg. Pandora’s box will open only on the release date. There are new rays of hopes everywhere. WordPress always adds smiles to the faces of its users whenever it launches a new version. So, with eagerness keep waiting till the big day. Let’s all get prepared together for a new beginning.  

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