WordPress is continuing its ascension to greatness, and it’s time to meet the next step in evolution. The 6.4 version is due for release on November 7th, promising to enhance many aspects of the builder. This is the third major release of the year. The aim is to create one genuinely astounding website-building platform. This is still a work in progress, but we like where WordPress is heading. Let’s look closely at some of the most interesting new features of WordPress everyone will enjoy after November 7th.

Twenty Twenty-Four Theme

Probably the most anticipated feature of v.6.4 is the new default theme – Twenty Twenty-Four. This entry is not really a surprise. WP has made it customary to offer a new complimentary theme each year. Typically, it is released with the final major update of the year, meaning that at least until January, we can’t expect the guys and girls at WordPress to provide us with any new significant updates.

Interestingly, unlike its predecessor, Twenty Twenty-Four has one truly minimalistic layout out of the box. The sleek and clean design is not to be underestimated, though. Beneath its rather dullish exterior lies a theme brimming with potential.

As one would expect, the new theme offers seamless integration with the Site Editor, making it the easiest choice for novice website owners. On this end, the theme offers six distinct styles, allowing for effortless customization of a website.

Furthermore, Twenty Twenty-Four includes dozens of WP block patterns, making the customization process even simpler. Among these block patterns are several section patterns, enabling users to quickly insert entire sections into their pages or templates, streamlining the web development process.

The theme has four distinct fonts, which enhance the website’s overall aesthetic. Naturally, this allows users to build truly unique pages. Thus, you can create recognizable brands without the need to spend additional money on fonts and typography. This is something that will go great with the new Font Library, which the 6.4 version has installed.

When push comes to shove, Twenty Twenty-Four is built for small business owners who want to get into business on a scarce budget and without the help of designers and programmers. Still, the theme is excellent even for larger companies, as it offers ample features to accommodate everyone.

The Twenty Twenty-Four, however, is only the beginning.

Improved Site Editor

Just like with the previous version, in 6.4, WordPress once again did a significant jump in their Site Editor upgrade. The ability to modify navigation on the run is outstanding, but it pales compared to the additional templates and patterns. Of course, there is much more to that. So, let’s have a look at the biggest changes in the WordPress 6.4 Site Editor.

Manage Fonts Across Your Website with Font Library

We already mentioned the new Font Library feature, but it’s too good to just leave it at that. As you can probably guess, this feature will empower users to deal with their fonts right from the WordPress theme. All you need to do is go to the style panel in the site editor and click on Typography. There, you will find the Library, where you can add or remove fonts. You can even upload fonts directly from your computer, giving you the opportunity to bring in your own typography on the screen.

Through the Library, you will also be able to download and install Google Fonts.

Improved pattern management

Patterns, which allow for reusing elements such as headers, footers, and testimonials, have been enhanced to provide greater site design flexibility.

One significant improvement is the ability to categorize patterns into groups, such as “Hero Sections,” “Callouts,” or “Navigation.” This categorization feature simplifies the pattern management process and boosts workflow efficiency. Users can now easily organize and access patterns according to their custom categories, saving valuable time and expediting the design process.

Moreover, the pattern creation modal maintains consistency across the WordPress platform, ensuring a unified and user-friendly experience. This improvement will undoubtedly enhance the creative process for site building and design, enabling users to tailor their pattern workflow to their specific needs and preferences.

Enlarge Images with Lightbox Popup

This one may be a minor upgrade for most website users, but for photographers and others working predominantly with images, the lightbox popup upgrade is a must. In WordPress 6.4, you can finally enable your pictures to pop up and enlarge when clicked on. The best part – you can do it with a single click from the site editor. After adding an image, just activate the Expand on Click option under block settings. This way, whenever a user clicks on the image, they will see it bigger in a popup window box.

This is great for artists trying to sell their images. Even retailers can highlight their products in this fashion.

This function is still very basic, though. So, if you have an entire gallery of images, you will have to set it up for each image individually. But still, we expect WordPress to resolve this issue in the future.

Improved Command Palette

After WordPress 6.3 introduced the command palette tool, the new version of the builder made a significant improvement. Essentially, the Command Palette is a search tool which allows users to give commands with a quick CTRL+K shortcut combination.

The first thing you will notice is the design. In v.6.4, it is much more stylish, making the elements more visible. Furthermore, the library features several new commands. Now, you can duplicate, delete, insert or transform blocks directly from the command palette. This will mainstream the design work, as you can select multiple blocks and work on them at the same time.

There are other small enhancements as well, but let’s skip them in favor of the big guns – the blocks.

Block editor enhancements

The Block editor has always been a focus of WordPress design enhancements. This is the cornerstone behind their builder, so it makes sense that some of the most significant changes from version to version will be precisely here. This release focuses predominantly on improving upon existing site and block editor features. However, there are some notable new entries as well.

Block Hooks

The new Block Hooks is, without a doubt, the thing all developers are waiting for with anticipation. This exciting feature will revolutionize the way plugins interact with the block editor, offering a new level of flexibility and convenience for users.

Block Hooks, aptly named after the hooks used in the WordPress core, will empower plugin developers to integrate their creations into the block editor seamlessly. This means that plugins can automatically add blocks upon activation, streamlining the user experience.

The core principles guiding Block Hooks functionality are clear. First, users shouldn’t be burdened with manual block insertion. Instead, blocks will be automatically placed in specific positions when certain conditions are met. Second, the user’s control over these automatically inserted blocks is paramount. This ensures they can easily manage, customize, or remove them as needed.

Block Hooks come with some important limitations. They work exclusively with unmodified templates, template parts, and patterns provided by themes or the Pattern Directory. They won’t function with post content, modified templates, template parts, or user-generated patterns. Additionally, Block Hooks are designed to work with dynamic blocks, not static blocks, so it’s important to understand the distinction between these two block types.

To learn how to implement Block Hooks, check out the instructions here

Background images for group block

WordPress continues to improve on small things as well. For example, in the 6.3 version, WP enabled users to select background and text colors for entire block groups. With 6.4, you can now set a background image as well. This will help immensely with your visual hierarchy and content highlighting.

Improved parent/ child blocks toolbar

Another small but convenient upgrade is the enhanced toolbar for parent/child blocks. In the last version, the toolbar kept moving and switching between the parent and the child whenever you were working on them. It depends on your mouse positioning. Naturally, this was not very user-friendly. Thus, with WP 6.4, the toolbar will automatically attach the child toolbar to the parent one. This will create a consistent user experience.

User Experience Enhancements

All upgrades listed so far were predominantly targeted at a better user experience. The User interface is definitely one of the highlights in this edition of the builder. Here are some of our favorite enhancements.

Theme Preview

Though listed as a minor improvement, the Theme preview is one of the highlights, in our humble opinion. By now, you had to activate the WordPress theme to see what it would look like on your website with your content. Now, you can do that by the Live Preview without activating the theme.

So, you have the ability to check out how your website will look like, and activate the theme only if you are interested.

Improved list view

In WordPress 6.4, the List View feature in the site/block editor is significantly upgraded, enhancing the usability and convenience of managing page or post layouts. The List View has always been a valuable tool, allowing users to navigate and perform various actions on blocks, groups, and patterns, particularly beneficial when dealing with intricate nested block structures.

The improvements introduced in WordPress 6.4 take this functionality to the next level. Users can now rename Group blocks directly within the List View, making it easier to understand the purpose of each Group and improving overall layout readability. Furthermore, the ListView will display previews for images and gallery blocks, eliminating the need to click and select a block to identify its content.

These enhancements make the List View a more robust and user-friendly tool, streamlining the editing process and simplifying the management of complex page and post layouts. WordPress 6.4’s List View improvements offer a more efficient and visually intuitive way to work with your content, enhancing the overall editing experience.

Style Revisions

The Style revision is another long-awaited feature that we’re happy to see in this version of WordPress. Revisions in WordPress 6.4 can be accessed by selecting the black WordPress icon at the top left of the Site Editor. At the bottom of the left pane, users will find a blue “Revisions” or “Review X change(s)…” button.

When you click on this button, a popup will appear, displaying recent changes and giving you the option to save them. This feature provides users with the ability to review and track changes made to their website, ensuring that no modifications are irreversible.

Other Improvements in WordPress 6.4

WordPress 6.4 brings not only visible enhancements but also significant under-the-hood changes for developers. Among the noteworthy improvements are the deprecation of the TEMPLATEPATH and STYLESHEETPATH constants, offering a more modern approach to theme development.

Another developer-friendly addition is introducing a framework for adding revisions for post meta, providing a more robust version control system for metadata associated with posts.

Furthermore, theme developers are now empowered to configure their own default minimum and maximum viewport widths, enhancing flexibility in calculating fluid font sizes.

Smaller but equally important improvements in WordPress 6.4 include over 170 performance updates, contributing to improved page load times. The addition of block hooks enhances developer capabilities, while over 50 accessibility improvements, including better labeling and navigation, cater to users with diverse needs. New blocks like Footnotes and Details expand content creation options, and the built-in lightbox feature enables users to add image lightbox effects without needing a separate plugin.

What do you need to try it?

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