Edit: For information on the latest WordPress release, 6.9, head to our post on it here.
WordPress 6.3, named Lionel, is here at last.
Described by the WordPress team as a monumental release.
So let’s review some of the key additions. This is by no means an exhaustive deep dive. Just a quick look at some of the major changes of interest.
Performance Improvements
At Impact, we’re performance fiends. We’re always focused on finding ways to improve the speed and user experience of the websites we build and support. So performance improvements to WordPress Core are always a welcome addition.
The creation of the WordPress Performance Team seems to be paying dividends. Building on the improvements introduced in 6.2, this release brings another batch with it.
Developers and SEOs alike will be overjoyed to hear that 6.3 comes with several improvements that should help with LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) performance. This is both for classic and block-based themes.
LCP is the Core Web Vitals metric that website owners seem to struggle to improve adequately the most. Whilst these improvements are unlikely to turn a poor score into a good score, every little gain helps.
Management Updates
6.3 introduces the ability to revert to previously installed versions for plugins and themes, when manual updates fail.
This version will also drop support for PHP 5. Making 7 the absolute minimum version supported.
Usability & Accessibility
Usability and accessibility are one and the same. Usability should encompass all users, regardless of whether they have a disability or not.
So it is great to see that the new release comes with more than 50 accessibility improvements!
Whilst people often think about accessibility in terms of how the front end of a website is designed, it’s important to remember the usability and accessibility for those using the site on the backend.
Creating websites that are easy to use for those adding content day in and day out, is a big passion of ours.
Site Editing & Blocks
Improvement to the site editing experience continues with the addition of:
- Command palette – a new feature you can learn more about here.
- Browse, edit, draft and publish pages within the site editor.
- View and edit all navigation menus within the sidebar.
- Theme style variations and style books are available within the editor.
- Enhancements to templates.
- Smoother resizing to see responsive views.
- New and evolved menu items.
- Style revisions timeline.
- Ability to specify aspect ratios.
You can watch the product demo from the WordPress team here:
For our clients, your websites will be updated to 6.3 shortly, after full testing on the staging version of your website, to ensure there are no issues or conflicts.
If you’d like to learn more about our WordPress & WooCommerce Support & Maintenance plans, drop us an email or give James a call.
Our plans provide a holistic solution to your website’s performance, reliability and security, and are inclusive of premium tools and services.
