Discover what's new in WordPress 6.6

WordPress 6.6 has landed! It brings a suite of updates designed to enrich your site's functionality and aesthetic appeal. At WHC, we're committed to helping you succeed online, and we’re excited to dive into the details of this update. Let’s explore how these new features can transform the way you create and manage your website.

• What’s new with WordPress 6.6?
• Exploring the Standout Features of WordPress 6.6
  • Introducing the New Grid Block
  • Enhanced Color and Typography Customization
  • Quick Previews for Pages
  • Rollbacks for Plugin Auto-Updates
  • Major Performance Enhancements
  • Accessibility Improvements
• Upgrading to WordPress 6.6

What’s New in WordPress 6.6?

WordPress 6.6 introduces enhancements that promise to streamline your web design and management experience even further. Whether you're a novice building your first website or a seasoned developer, WordPress 6.6 is designed to make your workflow more efficient and intuitive.

Exploring the Standout Features of WordPress 6.6

Introducing the New Grid Block

Elevate your site's layout with WordPress 6.6's new Grid block. This feature allows you to display any blocks in a well-organized grid layout, providing enhanced control over columns and styling for both the grid and individual items. Adjust the minimum column width and set the grid layout to 'Manual' to drag items across columns for custom designs, ensuring your layouts remain beautiful across all devices.

Enhanced Color and Typography Customization

WordPress 6.6 enhances block themes by allowing theme authors to create unlimited color and font sets. This addition offers more precise design options within the same theme, allowing for deeper customization of color and typography without altering the site's broader styling. These sets open up new possibilities for unique and personalized website appearances.

Quick Previews for Pages

Optimize your editing workflow with WordPress 6.6’s improved layout for managing pages. The new side-by-side layout in the Site Editor allows you to view all your pages and preview any selected page before editing, simplifying the process and saving you time.

Rollbacks for Plugin Auto-Updates

Experience worry-free plugin updates with the new automatic rollback feature for plugin auto-updates in WordPress 6.6. If an update causes issues, WordPress will automatically revert to the previous stable version of the plugin, enhancing your site's stability and security while minimizing potential downtime.

Major Performance Enhancements

WordPress 6.6 brings significant performance improvements, including a 33% reduction in template loading time in the editor, removal of redundant WP_Theme_JSON calls, and optimizations such as disabling autoload for large options, eliminating unnecessary polyfill dependencies, and introducing lazy loading for post embeds. These updates contribute to a faster, more responsive site editing experience.

Accessibility Improvements

With over 55 accessibility fixes and enhancements, WordPress 6.6 focuses on improving foundational elements of the user experience, particularly in new site editing features and crucial interaction areas like the Inserter. These updates ensure a more accessible and inclusive environment for all users.
Want to learn more? Check out the official 6.6 release notes for additional info about this release.

Upgrading to WordPress 6.6

WordPress 6.6 is now available on our Web Hosting and Managed WordPress plans. If you have a complex site, it's best to test the new version on a staging site first. This approach ensures that your live site remains unaffected until you confirm the new version's stability and compatibility with your setup.

WordPress 6.6 is an opportunity to leverage new functionalities and design enhancements to make your website more robust, attractive, and user-friendly. For any questions or assistance with updating to WordPress 6.6, our WHC support team is here to help you maximize these exciting new features.

Looking Forward

As you prepare to upgrade, remember that staying updated with WordPress not only enhances your site's capabilities but also its security. Get ready to explore all that WordPress 6.6 has to offer and stay tuned for future updates as we continue to help you excel in the digital space.