WordPress 5.0 released: what’s new in the long-expected version
Greetings WordPress website owners! We have important news for you today. You probably know that keeping your site updated is vital to WordPress maintenance.
We have already described in detail why your website needs the latest version of WordPress. And now the latest and biggest WordPress version is here — WordPress 5.0 "Bebo" is released! See what’s new in the most eagerly awaited WordPress version, what you need to do about it, and how we can help you.
WordPress 5.0 released: see the “new arrivals”!
The updates in WordPress 5.0 are significant. Let’s begin by getting acquainted with them.
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Gutenberg as the new WordPress WYSIWYG editor
The arrival of the Gutenberg editor has shaken up more than just the WordPress world. Even WordPress’s famous competing CMS, Drupal, decided to adopt the Gutenberg as an option — in the form of an add-on module. In WordPress 5, however, Gutenberg is in the core to replace the traditional TinyMCE editor.
So what is so special about Gutenberg? It is a React-based JavaScript plugin that gives content editors incredible powers. They can create rich pages and posts, and add elements to them that used to only be available to front-end developers.
Everything works in a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface. It has both the visual editor and the code editor mode.
Elements are added as blocks to the page or post. Each of them can have its own settings — like the text and background colors, text size, and so on. Here are some of these elements:
- Paragraphs
- Headings
- Images
- Columns
- Image galleries
- Tables
- Audios
- Buttons
- Lists
- Quotes
- Verses
- Social media embeds
and many more.
The brand-new editor is being polished all the time. Due to numerous issues, it has raised controversial feedback among experts. However, this modern and cool editor is already in the core — so let’s enjoy what it offers!
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New pre-installed Twenty Nineteen theme
Another thing that is immediately noticeable is a new and improved theme for WordPress websites. It is compatible with the previously described Gutenberg editor.
The theme is very lightweight and minimalistic. It is mobile responsive, which means that all its elements will alter to fit the screens of any devices. The new theme is also very customizable, so it can be changed to meet any customer’s wishes.
The WordPress team has now forgotten about the previous themes. All themes from Twenty Seventeen down to Twenty Ten will be improved for Gutenberg compatibility.
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New built-in front-end editor
WordPress always offered various front-end editors to let you edit your posts directly on the page. Visual Composer has always been the most popular among them. However, WordPress 5.0 core now has a built-in front-end editor that inherits features from the Customizer framework. The editor is fast and lightweight and offers great formatting opportunities.
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Security updates from WordPress team
WordPress Core Team is on guard to protect your website’s security. So they prepared a bunch of security improvements in WordPress 5.0. They also recommend hosting services that offer SSL certificates, application-level password protection, and two-factor authentication.
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Background image cropping for your WordPress site
When you needed to crop a background image on your website, it used to be a somewhat cumbersome procedure. You had to crop the picture and then upload it again. WordPress 5.0 will let you save time and crop your background image before it goes live on your site.
What you need to do about WordPress 5.0 release
An update to WordPress 5.0 is a high-level update, so you need to be careful. The new WordPress has innovative elements. All other elements of your website need to be compatible with them so everything works properly. This is especially important if you have custom plugins and/or theme. And regardless you will need a good compatibility check.
So what do you need to do? Your actions will depend on whether automatic updates are enabled or disabled on your website.
- If you have automatic updates enabled, your website already has WordPress 5.0. However, as stated above, automatic updates are risky and could lead to functionality failures or complete website crash. Often it is not possible to see immediately if everything is OK. So it is highly recommended that you contact our WordPress team so they can check everything thoroughly, as well as update your custom plugins and theme.
- If you have automatic updates disabled, you will need a manual update. Contact our WordPress experts, and they will perform the update carefully for you. They will follow all the guidelines and, of course, do reliable backups of your site first.
Once again, congrats on WordPress 5.0 released! Apply to our WordPress support team for making WordPress 5.0 “arrive” to your website successfully and smoothly.