WordPress 6.0 - What’s New in the Latest WordPress Version?

WordPress 6.0 was officially released in May 2022. The new version was named after the Grammy-winning jazz musician Arturo O’Farrill associated with the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. WordPress “Arturo” is a result of the tedious work of 500+ contributors who brought in more than 1000 updates, improvements, and significant new features to the latest WordPress version. What’s new in WordPress 6.0?

How to Upgrade to WordPress 6.0

Before moving to the detailed discussion of the new significant features of WordPress 6.0 “Arturo,” let’s first see how to upgrade to the latest WordPress version from the previously released ones.

Upgrading to WordPress 6.0 is similar to how you upgraded to any of the earlier versions of the CMS. A quick overview of the WordPress upgrade process is put as follows:

• Before you begin, ensure that you back up your database and all WordPress files in the WordPress directory. After you finish, take some time to verify your backups to ensure all files are there.
• Next, you need to deactivate all WordPress plugins installed on your website.
• Once done, download WordPress 6.0 and extract all files from the package.
• Delete the old WordPress files on your website, but DO NOT DELETE
  – wp-config.php file;
  – wp-content folder; Special Exception: the wp-content/cache and the wp-content/plugins/widgets folders should be deleted.
  – wp-images folder;
  – .htaccess file–if you have added custom rules to your .htaccess, do not delete it;
  – robots.txt file–if your blog lives at the root of your site (i.e. the blog is the site) and you have created such a file, do not delete it.
• Upload the new files from your computer’s hard drive to the appropriate WordPress folder on your site.
• Run the WordPress upgrade program.
• Update Permalinks and .htaccess.
• Install updated Plugins and Themes.
• Reactivate Plugins.
• Review the changes and upgrades in WordPress 6.0.

This is a quick review of the WordPress 6.0 upgrade process. You can also proceed by using the Detailed Upgrade Instructions from WordPress.

WordPress 6.0 Features

WordPress 6.0 “Arturo” brings many new and improved features compared to the earlier releases. More importantly, it takes the site editing experience one step further and makes things more intuitive and comprehensive for everyone appreciating the code-free site editing experience.

WordPress 6.0 pays special attention to the improvement of writing and design workflows. Several of the highlighted WordPress 6.0 features include but are not limited to:

• Faster site loading;
• New style switcher;
• Page creation patterns;
• Global style variations;
• Blocklocking, etc.

These are only several of highlighted new WordPress 6.0 features. Now, let’s take a closer look at what the current WordPress version is all about. 

Content Creation and Editing

As we’ve already mentioned, WordPress 6.0 aims to provide you with a significantly improved and more intuitive writing experience. Like the WordPress 5 version, you continue writing and editing content in the drag-and-drop interface of Gutenberg. However, WordPress 6.0 makes things even more user-friendly by featuring such writing enhancements as:

• Transform a paragraph block into a code block or vice versa while keeping existing styles.
• Adjust the style of every new button according to the customization settings of other buttons you’ve already created.
• Simply type two open brackets “[[“ to access recent posts and page lists.
• Social icons feature an updated, catching design.
• You can select texts across multiple blocks and copy and paste only the chosen content without copying the blocks themselves.

Page Creation Patterns

WordPress 6.0 provides publishers with a series of ready-to-go page layouts, which they can use as the foundation for their web pages. WordPress 5 and earlier versions lacked this functionality and didn’t ship with ready-made layouts. Previously, you needed to design them from scratch on your own or look for the needed elements in ready-made WordPress themes. Things have got different with the WordPress 6.0 “Arturo” release. Now, you get a bunch of page creation patterns bundled with the WordPress core.

Block Locking

The new block locking feature prevents you from deleting or moving important blocks on your web page. Whether you prefer to disable movement or prevent removal, the block locking settings let you choose the needed option or lock all.

Style Switching

Unlike earlier WordPress versions, WordPress 6.0 features an expanded style system. You can change block themes with a click while choosing the preferred style variation. There is no need to modify CSS or HTML. You can apply all changes in the intuitive drag-and-drop mode.

Flex-Based Container Blocks

One more new WordPress 6.0 feature is the ability to create dynamic flex-based containers while stacking blocks into columns and rows. The flexible layout of the new feature automatically adjusts to the viewpoint, making your texts and other content look stunning across all desktop and handheld devices.

WordPress 6.0 Design Tools

Besides new and improved writing capabilities, WordPress 6.0 delivers a series of new design tools, like:

• A new color panel design;
• New border controls;
• Updated transparency levels for your colors;
• The Group block includes a collection of control gaps, margins, typography, and other blocks;
• The Gallery block has the gap functionality to create different looks in your website’s design, etc.

Over to You

Wrapping it up, it’s worth pointing out that the latest WordPress 6.0 version makes the site building and content editing experience more intuitive and user-friendly. There are many new WordPress 6.0 features worth trying. You can check some of them in action in this video.

Although WordPress 6.0 “Arturo” have brought many stunning improvements, the game is not over yet. More is yet to come.

“While 6.0 moves WordPress in the right direction, there’s more work to be done around creating a cohesive site editing experience, so if you’re waiting for full site editing to feel more intuitive, expect that to come in 6.1 and beyond.”

While waiting for the WordPress 6.1 release, don’t miss the chance to try improved writing and site-building experience by upgrading your WordPress to version 6.0.