The wait is finally over: WordPress’ first major release of the year is here. WordPress 5.9, called Joséphine in honor of jazz singer and civil rights activist Joséphine Baker, offers exciting new features that enable seamless control over your content. Learn about some of the major updates below, and start creating dynamic sites that elevate user experience.
Full Site Editing
Joséphine ushers in site-wide editing and a new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Two — WordPress’ first-ever default block theme.
Block themes make it easier to edit every aspect of your site, giving you the power to transform Twenty Twenty-Two into a perfect representation of your brand. Adjust everything from typography to color to imagery and more. Plus, all that customization can be done in one place (Site Editor), making editing fast and seamless.
Of course, Twenty Twenty-Two theme is just one option. Other block themes are also available on WordPress 5.9, all of which are compatible with Full Site Editing.
Content Editing
No WordPress release is complete without content editing updates. Joséphine makes it easier to write and arrange content on your company website, personal blog, or other sites.
Content blocks have more detailed customization, including typography, layouts, spacing, and more. No need to waste time navigating to different menus. Create the exact look and feel you want from one block editor.
Unsure how to arrange your content blocks? The WordPress Pattern Director offers pre-built block patterns that improve user experience. Use one as-is or tweak as you see fit. Each block is editable, so you’re still in control.
Plus, an updated List View makes arranging content even more seamless. Drag and drop your site blocks in an easy-to-organize list view. And finally, the improved Gallery Block allows you to edit and arrange images just as you did in Image Block.
Developer Experience
WordPress 5.9 also includes back-end updates and features just for developers.
Regarding the updated Gallery Block mentioned above, devs should note that these changes may affect the functionality of older code. If you previously created plugins or themes for Gallery Block, this post has more info on compatibility.
All-new support for child themes with theme.json allows users to build child themes, no coding necessary. This is an easy way to put your stamp on an existing theme.
Plus, block-level locking allows devs to lock specific blocks, or patterns of blocks, and prevent users from modifying them. You can also register multiple stylesheets per block.
Stay Tuned
Joséphine’s new capabilities are great news for back-end users and front-end visitors. Full site and block editing ultimately allow you to create a better user experience on your site. Stay tuned for more posts that will explore more WordPress 5.9’s features, then take advantage of greater, more intuitive control over your WordPress site.
