WordPress 5.9 (Joséphine) ushered in a whole new suite of features and capabilities for creative customization. Recently, the release of WordPress 6.0 (Arturo) expounded on these developments and introduced new ones.
Global Styles was one such feature that garnered plenty of praise in WP 5.9. And with 6.0, the Global Styles feature is even more user-friendly and versatile.
What Are Global Styles?
For those that haven’t had a chance to give WordPress a test run in 2022, Global Styles are essentially different versions of the same theme. When installing a block-based theme, Global Styles include typography, colors, spacing, and other appearance-based effects. When updating Global Styles, the entire site is affected — no need to edit blocks or pages individually. This makes it easy to customize your site with one click without losing its cohesive appearance.
Style Switching
While Joséphine included Global Styles, Arturo takes customization to the next level with Global Style Switching. Now, theme developers can include a multitude of Global Styles “child themes” within a single block-based theme. Each child theme packs its own colors, typography, and more. Users have the freedom to pick and choose between Global Styles without swapping out their actual theme, which saves valuable time. It also enables differentiation between multiple sites, even if they share a theme.
This is great news if you love a particular theme but aren’t crazy about its default Global Styles.
How to Switch Between Styles
Using this updated feature is easier than you’d imagine. After selecting your preferred block-based theme (such as Twenty Twenty-Two), navigate to Appearance and Editor (beta). Next, click the half-circle Styles icon in the top right corner of the page. From the Styles menu, you can easily select different Global Styles and assess how they look on your site in real-time.
Updated With the User In Mind
Like many of the enhancements and features in WordPress 6.0, Global Style Switching was born from user feedback and designed to improve user experience. Not only does it provide more options for site customization and brand representation, but it also makes these updates faster and easier than ever.
If you haven’t already, be sure to install WordPress 6.0 today. Get ready to harness the power of total control and create sites ready to impress.
