What just happened? WordPress, maker of the web’s most popular Content Management System (CMS), has just released version 5.0 of its platform. The latest update is one of the biggest in years, adding a new block-based editor that offers a “streamlined editing experience.”
In the new ‘Bebo’ version of WordPress, which is named after Cuban jazz musician Bebo Valdés, we see the introduction of the Gutenberg editor, which puts each piece of content into its own distinct block, allowing creators to decide where to place it and how it appears to viewers. This essentially makes the process a flexible WYSIWYG system. WordPress says that if you prefer to use HTML and CSS, the blocks won’t be an issue.
Blocks include paragraphs, images, galleries, quotes, audio, lists, embeds, and much more. For those building client sites, it’s possible to create reusable blocks that lets clients add new content anytime while maintaining the same look and feel.
Not all users are going to embrace the new editor, of course, and there’s a chance it could affect plugins used in the old version. For those who want to stick with the Classic Editor, WordPress lets you install a Classic Editor plugin in 5.0 that will be supported through December 2021.
Other new additions include compatibility with PHP 7.3, JavaScript internationalization support, and the new Twenty Nineteen theme, which shows off the power of the new editor.
“Featuring ample whitespace, and modern sans-serif headlines paired with classic serif body text, Twenty Nineteen is built to be beautiful on the go. It uses system fonts to increase loading speed. No more long waits on slow networks!,” writes WordPress.
