Here’s a recap of the latest developments in the WordPress ecosystem, from WordPress core updates and Gutenberg news to more plugin news.
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This post is from the recent WordPress News Roundup – January 2020 webinar hosted by Nathan Ingram. In this webinar, Nathan walks through each of these news items in more depth. Register for the next WordPress News Roundup webinar here.
News from WordPress Core
WordPress 5.3 Development Cycle Ended
- Current version is WordPress 5.3.2
- No more minor releases planned for WordPress 5.3
- Of course, any major security issues will be patched with a short-cycle release
- Follow the WordPress Core Blog
5.3 Release Cycle Post-mortem
WordPress 5.4 is Coming
- 5.4 is tentatively scheduled for a March 31 release date.
- 2020-2021 release calendar can be found here.
- Not much currently available on 5.4 features.
- Certainly, we will see improvements to the block editor, including the Nav menu block.
- WordPress 5.5 scheduled for August 2020.
- WordPress 5.6 scheduled for December 2020.
The Month in WordPress: December 2019
Gutenberg News
Gutenberg 7.2
- Released January 22
- Site Editor Beta Enable under Gutenberg > Experiments
- You must have the Gutenberg plugin installed
What’s new in Gutenberg? (22 January)
Gutenberg 7.3
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- Layout Element Blocks
- Support the templating feature for site editing
- Navigation block supports text and background colors
- Many speed improvements, bug fixes, and accessibility tweaks
What’s Coming in Gutenberg?
- Block Content Areas
- Edit Site UI with front page template and ability to switch templates
- More full-site editing blocks
- Updated block UI design is being explored
What’s next in Gutenberg? (January)
Other Gutenberg News
ShareABlock
- Share and download block and template designs
Introducing ShareABlock: Brand New Way to Share and Download Free Gutenberg Block & Template Designs
No Promotions in Block Directory
- Prototype discussed in December
- Current rules state that blocks in the directory ”must not include advertisements, prompts, or promotional messages.”
- How this (de?)motivates developers is yet to be seen
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This article was written by Kristen Wright and originally published on WordPress News and Updates from iThemes – iThemes.