WordPress 5.4 is Out
This new version of WordPress is a major release which has new features that make easier than ever to fix your website if something goes wrong.
This new version has:
- More ways to make posts and pages come alive with your images
- More ways to bring your visitors in and keep them engaged with the richness of embedded media from the web’s top services
- More ways to make your vision real, and put blocks in the perfect place—even if a particular kind of block is new to you. More efficient processes
- And more speed everywhere - as you build sections or galleries, or just type in a line of prose, you can feel how much faster your work flows.
We suggest all WordPress website owners do this upgrade. It is not a security upgrade but because it's a major upgrade, we highly suggest you do this upgrade.
WordPress 5.4 Release (wordpress.org)
Two new blocks. And better blocks overall:
- Two brand-new blocks: Social Icons and Buttons make adding interactive features fast and easy.
- New ways with color: Gradients in the Buttons and Cover block, toolbar access to color options in Rich Text blocks, and for the first time, color options in the Group and Columns blocks.
- Guess a whole lot less! Version 5.4 streamlines the whole process for placing and replacing multimedia in every block. Now it works the same way in almost every block!
- And if you’ve ever thought your image in the Media+Text block should link to something else—perhaps a picture of a brochure should download that brochure as a document? Well, now it can.
Cleaner UI, clearer navigation—and easier tabbing!:
- Clearer block navigation with block breadcrumbs. And easier selection once you get there.
- For when you need to navigate with the keyboard, better tabbing and focus. Plus, you can tab over to the sidebar of nearly any block.
- Speed! 14% faster loading of the editor, 51% faster time-to-type!
- Tips are gone. In their place, a Welcome Guide window you can bring up when you need it—and only when you need it—again and again.
- Know at a glance whether you’re in a block’s Edit or Navigation mode. Or, if you have restricted vision, your screen reader will tell you which mode you’re in.
Your fundamental right: privacy
5.4 helps with a variety of privacy issues around the world. So when users and stakeholders ask about regulatory compliance, or how your team handles user data, the answers should be a lot easier to get right.
- Now personal data exports include users session information and users location data from the community events widget. Plus, a table of contents!
- See progress as you process export and erasure requests through the privacy tools.
- Plus, little enhancements throughout give the privacy tools a little cleaner look. Your eyes will thank you!
More About the Upgrade…
The previous version of WordPress was 5.3.2 on December 19, 2019. Our Website Maintenance Department will be in contact with you regarding these upgrades. Clients that have signed up for our Automatic WordPress Update Program or Website Care will get their website updated in the next week or so or if a follow-up version of WordPress is released. View the complete list of WordPress versions here and here. Read more about why WordPress updates are important.
What is Website Care?
If you haven’t heard about Website Care, then you’re missing out on savings and peace of mind! There are different levels to choose from but with each level, you get your installation of WordPress checked weekly for updates to the core software, plugins and themes. The benefit is that your website software is kept up to date. This work is done by hand and we test your website after the upgrade to make sure everything works like it should. The program is either by monthly subscription or you can save 10% and pay for a year in advance. When you use this program you save about 40% on updating WordPress. It’s kind of a no-brainer! Sleep better knowing that your website is being taken care of when you enroll in Website Care today! -Webstix Maintenance Team
