The beta version of WordPress 6.4 has recently been launched, and we have been actively tracking its development and testing its features.
This will be the third major update of 2023, introducing a host of new features, bug fixes, and enhancements to performance.
In this article, we will explore the upcoming features of WordPress 6.4, complete with detailed descriptions and exclusive screenshots.
Here’s a brief summary of the changes that will be introduced in WordPress 6.4:
- Introducing Twenty Twenty-Four as the New Default Theme
- Easily Manage Fonts Across Your Entire Website with the New Font Library
- Enhance Your Images with a Lightbox Popup Feature
- Experience an Improved Command Palette
- Discover Enhancements in the Block Editor
- Utilize Block Hooks for Greater Flexibility
- Add Background Images to Group Blocks
- Enjoy Enhanced Toolbars for Parent and Child Blocks
- Revamped Outline and List View for Better Navigation
- Streamlined Pattern Management for Easier Use
- Open Links in a New Tab from the Link Preview
- Significant Under-the-Hood Improvements
Important Note:By using the WordPress Beta Tester plugin, you can experiment with the beta version on your computer or a staging site. Please note that some features in the beta version may not be included in the final release.
Introducing Twenty Twenty-Four as the New Default Theme
Every year, WordPress introduces a new default theme, typically released with the final update of the year.
The upcoming WordPress 6.4 will feature Twenty Twenty-Four as the new default theme.
In line with the design approach of the previous default theme, Twenty Twenty-Three, the new theme will offer a clean and minimalist layout right from the start.
Don’t be fooled by its simple look; this robust theme is filled with powerful features.
Designed for seamless integration with the Site Editor, it comes with six distinct style variations to choose from.
Additionally, it offers a variety of WordPress block patterns that can be utilized in the site editor or while creating posts and pages.
These patterns include multiple section templates that enable you to effortlessly add complete sections to your pages or templates.
The theme also provides four fonts for you to utilize when designing your site. This leads us to another exciting feature in 6.4: the Font Library.
Easily Manage Fonts Across Your Website with the Font Library
WordPress 6.4 will introduce the new Font Library feature, allowing users to manage the fonts used in their theme and throughout their entire website.
Users can now access the Font Library directly from the Styles panel in the site editor, allowing them to easily add or remove fonts for their website.
By clicking the Fonts icon on the panel, the Font Library will be displayed.
You can upload fonts straight from your computer using this feature.
Interested in using Google Fonts locally? The Font Library enables users to download and install Google Fonts directly onto their WordPress site.
This feature connects to Google servers only once to download the font files, after which the fonts will be served from your own servers.
Enhance Images with Lightbox Popup
Would you like to display your WordPress images in a lightbox popup?
With WordPress 6.4, users can activate lightbox popups for images in their posts and pages.
Once you add an image, simply toggle the Expand on Click option in the block settings to enable the lightbox popup.
This straightforward image popup allows users to enlarge images without navigating away from the page.
Currently, this feature is basic and still in development. For example, when using the Gallery block, you need to set the option for each image individually instead of applying it to the entire gallery.
For a more refined user experience with stunning image galleries, we recommend using Envira Gallery or NextGen.
Explore the top WordPress photo gallery plugins designed for photographers and portfolio websites, featuring stunning lightbox popups, animations, slideshows, various gallery styles, and more.
Enhanced Command Palette
With the introduction of WordPress 6.3, users gained access to a new command palette tool, enabling quick command entry via the keyboard shortcut CTRL+K.
WordPress 6.4 will introduce several enhancements to this tool, including new keyboard shortcuts and a subtle design update that darkens certain elements.
Additionally, new commands and actions will be available for managing blocks. Users can now duplicate, transform, delete, or insert blocks directly from the command palette.
For example, you can now select multiple blocks and transform them easily using the command palette.
Improvements to the Block Editor
This release is primarily dedicated to enhancing and expanding the current features of the site and block editor. The groundwork for phase 3 of the Gutenberg project has commenced, focusing on improved collaboration.
WordPress 6.4 will incorporate several releases from Gutenberg (the block editor project) into its core, each bringing new features and enhancements.
Here are some of the most notable improvements in the Block Editor.
Block Hooks
WordPress 6.4 introduces Block Hooks functionality for developers, allowing plugins to seamlessly add blocks upon activation.
Named after the hooks utilized in WordPress core, block hooks will empower plugin developers to interact with the block editor and enhance blocks without modifying them directly.
For example, a membership plugin can now easily insert a login button into the navigation menu.
The block panel will display which blocks have been added by plugins, giving you the option to enable or disable them as needed.
Background Images for Group Block
Grouping blocks is the simplest way to create distinct sections within a layout in both the post and full site editor.
Previously, users could only select background and text colors for the entire group block. With WordPress 6.4, you can now also set a background image.
Enhanced Toolbars for Parent and Child Blocks
When working with blocks that contain child blocks, the toolbar would shift and change as you navigated between them.
This created a less than ideal user experience for blocks such as Navigation, List, and Quote.
In WordPress 6.4, the child toolbar will now be automatically linked to the parent, ensuring a consistent user experience as you navigate through the inner blocks.
Revamped Outline and List View
The List view provides a concise overview of your page or post layout within the site/block editor.
WordPress 6.4 introduces exciting enhancements to the list view with new features.
You can now rename Group blocks directly in the list view, making it easier to identify their purpose and enhancing the readability of your layouts.
Additionally, it will display previews for image and gallery blocks.
This enhancement significantly improves the utility of the outline view. Previously, it only indicated ‘Image,’ requiring you to click on the block to see which image was included.
Enhanced Pattern Management
In the last WordPress update, Reusable Blocks were integrated into Patterns, and a new pattern management screen was introduced in the site editor.
WordPress 6.4 will further enhance pattern management within the site editor.
You can now assign categories to patterns when creating a new one.
The pattern creation modal will maintain a consistent appearance across WordPress.
Within the Site Editor, the Patterns tab will now display your patterns organized by category.
Open in New Tab option available in Link Preview
In the latest WordPress update, the link preview control, which appears when adding a link, has relocated the ‘Open in new tab’ option to the Advanced toggle.
This change required users to make a few additional clicks to open a link in a new tab.
In response to user feedback, a new checkbox has been introduced in the link preview modal, making it easier for users to open links in a new tab.
Significant Updates Behind the Scenes
WordPress 6.4 introduces several important updates aimed at developers. Here are some of the key changes under the hood.
- The TEMPLATEPATH and STYLESHEETPATH constants have been deprecated. (#18298)
- A new framework has been added to support revisions for post meta in WordPress. (#20564)
- Theme developers can now set their own default minimum and maximum viewport widths for calculating fluid font sizes. (#59048)
- A block hook field has been added to block types. (#59346)
We hope this article has helped you explore the new features in WordPress 6.4 and inspired you to try them out. We are especially excited about the updates to the site editor.
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