Saturday, 08 December 2018 14:01

What is New in WordPress 5.0

WordPress 5.0 was released on December 6th, 2018. It is the first and the only major WordPress release of 2018 with a whole new set of improvements and some big changes. In this article, we will show you what’s new in WordPress 5.0 and which features you should try after updating your websites.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

Introducing Gutenberg The New Block Based Editor

WordPress 5.0 comes with a completely new editor codenamed Gutenberg. It is a block-based editor which allows users to create beautiful layouts using content blocks.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

The old WordPress editor was a simple text window. While it worked well, you had to use different approaches to add images, create galleries, shortcodes, video embeds, and other content elements.

The new editor replaces them with a streamlined writing experience where each content element is wrapped in a block. You can move them around the editor, change their settings, and create engaging layouts without writing code.

By default, it comes with several blocks to add most commonly used content elements. This includes blocks to add images, audio, video, photo gallery, cover image, lists, quote, media, text, buttons, and more.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

Blocks come with their own toolbar and settings. Apart from basic formatting options, you can also change width, colors, and other attributes.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

Widgets are also included as blocs, so you can easily add shortcodes, recent posts, recent comments, categories, and archives.

If you relied on adding shortcodes to your articles, then you can continue using them as a block.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

The new editor also makes embeds much easier. Simply expand the embeds section under the add block button, and you will be able to see all supported embed options.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

This makes adding videos, tweets, and facebook embeds a lot easier. Each embed is its own block, so you can adjust their settings just like any other blocks.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

If you feel a bit distracted by the WordPress admin sidebar, then simply switch to the distraction-free full-screen mode. This will hide the WordPress admin sidebar, and you will have a lot more room to design your content.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

You will find all your usual post editing features neatly tucked under the sidebar. This includes publishing and saving options, permalink or post-slug, categories and tags, excerpt, and more.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

Create and Reuse Blocks

If you often add things with the same style or content, then you can now save them as reusable blocks to use later when needed.

Simply edit a block you want to make reusable. Once you are satisfied with it, click on the menu dots in the block toolbar and select ‘Add to reusable blocks’.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

You will be asked to provide a name for this block. After that, WordPress will save this as a reusable block. You can find it under the Add Blocks button and reuse it in other posts.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

Editing Existing Content After Upgrading to WordPress 5.0

WordPress 5.0 will not affect any of your old content, and you would still be able to edit older articles. When editing an older article, you will see your content wrapped inside a “Classic” editor block.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

You can continue editing the article inside the classic block. You can also break it into multiple blocks which will allow you to use all the features of the new WordPress editor.

Can I Still Use The Old WordPress Editor?

Yes, you can use the old WordPress editor by simply installing and activating the Classic Editor plugin.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

Upon activation, the plugin will disable the new blocks based editor, and you’d be able to use WordPress with the old classic editor that you are used to.

Twenty Nineteen – The New Default WordPress Theme

WordPress 5.0 ships with a new default theme called Twenty Nineteen. It is a versatile and minimalist WordPress theme that can be used to start a blog or make a website.

What is New in WordPress 5.0

Twenty Nineteen is based on Gutenberg starter theme, which means it is fully compatible with the new WordPress editor. It offers a clean canvas with minimal distractions, which gives you the freedom to experiment with the new editor and create beautiful layouts for your WordPress posts and pages.

WordPress 5.0 Compatibility with Themes and Plugins

WordPress 5.0 brings a big change to how users create content using WordPress. It has been under development for quite some time, which provided plugin and theme developers enough time to test their products and add compatibility for the new editor.

Most essential WordPress plugins like WPForms and Yoast SEO are already compatible with WordPress 5.0 and the new editor.

All top WordPress theme shops have also made their themes compatible with the new editor.

However if a plugin or theme on your website is not working properly, then reach out to that plugin or theme developer and ask them to update it.

We hope this article offered you a good insight into what’s new in WordPress 5.0.

Read 2471 times Last modified on Saturday, 08 December 2018 14:45

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