Here’s what to expect from WordPress 5.0

“Change is the only constant” – Heraclitus.

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher had once said that change is the only constant, which still holds true today. The WordPress 5.0 (Bebo) release is out and is an important milestone for many!

While we spoke about the top 5 most exciting changes in the update in our blog post, let’s talk about what you’re really in for!

Here are some significant changes in the most recent update –

• Developing a new workflow – The current WYSIWYG editor—“What You See Is What You Get” remained unchanged ever since WordPress was first created. The new editor, Gutenberg, makes it possible for you to build and create intuitive web pages with content blocks. It’s drag-and-drop interface gives you greater control over its design and appearance of your pages and posts.

A new menu lets you select the type of block that you would like to add.

With the entire philosophy of the UI changing, moving to multiple movable “blocks” is quite a big change and will come with a learning curve for several users.

On the flip side – This means that your current workflow may need to change. While you may feel lost initially, you might end up thanking the stars (or the Automattic team) once you develop a workflow.

• Some plugins might become unusable – Not every plugin is going to be updated and not all developers are working on their respective plugins regularly. As a result, plugins may either break, disappear, or have reduced functionality. Hence, it is best to be prepared for some plugins to not work when you install Gutenberg.
• An all-new default theme – The new theme – Twenty Nineteen, designed for the block editor, features a simple layout with ample whitespace and is designed to work for a variety of use cases. So whether you’re launching a new business or have a photography blog, Twenty Nineteen will fit all your needs!
• Live HTML block – The new editor also has the live HTML block feature, which lets you add your code and then see a preview right within the block itself! This will help you save time and effort by not having to switch between the visual and text editor!
• Slash Autocomplete – Another handy new feature is Slash Autocomplete that suggests commands when you type slash.

Source – www.wphive.com

Our take

To sum it up, the visual composer has a simplified process of building pages, and less hassle as compared to the old editor. However, simple tasks require more clicks and the dashboard is slightly crowded due to the admin menu, Gutenberg editor, and Gutenberg sidebar all in the same place. It is also possible to execute shortcodes in text columns or paragraph blocks.

Recent updates

WordPress 5.0.1 was released recently as a security release which fixes a couple of undisclosed vulnerabilities, which explains why it was released within a week of the first big release. WordPress 5.0.2, the first planned follow-up, was released on 19th December 2018.

Want help upgrading to WordPress 5.0?