The development cycle of WordPress 6.4 was launched in June 2023, and the latest version of this content management system is expected to be November 7, 2023 is published.
With the new version of WordPress, users can expect an exciting range of new features and improvements announced in August 2023. This includes a new default theme called Twenty Twenty-Four.
A fresh release, a new theme
The main idea behind Twenty Twenty-Four is to create a versatile theme that is suitable for different types of websites, regardless of their theme. Unlike previous years, the focus is not on a single design concept. Instead, the developers have decided to consider three different use cases: one for entrepreneurs and small businesses, another for photographers and artists, and one specifically for writers and bloggers. This practically results in a combination of templates and patterns that together form a comprehensive theme. These patterns include different homepage templates for different use cases, such as information pages, project summaries, RSVPs and landing pages.
Twenty Twenty-Four's design elements are contemporary and in line with current design trends. It uses the Cardo font from Google Fonts for headlines, which adds a sophisticated touch to the design, while a sans-serif system font is used for body text. The main color scheme of Twenty Twenty-Four is rather light, but it also offers a darker style variant with the same typography. In addition, two other sans-serif variants are available, one in light mode and another in dark mode.
As a block theme, Twenty Twenty-Four is fully adapted to all site editor tools and brings numerous new design tools such as the detail block and vertical text. A key goal of this theme is to effectively display full page patterns and template variations, enabling users to create entire pages without extensive redesign and simplifying website creation.
Form and functionality and the standard design "Twenty Twenty-Four".
WordPress 6.4 focuses on improving various elements throughout the user experience, from the details of managing posts to monitoring patterns on your site. As part of these improvements, the WordPress core development team plans to introduce new features such as font customization and the default "Twenty Twenty-Four" theme, while adding missing aspects to existing features to expand design options.
Let's take a look at some of the updates and features you can expect in the upcoming version, which is still in development.
Revision of templates and template parts
Continuing the core development team's efforts to improve styles, the implementation of revisions for templates and template parts will improve the editing process. This will allow you to undo any design changes made, regardless of their origin.
New block elements in WordPress 6.4
Three fresh block elements are currently under consideration in the upcoming 6.4 release:
- Table of contents block
- "Time to Read" block
- Scrolling Marquee Block
Image lightbox
The integration of a native WordPress lightbox functionality, supported by a compact, standardized JavaScript library, is currently being explored as a possible option for activation when using individual image blocks.
Automatic block insertion
In a constant effort to optimize user-friendly interactions, we are currently looking into implementing the possibility to automatically insert blocks into relevant sections. Let's say you have just installed a plugin and are in the process of optimizing your navigation; in this case, a notification would appear that would allow you to effortlessly insert a login or logout option.
Post formats in block themes
Since the introduction of WordPress 3.1, post formats have been an important feature. Although block themes work well with post formats, several improvements are planned to maximize the use of post formats. These improvements include:
- The management of non-contributing titles within the loop and templates.
- The initiation of templates when creating a new post.
- Improving the unique formatting of the post content block within the query loop.
The best gets even better
Just because WordPress is already known as the most popular and widely used content management system in the world, it doesn't mean that top-notch features from previous versions can't be further improved and made more efficient. Let's take a look at what improvements are being considered in WordPress 6.4.
The writing experience with WordPress 6.4
Writing content in WordPress, whether it's a fresh blog post or a completely new site, should be a seamless and enjoyable process. The tools available should support your creative flow, not hinder it. With the variety of formats, design aids, and edits available, Blocks should give you the confidence to execute your creative vision. This update aims to ensure that this experience continues to be the norm.
User interfaces and tools
The available tools are constantly being improved to make creating a website or writing a post more efficient. The focus is on the following areas:
- Iterations of the list view with custom block group naming, media views for gallery and image blocks, the ability to resize, keyboard shortcuts for duplicating blocks, and more.
- Top toolbar improvements, including fixing some keyboard navigation issues.
- Improvements for a distraction-free writing experience.
- Command palette: added new block commands, refined the design, added support for registering commands without icons, and improved the display of the command palette in smaller viewports.
WordPress 6.4 puts an emphasis on specific tweaks and improvements
The upcoming 6.4 release puts an emphasis on specific fine-tuning and enhancements that improve the overall Optimize user experience in WordPress are to. The following adjustments are planned:
- Added the "Show template" button when editing pages.
- Include discussion settings and details for pages.
- Display of current changes in the "Browse Styles" area.
- Separation of templates and template parts when changing the theme.
- Ability to hide page/post titles in site editing.
- Added the possibility to switch templates in the Site Editor Page Inspector.
- Reconcile page editing functions in the Site Editor and Post Editor.
- Adding missing CSS classes to templates.
- Explore enhancements in the Styles panel of the Site Editor.
Design Tools
In order to Implementation of more complex designs various improvements and additional features are being explored in the design tools area. These efforts range from block-specific adjustments, such as adding support for background images to the group block, to more extensive measures, such as extending theme.json to provide presets for spacing settings. The planned improvements include:
- Adding a box shadow component.
- Extend theme.json to provide presets for spacing settings.
- Enable custom minimum and maximum viewport widths for theme developers to calculate fluid font sizes.
- Extend and simplify layout controls, including block support and user interface.
- Custom CSS improvements.
- Consideration of consistency of design tools.
- Adding support for blockinstance elements for buttons and headings as a first step in the broader idea of element sets.
- Further development of support for various aspect ratios.
- Global styles: Include support for elements in individual blocks.
- Added support for width units to the site logo.
- Allow setting a custom color when applying the original background image in the cover block.
- Added support for text-based input in elements.
- Introduce a list style option in the category block.
- Added support for background images in the group block.
- Support for images in the media + text block.
Global styles
Global styles provide both a system and an interface to manage style across your site, whether through individual changes to a block or comprehensive customizations for the entire site. Current efforts in this area span a wide range of elements and are moving in a unified direction. This includes technical updates to theme.json and more user interface work around the Style Book tool. To expand the capabilities of the integrated style system and promote usability, the following work is planned:
- Style revisions: Add direct comparison, pagination, and reset to default revision.
- Style book: improvements in presentation and design, adding the ability to focus on individual block types and integrate patterns.
- Theme.json: enable references to work and add section-specific theme.json functions.
- Experience with styles: Exploring how best to display style hierarchies, display inherited styles, and manage style variations.
Pattern
After introducing the ability to create patterns directly in the editing experience, more advanced features and quality of life improvements are planned for WordPress 6.4, including:
- Added the possibility to set categories.
- Update the inserter experience to ensure consistency between synchronized and unsynchronized files.
- Improve compatibility for non-block themes.
- Iterate the empty category state of the sample page.
- Synchronized patterns: Alignment attributes are not received in the editor.
Navigation block and navigation management are also a focus in WordPress 6.4
The ongoing improvements to the navigation block and navigation management are also a focus in WordPress 6.4. The goal is to make them more robust and useful, especially with various responsive design requirements. Planned improvements include:
- Referenced overlay as template part.
- Added the possibility to display where each menu is used.
- Added the possibility to customize the current menu item.
- Introduce option to set a custom icon.
- Added the possibility to set different links on mobile devices.
- Exploring a bulk add mode.
- Continue to improve fallback mechanisms.
Term query loop blocks
To allow more complex queries and provide more flexibility in the display of posts, the following developments are planned:
- Considerations for the introduction of a term query loop block.
- Added the option not to repeat posts that are already displayed by other query blocks on the same page.
- Client-side pagination for the query block, supported by the interactivity API.
The footnote block has been further developed in WordPress 6.4
The footnote block introduced in WordPress 6.3 will be further developed with additional design tools and customization for custom post types:
- Added support for typography, dimensions and frame block.
- Include support for links, background and text colors.
- Ensure compatibility with custom post types.
Overall, WordPress 6.4 combined with Twenty Twenty-Four Theme promises an exciting future for web design and content management. With new global styles, advanced pattern features, and powerful design tools, creating and designing websites becomes even easier and more flexible. Stay up-to-date and take advantage of these innovative features to take your website to the next level. The future of web design is today!
