WordPress 5.7
9 March 2021
WordPress version 5.7 is now available (major release).
Upgrading to WordPress 5.7
WordPress 5.7 can be upgraded to (or installed) using any of Installatron's products. Use Installatron's optional Automatic Update feature to automatically apply WordPress updates as new versions are released, or use Installatron's Clone feature to duplicate an existing WordPress install to test the 5.7 upgrade prior to applying it live. Get started managing your WordPress installations with Installatron
What's New in WordPress 5.7
Now the new editor is easier to use
- Font-size adjustment in more places: now, font-size controls are right where you need them in the List and Code blocks. No more trekking to another screen to make that single change!
- Reusable blocks: several enhancements make reusable blocks more stable and easier to use. And now they save automatically with the post when you click the Update button.
- Inserter drag-and-drop: drag blocks and block patterns from the inserter right into your post.
You can do more without writing custom code
- Full-height alignment: have you ever wanted to make a block, like the Cover block, fill the whole window? Now you can.
- Buttons block: now you can choose a vertical or a horizontal layout. And you can set the width of a button to a preset percentage.
- Social Icons block: now you can change the size of the icons.
Other Changes
- A simpler default color palette: This new streamlined color palette collapses all the colors that used to be in the WordPress source code down to seven core colors and a range of 56 shades that meet the WCAG 2.0 AA recommended contrast ratio against white or black.
- From HTTP to HTTPS in a single click: Starting now, switching a site from HTTP to HTTPS is a one-click move. WordPress will automatically update database URLs when you make the switch. No more hunting and guessing!
- New Robots API: The new Robots API lets you include the filter directives in the robots meta tag, and the API includes the max-image-preview: large directive by default. That means search engines can show bigger image previews, which can boost your traffic (unless the site is marked not-public).
- Lazy-load your iFrames: Now it’s simple to let iframes lazy-load. By default, WordPress will add a loading="lazy" attribute to iframe tags when both width and height are specified.
- Ongoing cleanup after update to jQuery 3.5.1: For years jQuery helped make things move on the screen in ways the basic tools couldn’t—but that keeps changing, and so does jQuery. In 5.7, jQuery gets more focused and less intrusive, with fewer messages in the console.
- Check out the latest version of the WordPress Field Guide. It highlights developer notes for each change you may want to be aware of: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/wordpress-5-7-field-guide
