WordPress 5.8 is the second major release of WordPress this year. 

5.8 is the second major release of WordPress this year. WordPress would release updates as and when required. Like security, releases are more common than core updates, and you should always keep your WordPress website up to date. Some WordPress hosting companies will update your site(s) seamlessly, and some won’t. Those who wouldn’t update your WordPress version, the CMS itself will tell you about the required update in the dashboard.

As always, GeekBee did update all sites automatically 

and for several good reasons, since this was a major release with lots of new bells and whistles. The difference between a major release and a security release is significant. With a major release, you will get something new, improved, and innovative to your whole WordPress eco-system, while a security release is, as the name suggests, to patch any vulnerabilities. In this article, let’s explore what’s new in WordPress 5.8. (Pssst: it’s fewer plugins, better designs, and more speed).

WordPress 5.8 Tatum update:

This version of WordPress is nicknamed “Tatum” to honor the legendary jazz musician “Art Tatum.” Just like his music the version 5.8 is pushing boundaries like never before.

WordPress Widgets can now be managed with Blocks:

The most useful, versatile, and powerful block editor in WordPress can now be used to manage your widgets. Just like managing the whole layout of your web pages, you can now manage the widgets section with live preview and customizer. This opens new possibilities for WordPress users with no coding experience.

WordPress 5.8. Template Editing:

This release enables template editing using blocks. A WordPress website is not just posts or plain designs. You can have different landing pages, different sub-domains, and now you can have different templates as well. For instance, if you have a news website, you can define and create a template for Sports news that is totally different from the local news section.

Template editing is not enabled by default, but you can do that from the settings. Not just for pages but for posts, you can generate different designs within each post separately. It doesn’t have to be in a global shape and style; now, each post can have its own design, all present inherently in WordPress 5.8. It should be noted that not all themes are currently supporting these features, but soon they all will be switching to utilize these powerful new features.

WordPress Page Structure Overview and Suggested Blocks Patterns:

With page structure overview, if you have a large, complex page, you no longer have to worry about messing up one section while working on the other. Blocks keep you organized and everything in place. You can jump to just the block you need to edit or add, and everything else will stay in its place.

Pattern Transformations tool is yet another feature that will help complete the job much faster than ever. This tool suggests the next block based on your current block. You no longer have to look or search for the block; most of the time, the suggested ones are the ones you will be using. At present, you can test this tool using the Query Block and Social Icon Block.

WordPress 5.8. Support for WebP images:

GeekBee already supported WebP images to provide better performance. This WebP format is a next-generation image compression system with both lossy and lossless compression. With WebP, the image processing and image storing load will reduce considerably on your server. In the past, even WebP was used by most, WordPress would not accept images in this format; now it will.

Less processing and less storage load on your server will translate into better performance of your site, and one thing more, speed is a search engine ranking factor. So, chances are you will get better search engine rankings as well.

5.8. adds Duotone Filters:

5.8 adds Duotone, which you can use to stylize your pictures (images) without the need for complex image editing knowledge or additional plugins. You can add not one but two shades (layers) to your images to make them look even more dope and attractive.

WordPress 5.8. – Dropping Support for IE 11:

Starting with this release, WordPress will no longer support IE11; we are saying goodbye to that for good. Sincerely speaking, no one was using it anyway even Windows moved to Edge, a chromium hybrid browser. According to WP, if you are using Internet Explorer 11 and your site looks broken, it may remain that way because no new updates will be released to fix it.

And Even More Blocks:

WordPress 5.8 is adding more blocks than ever, and it will continue to do so. So, be on the lookout for a new block to come and use the existing ones to the fullest.

Anyway, GeekBee will be there for you to enjoy this new WordPress version and the following ones too.

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