WordPress 5.6 was released on December 8 and brings some new features and the new Twenty Twenty-One theme.
New Features
Greater layout flexibility
It is easier than ever to edit your layout without any code. Single column blocks, designs using mixed widths and columns, full-width headers, and gradients allow to customize how ever you like it.
More block patterns
Preconfigured block pattern makes setting up pages on your site easier and now you can also share these features with others.
Better video captioning
To help you add subtitles or captions to your videos, you can now upload them within your post or page.
New theme – Twenty Twenty-On
The Twenty Twenty-One theme allows to personalize even more. The theme is build for the block editor and packed with brand-new block patterns, different layouts, more color settings and includes a better accessibility. The accessibility addresses several more specialized standards from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AAA.
Improvements
Expanding auto-updates
You can now choose when you want to install auto-updates as they get released directly in the dashboard.
Accessibility Statement
The new feature plugin to improve accessibility includes template copy for you to edit and publish, and it’s written to support different contexts and jurisdictions.
Built-in Patterns
Customize the patterns to your liking with the copy, images, and colors that fit to your site and master complex layouts.
For developers
REST API authentication with Application Passwords
With the API’s new Application Passwords authorization feature, third-party apps can connect to your site seamlessly and securely.
More PHP 8 support and jQuery update
WordPress 5.6 marks the first steps toward WordPress Core support for PHP 8. jQuery got also new features.
Remember to create a backup before installing updates.
Picture courtesy of Joanbanjo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
