WordPress 6.4: Unleashing the Future of Content Management

With WordPress 6.4 about to launch on November 7, now is the perfect moment to examine the standout features and enhancements included in this latest WordPress release.

Block Hooks, a better pattern organizing system, an upgraded Command palette, changes to attachment pages, an image lightbox effect, and several writing workflow enhancements are among the most interesting developments.

Your WordPress website will operate more quickly because of improved script loading techniques, optimized template loading, and other speed improvements. It will also be easier to use and more accessible thanks to improvements made to List View and the admin user interface.

Finally, WordPress 6.4—the year’s last significant update—is available. This new version brings several workflow improvements for a smooth content authoring experience, combining six Gutenberg versions from 16.2 to 16.7.

The official introduction of the Twenty Twenty-Four theme, which goes beyond blogging, is one significant development. With this release’s performance enhancements, WordPress 6.4 is expected to be a flexible content management system right out of the box.

WordPress 6.4 also has a brand-new default theme that will speed up your editing process and include a ton of ready-to-use patterns and templates.

Isn’t that a lot of stuff? Thus, don’t hesitate any longer and let’s explore the new features of WordPress 6.4.:

Theme Update – Twenty Twenty-Four

WordPress 6.4 is officially released together with the new Twenty Twenty-Four default theme.

By including 35 patterns—ranging from standard blog patterns to business and portfolio design—WordPress contributors tried to make this theme as adaptable as possible.

Twenty Twenty-Four is the new default theme for WordPress, scheduled to be released with WordPress 6.4 in early November 2023.

It is a block theme, which means that it is fully compatible with the WordPress Site Editor, making it easy for developers to customize and create a unique look for WordPress websites. 

The theme also includes a number of new design tools, such as the details block and vertical text, which can be used to create a variety of layouts and designs.

Twenty Twenty-Four is a versatile theme that can be used for any type of website, regardless of the topic. It was designed with three use cases in mind: entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers.

However, the theme is not limited to these three use cases and can be used to create any type of website that you need.

Some of the key features of Twenty Twenty-Four include:

• Full compatibility with the WordPress Site Editor
• New design tools, such as the details block and vertical text
• Versatile design that can be used for any type of website
• Three pre-defined use cases for entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers
• Minimal and elegant design
• Light and dark mode variations
• Multiple sans-serif font variations

Twenty Twenty-Four is a significant update to the WordPress default theme and is sure to be popular with users of all levels of experience. It is a powerful and versatile theme that can be used to create any type of website, from a simple blog to a complex e-commerce site.

If you are looking for a new theme for your WordPress website, I highly recommend checking out Twenty Twenty-Four. It is a modern and elegant theme that is easy to use and customize.

Pattern Personalization and Customization of WordPress 6.4

Block patterns are becoming an essential part of creating a block-based website, therefore it’s hardly surprising that WordPress 6.4 adds additional functionality for working with them.

WordPress 6.4 includes a number of new features for personalizing and customizing your site, including:

Categories for Custom Patterns

You can design unique pattern categories in WordPress 6.4 and apply patterns to various categories, coordinated or not.

The pattern creation question box allows for assignments or the creation of categories.

Suppose you wish to store a group block as a pattern. After selecting the block, click the ellipsis button to bring up the Options menu from the block toolbar, then select Create pattern. The box will display the newly added Categories field.

To add a new category, just type its name into the text area, and it will be added to the list of categories. To add more categories, use the Enter key or commas.

Patterns can be imported and exported as JSON files.

You don’t have to manually develop custom patterns on each WordPress website you administer if you want them to be accessible on all of them. You can import and export patterns as JSON files in WordPress 6.4.

Locate the design you want in the pattern library and open it in the Site Editor to export it. To access the drop-down menu, click the Actions button (ellipsis icon) beneath the pattern thumbnail. From there, choose Export as JSON.

After that, the file will download to your computer. Click the Create pattern button (plus icon) in the pattern library and choose Import pattern from JSON to import a pattern. Once you’ve chosen the pattern you wish to import, your pattern library will contain it.

Workflow Improvements

Through Gutenberg development, WordPress contributors are constantly enhancing the block editing experience. You will receive numerous improvements since this version combines six Gutenberg releases.

Improved List View Block Arrangement

WordPress 6.4 allows you to use custom-named container blocks, such as group, stack, and row blocks, to better arrange your blocks, particularly in content-heavy pages, articles, or templates.

A container block can be renamed using the block toolbar or list view. Simply click the Options button (ellipsis icon) and choose Rename in either case. When the prompt block appears, all you have to do is click Save after adding the block name.

Getting to the desired part in the list view is considerably easier once you’ve organized the material into container blocks with unique names.

The thumbnail preview for picture and gallery blocks is another new addition to the list view for improved navigation. You can tell which image on the content this image block represents by looking at the little thumbnail to the right of the image block text.

It simplifies using the list view panel faster even though it’s not as simple as the custom-named block.

Resolve the Navigation, List, and Quote Block Toolbar issues on the current block.

It is possible for the block toolbar to appear over and block other content. The WordPress block editor offers distraction-free and top toolbar modes to address this problem and improve user experience. 

WordPress 6.4 offers an improved fix for this problem.

Child blocks are integrated into the quotation, list, and navigation blocks. You can operate more freely without obstructing the toolbar when dealing with these child blocks because the toolbar will stay attached to the parent block position. 

It is easier to reach when the toolbar is positioned at the top of the parent block, to put it simply.

Simpler Way to Use the Open in New Tab Toggle

The biggest effects can come from even the slightest adjustments. It is seen in WordPress 6.4’s text hyperlink settings, where the link preview now has an Open-in new tab toggle. 

With this functionality, you may rapidly set the open in a new tab attribute to a hyperlink. Before it, to add and customize a hyperlink, users had to enter the link editing interface and the advanced settings.

Now, all it takes is one click to accomplish the same task that previously required two steps.

Updates on Style Revisions

A few minor adjustments are made to the style revision feature, which was first included in WordPress 6.3, greatly improving style workflow.

First, you may now quickly and easily return the style to its default settings by using the Reset to default button. To get the oldest stored revision prior to this, users had to scroll down the revisions list.

The revision check, which is done before style revisions are released, is the next improvement.

The style revisions panel was formerly exclusive to users who had already made two style modifications. Users had to manually revert if not.

The check is now limited to one revision in WordPress 6.4. The style revisions window will therefore be accessible each time a user modifies the style and saves it.

Updates the Command Palette

WordPress 6.4 updates the Command Palette tool with additional block-centric commands:

• Group
• Ungroup
• Duplicate
• Remove
• Add before
• Add after
• Transform (will have all transformation options for any given block)

These are the kinds of jobs that users typically have to utilize the list view or block toolbar to navigate. Users can find them by just typing their desired search term on the Command Palette.

Furthermore, there are now additional contextual commands available:

• List View is open in the Site Editor.
• Code editor exit
• Put breadcrumbs away
• Display the crumbs
• Pre-publish checklist enables 
• Turn off the pre-publish checklist.
• View in a separate tab

Just to refresh your memory, contextual commands are unique to a particular editor. For instance, when using the code editor view, you can exit the editor and enable the pre-publish checklist in the post editor.

Block Improvements

WordPress keeps improving how easily blocks can be customized to produce engaging content. We’ve added several intriguing new capabilities to the current blocks in this edition, along with new block hooks that make content development even more effortless.

Aspect Ratio and Lightbox Tools for Image Blocks

WordPress 6.4 adds a few additional features to the image block.

The aspect ratio tool in the placeholder is the first. This comes in useful when you upload the image later or include the image block in a template. The placeholder will change size based on the aspect ratio you select, displaying the amount of space the image will take up.

The tool may be found in the options panel of the picture block, and the available aspect ratio is as follows:

• Original aspect ratio
• Square (1:1)
• Wide (16:9)
• Standard (4:3)
• Classic (3:2)
• Tall (9:16)
• Portrait (3:4)
• Classic Portrait (2:3)

The native lightbox feature, which allows users to enlarge photos in an overlay rather than a new tab or page, is the next new feature. By selecting the Expand on Click toggle in the picture block’s settings, you can turn on the lightbox.

With the introduction of the lightbox functionality, you can now create such a user experience on your WordPress site with greater efficiency and security without the need for a separate lightbox or slideshow plugin.

Support for Container Block Background Images

With WordPress 6.4, group, stack, and row blocks now enable backdrop images, making it simpler to design your website. 

In order to upload a background image, follow these steps:

1. Click on a block to choose it, then click on the block settings panel.
2. Locate the Background area by clicking on the Styles tab.
3. When you click the Background picture option, you can either upload a new image from your computer or choose to Open Media Library to choose an image from your WordPress Media Library.
4. You only need to click Reset to remove the background image.

Nevertheless, there is no image repositioning tool or opacity control available in the background image support. Therefore, before submitting the image as a background, you must change it with the appropriate design.

Enhancements to Query Loop Pagination

The number of pages that users see can now be customized using the query loop pagination feature. The page numbers block’s settings panel is where you may find the setting. You will see a field for the number of connections.

When you have a lot of blog posts and want to allow users to navigate between pages quickly, this functionality comes in handy.

The client-side pagination for the query loop block is the next area that needs improvement. During the first server load, the query dataset is obtained client-side. As a result, users will enjoy faster and better browsing when they switch to another page within the query loop block because the browser won’t need to reload the page.

Choose the query loop block in the editor, open the block’s settings panel, and turn off the Force page reload setting to enable client-side navigation.

Block Hooks

Block Hooks is a new feature in WordPress 6.4 that lets blocks automatically attach themselves to other blocks that are similar to them. This gives block themes an extensibility method, much like how actions and filters expand traditional themes.

For instance, you can change the blocks so that, when inserting a post content block, a post date block is added automatically.

To use block hooks, you can include block Hooks property in the block .json file:

{

blockHooks: {

'core/[key]': '[value]',

}

}

Here’s an example of the blockHooks property:

{

blockHooks: {

'core/query-loop': 'before',

'core/post-content': 'after',

'core/row': 'firstChild',

'core/group': 'lastChild',

}

}

Performance Improvements

Performance improvements and developer-focused updates are included in every significant WordPress release. Let’s examine WordPress 6.4’s backend improvements in more detail.

Recommended Versions of PHP

WordPress 6.3 raised the minimum PHP need to 7.0.0. Now that PHP support has been improved once again, WordPress 6.4 is advised to run on PHP 8.1 or 8.2.

WordPress code is built on PHP, thus in order to maintain security and functionality, you must use the recommended versions of the language. Find out whether PHP versions are supported by your hosting company, then update it if needed.

Divided Queries for Object Caching

WordPress 6.4 significantly enhances object caching, which results in less database queries, better filter handling, and increased system performance. 

Split queries, which enable WordPress to divide complex queries into smaller, more effective ones, are one of the major updates. This can minimize the load on your database and dramatically speed up the loading of your website—especially for content-rich websites.

Better Template Loading

Several template loading improvements are included in WordPress 6.4 to boost productivity and performance for both users and developers of the platform. This is the most recent update:

Decreased file system access and file lookups. A new caching method called WP_Theme: get_block_patterns () is introduced in WordPress 6.4 to keep block patterns in the cache and minimize file lookups. Performance is enhanced overall and CPU utilization overhead is decreased by this modification.

Block template lookup is optimized. Block template folder lookups within themes are now faster and more effective thanks to the WP_Theme: get_block_template_folders () caching technique. Block theme users and developers alike gain from this enhancement.

Enhanced management of errors. WordPress will now confirm the theme’s existence before searching for the file when fetching theme data. This change increases the dependability of the get_block_theme_folders () method and eliminates any needless file checks.

Additional Admin Notice Features

Messages shown to WordPress users in the admin area are called admin notices. Feedback is something they frequently offer, such as alerting customers to updates, configuration modifications, or possible problems.

Admin notices were generated using a combination of PHP and HTML code prior to WordPress 6.4. Because of this, it was challenging to apply global styling to notices and keep consistency.

WordPress 6.4 adds two new admin notice functions for creating and displaying admin notices in order to address these issues.

• WordPress get_admin_notice (). This function creates the admin notice’s HTML markup. Its parameters include a message, an array of arguments, an optional type, an ID, a dismissible flag, and more classes.
• wp admin notice (). The HTML markup for an admin message is directly output to the page using this function. The parameters are the same as those of wp_get_admin_notice ().

In addition to improving consistency for admin notices, the new functions allow developers to modify the appearance and functionality of the messages using parameters and filters. 

For more specific details regarding the parameters, filters, and actions of the function, see the admin notice developer note.

Updating Your Website to WordPress 6.4

Now that WordPress 6.4 is available, it’s imperative that your website be ready for an easy update. The following actions are advised to guarantee a secure WordPress updating procedure:

To update your website to WordPress 6.4, you can follow these steps:

• Back up your website: This is an important step before any major update, in case anything goes wrong. You can back up your website using a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BackWPup.
• Check your theme and plugin compatibility: Some themes and plugins may not be compatible with WordPress 6.4, so it’s important to check before you update. You can check your theme and plugin compatibility by visiting the WordPress.org Plugin Directory or the WordPress.org Theme Directory.
• Update your WordPress core: You can update your WordPress core manually or automatically. To update manually, download the latest version of WordPress from the WordPress.org Download page. Then, extract the files to your web server.

To update automatically, go to Dashboard > Updates in your WordPress admin dashboard. Click the Update Now button to update your WordPress core.

• Update your themes and plugins: Once you have updated your WordPress core, you can update your themes and plugins. To update automatically, go to Dashboard > Updates in your WordPress admin dashboard. Click the Update All button to update all of your themes and plugins.

To update manually, go to Appearance > Themes or Plugins > Installed Plugins in your WordPress admin dashboard. Click the Activate button next to the theme or plugin you want to update.

• Test your website: Once you have updated your WordPress core, themes, and plugins, be sure to test your website to make sure everything is working properly.

If you encounter any problems after updating to WordPress 6.4, you can check the WordPress.org Support Forums for help. You may maintain the security and optimal functionality of your website throughout the WordPress 6.4 upgrade by adhering to these guidelines.

FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions)