WordPress 5.8 brings unique updates for WordPress developers, users, or builders. It is not limited to enhancement in website features, but it has also focused on several sections of CMS. WordPress is a popular open-source Content Management System that helps to build and manage websites effortlessly. It has excellent flexibility with the help of themes and plugins. 

What are the New Features in the Box with WordPress 5.8 Release? 

Website Editing Features 

Template Editing Mode

It provides a method to create a web page and post templates with the help of templates. This reduces the complexity of website building and allows users to benefit from site editing features outside the site editor interface using blocks.

The customization of themes has never been so easy. During WordPress development, you no longer have to build a child theme to create custom templates. The WordPress 5.8 release template editing is not limited to block themes, but it also has classic themes. 

Theme Blocks 

Full Site Editing is not the only feature that is related to the site editor. WordPress 5.8 released as introduced many theme blocks that display information dynamically from the database. The theme block introduces template tag functionalities for classic themes. Developers can add post tags of featured images anywhere in the template or content. 

Query Loop Block 

You might have come across a scenario where you need to show custom post types or a customized list of blogs. You have a vast collection of plugins when you need to handle your website products, real estate, or events. But when it comes to creating highly customized queries during WordPress development, you often need to hire WordPress developer who has the proper knowledge and experience. 

With the introduction of Query Loop Back in the WordPress core, site owners and admins can now create a list of posts without writing any complicated codes. It performs queries based on the user settings on the database. The loops retrieve each post and display the data on the web page. 

Persistent List View 

Before WordPress 5.8 released, the list view was displayed in a popover. This would disappear while the user focuses on something else on the web page. With the new update, it is now displayed on the Post Editor’s sidebar that allows users to navigate from the block tree precisely. 

Moreover, in WordPress 5.8, when a user hovers over the items in the list view, they will be highlighted in the list and corresponding block. Adding the anchor to a block will also appear next to the item in the list view.  

Block-Based Widgets

The WordPress 5.8 release aims to bring the interface of the block editor for the classic-theme widgets. This allows getting hands-on the new widgets within the block interface before it becomes standard for the WordPress users. Some benefits of this feature are:

• You can now create layouts in the sidebars, footers, and headers with the help of spacers, columns, separators, and other design blocks. 
• Short-code widgets are now blocks that help to streamline the editing experience 
• Widgets now support rich text editing without the requirement of custom code or a third-party HTML editor. 

WordPress 5.8 released the new block widgets for customizer, which is pretty straightforward. During the WordPress development, you can directly launch the customized widgets inserter just by clicking the icon of the widget panel. 

Block Editor Improvements and Features 

Media and Text Block 

Transform a block into a column’s block is easier with the WordPress 5.8 released. The Media and Text block transformation into a column automatically adds two separate sections, one for image and the other for text.  

Reusable blocks 

This saves a block or group of blocks used later on the website post or page. This is very useful for the developers who have to deal with repeated blocks on different website sections. 

Block Toolbars 

Many block toolbars are rearranged to give consistency in the UI across blocks and enhance user experience. The toolbar is divided into:

• Meta: It contains block-type controls like drag handle, mover control and block switcher. 
• Block-level:  The segment contains block tools that affect the entire content. It can be the alignment of an image block or paragraph block. 
• Inline semantic order: This contains inline transformation tools like inline formatting in a text block. 
• Embedded PDfs 

Once you add a PDF file through the file block, a new sidebar toggle helps to enable or disable the embedded PDF version. 

Conclusion

We have focused on WordPress 5.8 releases must-known features and improvements. They have also updated the block settings and style, enhancements in Block API, and WebP support. You can now easily unlock the benefits of WordPress 5.8 with us. Reach Us! To get the best services for staying updated with the latest release of WordPress.

Pankaj Sakariya

July 27, 2021