WordPress 6.1 is knocking on the door — it’s approaching November 1st, 2022. Along with the unimaginable variety of wonderful options and enhancements, WordPress 6.1 continues to offer yearly default themes (Twenty Twenty-three). As is customary, new WordPress releases incorporate new options, enhancements, and bug fixes from the newest variations of the Gutenberg plugin. And WordPress 6.1 is not any exception, as 11 variations of the Gutenberg plugin, starting from 13.1 to 14.1, are merged into the core. WordPress 6.0 continued the Full Web site Modifying journey after WordPress 5.9 introduced us to the center of Gutenberg Part 2. Let’s see what WordPress 6.1 brings to the desk, lets?
Matias Ventura offers us some insights into the Roadmap to 6.1. In line with him, the purpose of 6.1 is to refine the experiences launched in 5.9 and 6.0, in addition to to repair some points as we strategy part 3 of the Gutenberg roadmap.
Desk of Contents:
Backup Earlier than Updating
WordPress 6.1 contains quite a few new options. We advocate you again up your dwell web site and check the brand new model in a staging surroundings earlier than updating it. Incorporate the next into your backup:
- Plugins;
- Themes;
- Media library;
- WordPress information;
- WordPress database.
FastComet offers free daily backups. You can too use a backup plugin for WordPress, corresponding to BackupBuddy. The plugin can handle your WordPress web site’s handbook and computerized backups.
WordPress 6.1 Additions and Enhancements
We get important enhancements in quite a few areas of the CMS with WordPress 6.1, from usability to efficiency, together with the next:
- New default theme;
- Block Editor Enhancements;
- Dimensions in Extra Blocks;
- Improved Border Choices;
- Featured Picture in Cowl Block.
However maintain on, there’s extra. WordPress 6.1 additionally incorporates quite a few updates, options, and bug fixes. General, the block editor has acquired over 350 enhancements and 350 bug fixes in WordPress 6.1. This additionally contains greater than 250 tickets for the core.
Sure, there’s a lot to debate. With out additional ado, let’s check out what’s new in WordPress 6.1.
New Default Theme: Twenty Twenty-Three
In line with WordPress custom, the 12 months’s last launch features a new default theme referred to as Twenty Twenty-Three.

Twenty Twenty-Three is a block theme with Full Web site Modifying capabilities and a minimalist design. It contains ten fashion variations from which customers can select throughout the Web site Editor.

It additionally contains 4 fonts which might be utilized in numerous types. These fonts will also be used when writing posts and pages.

General, Twenty Twenty-Three presents a beautiful canvas for building any type of website with the design instruments out there within the web site editor.
Block Editor Enhancements
WordPress customers spend the vast majority of their time utilizing the block editor to create posts and pages for his or her web sites. Every WordPress launch contains quite a few editor enhancements. WordPress 6.1 additionally incorporates adjustments made within the Gutenberg (code identify for the block editor venture) releases 13.1 to 14.1.
The first purpose of those Gutenberg releases was to make sure consistency within the availability of design instruments for numerous blocks.
Among the extra noticeable adjustments within the block editor are listed under.
Improved Border Choices
WordPress 6.1 permits customers so as to add borders to extra blocks. They will additionally change the prime, proper, backside, and left borders individually.

The picture block, which beforehand solely allow you to select a border-radius, now enables you to add precise borders as nicely.

Dimensions in Extra Blocks
WordPress 6.1 provides dimensions to extra blocks corresponding to Paragraph, Checklist, Columns, Desk, and others.

Customers can now set padding and margin for extra blocks, giving them way more management over the design and structure. When adjusting padding and margins for a block, it additionally helps customers visualize the adjustments.
Featured Picture in Cowl Block
WordPress customers incessantly inquire in regards to the distinction between featured photos and canopy blocks. Many customers need to use the quilt block as their web site’s featured picture. In WordPress 6.1, you possibly can select your featured picture for a canopy block. Merely set the featured picture, and it’ll start to seem inside the quilt.

Customers can show featured photos wherever they need by utilizing a canopy.
Notice:
If this feature isn’t used accurately, your featured picture might seem twice on the display, relying in your theme.
Horizontal and Vertical Spacing in Gallery Block
With WordPress 6.1, you possibly can set totally different horizontal and vertical gaps for photos within the Gallery block utilizing a brand new axial spacing control.
This alteration offers extra flexibility when designing the layout of image galleries.
Improved Navigation Block
WordPress 6.1 contains an improved navigation block that means that you can create and choose a menu immediately from the block settings.

Customers can now use design instruments to fashion submenus in another way than the mother or father menu merchandise.

Quote and Checklist Blocks with Internal Blocks
Have you ever ever wished to maneuver a bulleted record merchandise up or down with out modifying it?
WordPress 6.1 provides inside blocks to the Checklist and Quote blocks.
For instance, objects in a listing block at the moment are their very own blocks. You may transfer them up and down with out modifying.

Equally, when utilizing the Quote block, customers can fashion Quote and Cite blocks in another way.

Editor Design Enhancements
WordPress 6.1 additionally contains various adjustments to the Editor display design. These modifications improve the person expertise on the block editor display.
Following are a few of these enhancements:
- The Preview button is now referred to as View:

In Web site Editor, the View button now additionally features a hyperlink to easily view your web site in a brand new tab.

- Standing & Visibility Panel is now Known as Abstract
The standing and visibility panel below the Publish settings can be renamed Abstract.

- Permalink and Template choices have their very own panels below Publish settings. With WordPress 6.1, these panels are merged below the Abstract panel.

Merely broaden the Abstract panel to search out the choice to alter the ‘URL’ (permalink) and choose the template.

- Improved Info Panel. In WordPress 6.1, the knowledge popover may even show the time to learn info.

- Web site Icon replaces the WordPress Brand. When you have set the positioning icon on your web site, it is going to be used because the View Posts button within the prime left nook of the display.
- New Preferences Choices. The preferences panel now contains two new choices.
- First, there may be an ‘All the time open record view,’ which lets you show a listing view when modifying posts.

- The second new possibility is to ‘Present button textual content labels,’ which reveals textual content as a substitute of icons on buttons.
Create Extra Templates in Web site Editor
Customers may create templates utilizing template hierarchy and lengthen their WordPress theme by writing code in traditional WordPress themes. Customers of WordPress 6.1 can now do the identical factor utilizing the block editor and with out writing code. Model 6.1 grants entry to the next templates no matter block theme.
- Single web page;
- Single submit;
- Indivdual time period in a taxonomy;
- Particular person class;
- Customized template (can be utilized for any submit or web page);
Merely navigate to Look → Editor and choose templates from the left sidebar. Then, to see the out there choices, click on the Add New button.

If you choose a template that may be utilized to a single merchandise, a popup will seem. You may then choose the merchandise the place you need the brand new template to be utilized.

For instance, if you choose the Class template, a popup will seem. Now you can select whether or not to use your new template to all classes or only one.

Fast Search and Use for Template Elements
WordPress 6.1 additionally makes it less complicated to search out and use template elements. For instance, in case your theme contains a number of header template elements, you possibly can shortly find and apply one in every of them.

Merely choose Exchange after clicking on the template half choices.
This can open a modal popup the place you possibly can seek for out there template elements to make use of.

Underneath The Hood Enhancements
Modifications for Builders
WordPress 6.1 additionally features a new API in addition to quite a few options and adjustments for builders:
The way to Replace to WordPress 6.1
The one-click staging surroundings is the most suitable choice for upgrading your WordPress core. You should utilize it to clone your WordPress web site and check WordPress 6.1 totally free and extra securely.
WordPress 6.1 installs identical to another core improve. All it’s important to do is click on the Updates icon in your admin dashboard and choose Replace Now. Understand that whereas the CMS is being up to date, your web site will go into upkeep mode. After the replace is accomplished, the web site will return to regular.
Abstract
WordPress web site modifying capabilities are being consolidated with WordPress 6.1. We’re nonetheless in part two of Gutenberg’s long-term roadmap, however the instruments and options at our disposal have gotten extra dependable and strong over time. Fluid Typography, new site-building instruments, and quite a few enhancements to current blocks are all included in WordPress 6.1.
However that’s not all. WordPress 6.1 additionally improves CMS efficiency considerably. Two new Web site Well being checks detect using Full Web page Cache and Persistent Object Cache, question caching improves WP Question efficiency, and PHP efficiency for core block registration has been improved.
In brief, 6.1 is a model that WordPress customers and designers ought to take pleasure in, in addition to builders, who will profit from quite a few enhancements to the CMS.
Please go away your ideas on WordPress 6.1 within the feedback part under.
