What’s New in WordPress 6.5? Features and Updates

WordPress 6.5 is here! This is the first major update of the year 2024 and a particularly promising one. On April 2, 2024, WordPress 6.5 “Regina” was released to the public.

Taking cues from the influential Jazz artist Regina Carter, WordPress 6.5 elevates the process of website design to unprecedented levels.

The newest developer tools, like the Interactivity API and the Block Bindings API, are set to significantly impact users of WP 6.5 by enabling them to create experiences that drive results effectively.

It is packed with new features, loads of bug fixes, and improvements that will make your WordPress website management and content creation even better.

Let’s explore some key highlights of WordPress 6.5, providing you with screenshots and detailed explanations to help you grasp the utilization of these innovative features.

Major WordPress 6.5 Regina Features and Updates

1. Add and manage fonts across your site

The Font Library is a tool that lets you easily manage the look of your website’s text, like fonts, without needing to know how to code or do anything extra. You can quickly add, delete, or change fonts from your website, whether they’re from your computer or Google Fonts. This feature works with any Block theme. Plus, you can even use your own special font collections to make your site stand out even more.

Source: WordPress

Performance Boost

WordPress 6.5 possess over 110 performance optimizations, resulting in a significant speed increase. Expect to see the post editor and site editor loading more than twice as fast compared to version 6.4. Additionally, input processing speeds have seen a remarkable five-fold improvement.

For multilingual websites, “Performant Translations” delivers up to a 25% reduction in loading times. Support for AVIF images, a new image format offering superior compression without sacrificing quality, further contributes to faster websites.

Designed with Accessibility in Mind

WordPress 6.5 prioritizes inclusivity with over 65 accessibility enhancements. This update addresses a critical issue that previously blocked screen reader users from accessing admin submenus. Furthermore, improvements have been made in color contrast, element positioning, and cursor focus, ensuring a smoother experience for everyone.

Smoother drag-and-drop

Source: WordPress

Experience the change when you rearrange items, with helpful visual cues like displaced items in List View or easily dragging them anywhere in your workspace—from start to finish.

Enhanced Editing Experience

Block editing gets even better in WordPress 6.5. You can now rename most blocks directly within the editor or list view, making content organization a breeze. Style revisions allow you to revisit past styling choices for a particular block, offering greater flexibility.

Improved link controls

Create and manage links easily with a more intuitive link-building experience, like a streamlined UI and a shortcut for copying links.

Supercharged Design Tools

WordPress developers can utilize their creativity with the expanded design toolbox in WordPress 6.5. The Image, Column, and Button blocks now support drop shadows, enabling you to add depth and dimension to your layouts. Group blocks receive an upgrade with the ability to control size, repeat, and focal point options for background images.

Cover blocks gain the ability to set aspect ratios and color overlays, simplifying the creation of visually appealing sections. And for even more design freedom, box shadow support has been extended to more block types.

Data Views in the Site Editor

The Site Editor gets a boost with the introduction of Data Views. This feature allows you to visualize and interact with your site’s data directly within the editor.

A Boon for Developers

Developers rejoice! WordPress 6.5 introduces the Interactivity API, empowering you to add interactive elements to blocks. This opens doors for creating engaging and dynamic user experiences. The Block Bindings API facilitates connecting blocks to custom fields or other dynamic content, further enhancing customization options.

Classic themes also receive some love, with the addition of appearance tools for greater control over their look and feel. The plugin experience sees improvements as well, making WordPress development and maintenance a smoother process.

Conclusion

WordPress 6.5 “Regina” shapes up to be a significant update, offering a plethora of enhancements for both content creators and developers. From the performance boost and accessibility improvements to the new design tools and developer-friendly features, this release promises to make building and managing WordPress websites an even more enjoyable experience. So, what are you waiting for? Update your WordPress site to 6.5 today and take advantage of all the exciting new features!

If you find updating your WordPress site to version 6.5 a daunting task or need additional assistance with managing your website, consider exploring white label WordPress maintenance services. These services offer professional support and maintenance tailored to your needs, ensuring your website stays up-to-date and secure.