WordPress: An Introduction
WordPress is free and open-source software with a large community of users and developers who contribute themes, plugins, and support.
It started as a blogging platform, but now it has become one of the most popular and powerful content management systems (CMS). You can create any website or blog using WordPress – from personal to complex corporate websites.
This blog post will briefly explore the following topics –
- Why does WordPress release frequent updates?
- Which is the current WordPress version?
- What’s new in WordPress’ current version?
- Importance of using the latest WordPress version
- WordPress Version History
Why Does WordPress Release Frequent Updates?
WordPress has come a long way in recent years and is now used by millions of businesses and organizations worldwide. However, given its popularity, it’s no surprise that hackers often target WordPress websites.
Hackers persistently try to find vulnerabilities in WordPress because of its popularity. So, developers must concentrate on keeping things patched and secure so that vulnerabilities that could be exploited will be fixed in a new WordPress version.
In short, better security will come from following WordPress updates and staying informed about its latest changes. Additionally, the WordPress platform has amassed a strong community regarding updating new versions. Additionally, developers listen to requests from users and often update the requested features.
WordPress’s updates often feature more security improvements, and these frequent updates are to improve performance that may sometimes even slightly change how things work. However, all these updates are required according to contemporary needs and to simplify the user experience.
Which is the current WordPress version?
The latest version of WordPress is 6.1, “Misha,” released on November 1, 2022.
WordPress 6.1 includes nearly 60 updates that focus on improving accessibility. In addition, it introduced a new default theme, “Twenty-Twenty-Three,” which includes 10 different styles and can easily apply a different look within a single theme.
This new version improved the block editor, tools for greater control, consistency in design, easy menu management, and fluid typography with more responsive text. Also, this version mainly focuses on the improvement of the developer experience.
What’s new in WordPress 6.1
Twenty Twenty-Three:
WordPress version 6.1 introduces a new default theme – Twenty Twenty-Three default block theme.
It has eleven theme styles pre-installed, and the global styles switcher function makes it simple to change the color scheme and typography. Although if you opt without using pre-defined theme designs, the variables in the form of options are an excellent starting point when customizing.
The typography of Twenty Twenty-Three has also been improved. You have access to more font family options and all eleven styles. This gives more opportunities to combine different typographic styles.
Fluid Typography Support:
WordPress 6.1 now supports Fluid Typography by using calc and clamp CSS functions.
Fluid typography lets you scale smoothly from a minimum to maximum width. Or, define the font sizes that will appear on any screen size with easy reading.
With this new option, authors can choose text sizes that can scale and adapt to the actual state of the screen, ensuring that your content appears perfect on any display.
One-click lock setting:
To prevent users from changing the content of a block or pattern, WordPress introduces a new toggle that lets you apply lock settings to all the blocks.
Block locking is a powerful feature that protects your content blocks from accidental deletion. However, locking a nested block can take a while because you have to lock each block separately.
This feature has been improved in WordPress 6.1 by enabling you to apply block locking to each element inside a group block. This option will appear in the block locking pop-up when you want to lock a group block. Inside the toggle switch, you will see the Apply to all blocks.
Manage menus with ease
It’s now much easier to edit the navigation you see in your navigation block. They just open up instead of going through a search process. In addition, the controls for choosing and working on menus are now in their own section of the block settings. There’s also a new mobile menu option with some significant accessibility updates, including the ability to change icons on menus.
Introduces content-only editing
Content-only editing for blocks, patterns, and templates is introduced in WordPress 6.1. So, when content-only editing is enabled, users can only change the content of a block or pattern, preventing them from accidentally changing or breaking the layout or style.
The Visual editor interface does not currently support content-only editing. To enable this feature, set the templateLock attribute to contentOnly, via the Code editor. However, to disable the content-only edition, click the Modify button in the group toolbar.
Appearance tools are available in any theme
Appearance Tools were only accessible in block themes before WordPress 6.1. With 6.1, any theme can add support for this feature in their functions file and include it. You can now activate all the settings in one place, such as:
- Typography
- A border with color, radius, style, and width
- Spacing includes of blockGap, margin, and padding.
Updated Editor Information
The editor Details menu has been updated with new stats. Information popover displays the word and character counts and the Time to read statistics along with headings, paragraph, and block counts. By doing so, you’ll be able to predict more accurately how long your content will be and how long it will take to read.
Check out this article to find out which WordPress version your site is currently using.
Importance of using the latest WordPress version
You should continuously update to the latest WordPress version for
- Higher security
- Better speed
- Improved performance
- Extra features
Higher security
WordPress is a popular CMS, making it vulnerable to hacks because hackers can easily analyze open-source code.
Non-malicious hackers often study WordPress code to find and report any vulnerabilities. Then the WordPress team reviews these reports and provides quick updates addressing the security issues raised. All these measures work to minimize the potential damage malicious hackers could pose.
So regularly updating WordPress should be a priority as this will reduce the success rate of hacking attacks and improve your holistic website security.
Better speed
The latest WordPress updates often significantly increase speed and performance improvements. Faster loading results in a reduced bounce rate, a better user experience, and overall improvement in your website ranking, ultimately leading to a greater conversion rate with higher search visibility.
Improved performance
Using the most recent WordPress version always results in better performance, regardless of the type of WordPress website you want to build. So, take advantage of the latest updates to improve the editing and designing experience.
Extra features
WordPress’s latest version nowadays also includes many advanced features to make it more user-friendly, simplify designing tasks, and make it delightful.
Not only that, themes and plugins typically receive updates in response to every significant WordPress upgrade. So, updating to the latest version of WordPress often also comes with the benefit of advanced features.
However, before the WordPress update, you should consider the points below –
- Do not forget to back up your WordPress website to ensure you don’t lose any data if anything goes wrong.
- Ensure that the themes and plugins are compatible with the latest update to avoid compatibility issues.
- There are pros and cons if you opt for automatic updates, so it’s more recommendable to auto-update for minor updates only.
Read this guide to know How to Upgrade your WordPress.
WordPress Version History
WordPress has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a simple blogging tool when its Version 1.0 was released on May 27, 2003. Each new WordPress version brings new features, improvements, and bug fixes.
Let’s take a look at WordPress’ history and some of the significant changes that have been made to it over the years.
| Version | Name | Release Date | Key Updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Benny | September 4, 2014 |
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| 4.1 | Dinah | December 18, 2014 |
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| 4.2 | Powell | April 23, 2015 |
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| 4.3 | Billie | August 18, 2015 |
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| 4.4 | Clifford | December 8, 2015 |
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| 4.5 | Coleman | April 12, 2016 |
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| 4.6 | Pepper | August 16, 2016 |
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| 4.7 | Vaughan | December 6, 2016 |
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| 4.8 | Evans | June 8, 2017 |
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| 4.9 | Tipton | November 16, 2017 |
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| 5 | Bebo | December 6, 2018 |
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| 5.1 | Betty | February 21, 2019 |
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| 5.2 | Jaco | May 7, 2019 |
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| 5.3 | Kirk | November 12, 2019 |
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| 5.4 | Adderley | March 31, 2020 |
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| 5.5 | Eckstine | August 11, 2020 |
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| 5.6 | Simone | December 8, 2020 |
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| 5.7 | Esperanza | March 9, 2021 |
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| 5.8 | Tatum | July 20, 2021 |
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| 5.9 | Joséphine | January 25, 2022 |
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| 6 | Arturo | May 24, 2022 |
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| 6.1 | Misha | November 1, 2022 |
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Conclusion
It’s Time to upgrade WordPress if you’re still using its older version; upgrading can be done in just a few clicks. The most recent version of WordPress includes critical security updates, performance improvements, and new features that make it worthwhile.
So don’t wait any longer — upgrade today and enjoy the benefits of the latest version of WordPress.
