The release of WordPress 6.5 has been delayed for a week to finalize the Font Library, which could cause problems for users.
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Program transcript
Hello, I’m Javier Casares, and you’re listening to WordPress Pódcast, bringing the weekly news from the WordPress Community.
In this program, you’ll find the information from March 25th to March 31st, 2024.
WordPress 6.5 has been delayed by a week. It’s something that doesn’t usually happen, but the situation with the Font Library was starting to get complicated, so it was decided to pause, work on the solution, and include it in this version. However, this required delaying the release and also led to the launch of an unplanned 4th release candidate.
This means that on April 2nd, with the final version, the fonts will be stored in /wp-content/uploads/fonts/, in addition to fixing several errors related to this new functionality that had been identified in the latest versions of Gutenberg.
The reason for this situation is quite simple: if the fonts, which were going to be dynamic user content, were not in the uploads folder, some hosting providers would have to modify several elements that are blocked for security reasons. And this is what was going to happen by allowing the folder above that level.
And now that we know everything that WordPress 6.5 includes and its release date, the next step is to learn more about WordPress 6.6, which already has a release date: it will be on July 16, 2024; previously the beta version on June 4 and the candidate on June 25.
Looking to the future version, we have Gutenberg 18.0 bringing us an update to the global styles, allowing to select a style, and separately, the colors and typography. The other part being worked on in depth are the Data Views, the new navigation and information system of the Admin Panel.
The Performance team has launched the Embed Optimizer plugin with the aim of reviewing the optimization of embedded content and proposing improvements that can be included in future versions.
The two most important projects currently open are the improvement of template loading, whether by files or content, and what opportunities the INP (Interaction to Next Paint) factor offers for the frontend.
On the Developer Blog, they show how to make use of the Block Hooks API, introduced in WordPress 6.4, which, for example, allows adding the icon of an e-commerce cart to the main menu without the user having to do it manually.
Another content is how to use WordPress React components on plugin configuration pages. This allows for a more modern interface style, which is in the process of evolution.
The last is how to effectively use the useSelect hook from React, which allows for interacting within the editor in very different ways.
The Design team is working on the future version of grids, evolving the work that will come in WordPress 6.5; they’re also working on a new navigation experience for editing template parts, being able to access and exit easily, for example, from a header when working on a page.
Another element is proximity selection, so if you click on a site that is not a block, but there is one nearby, that one will be selected.
They’re also working on a new version of the Admin Panel, the content saving process, Openverse’s dark mode, and a new version of the Blocks page on the WordPress.org site.
The Openverse team is working on some improvements such as adding new views, improving index results, documenting all media properties, improving the moderation of sensitive content, and even the possibility of including a recognition system.
BuddyPress 12.4 has been released as a maintenance version that includes 6 changes, of which 4 are fixes, referring to the BuddyPress Rewrites API and Activity.
If you’re planning to go to WordCamp United States, you have tickets available starting at 100 dollars, to enjoy 4 days of the event.
And finally, this podcast is distributed under a Creative Commons license as a derivative version of the WordPress Podcast in Spanish; you can find all the links for more information at WordPress Podcast .org or follow the content in Catalan, Spanish, and French.
Thanks for listening, and until the next episode!
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