What’s New in WordPress 6.0 (Features and Changes)

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WordPress 6.0 Arturo was released on May 24, 2022. You can update to WordPress 6.0 now; here is what will change in WordPress 6.0, new features and changes.

Release Date of WordPress 6.0

WordPress 6.0 has been released on May 24, 2022.

The schedule for the release is as follows.

DateDetail
April 12, 2022Beta 1
April 19, 2022Beta 2
April 26, 2022Beta 3
May 2, 2022Beta 4
May 3, 2022Release Candidate 1
May 10, 2022Release Candidate 2
May 17, 2022Release Candidate 3
May 23, 2022Dry run
May 24, 2022Release

For the release dates of other versions, please refer to the following pages.

Code Name for WordPress 6.0

The WordPress codename is derived from the name of a jazz musician.

WordPress 6.0 is code-named Arturo after Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Arturo O’Farrill.

VersionCode NameMusician
WordPress 5.9JosephineJoséphine Baker
WordPress 5.8TatumArt Tatum
WordPress 5.7EsperanzaEsperanza Spalding
WordPress 5.6SimoneNina Simone

Server Requirements for WordPress 6.0

In order to run WordPress 6.0, the following requirements are recommended.

For the recommended versions of PHP and MySQL for each version of WordPress, please refer to the following pages.

How to get WordPress 6.0

WordPress 6.0 available on the download page.

Please refer to the article below on how to download WordPress.

How to update WordPress 6.0

To update to WordPress 6.0, click the Update Now button on the Update page of your dashboard.

Be sure to back up your files and database before a major update.

You will be in maintenance mode during the update.

How to try WordPress 6.0 beta?

You can try out the beta version of WordPress 6.0 before it is released.

The beta version may be subject to updates to the database structure during development. Please do not use it for production web sites.

Please refer to the following page to install WordPress in your local environment.

To try out the beta version of WordPress 6.0, install the WordPress Beta Tester plugin.

New features and changes in WordPress 6.0

WordPress 6.0 includes over 500 enhancements and over 400 bug fixes.

The following new features and changes are available in WordPress 6.0.

Block Editor

New Blocks

New blocks have been added, including Comments Query Loop, No results, Read More, Post Author Biography, and Avatar.

Comments Query Loop is an advanced block that allows displaying post comments using different visual configurations.

Comments Query Loop

No results contains the block elements used to render content when no query results are found.

No results can only be added within a query loop block.

No Results

Read More displays the link of a post, page, or any other content-type.

Read more

Post Author Biography displays the author’s biography.

Post Author Biography

Avatar adds the user’s avatar. You can select the size of the avatar image and the avatar user to be displayed.

Avatar

New Block Transform

You can now transform from paragraph blocks to code blocks. Other transformation such as group to row and tag cloud to category are now available.

New Block Transform

Maintain block styles

Maintains color, typography, and other styles when blocks are transform. For example, when a paragraph block with color set is transform to a heading block, the color is also maintained.

WordPress versions prior to 6.0 do not maintain block styles.

Maintain block styles

Display labels on social icons

Labels can now be displayed on social icons.

Display labels on social icons

Outline Styles Added to Tag Cloud

A new outline style has been added to the tag cloud.

Outline Styles Added to Tag Cloud

Use Featured Images in Cover Blocks

You can now use a featured image in the cover block.

Use Featured Images in Cover Blocks

Query block functionality added

The query block now supports custom taxonomies. You can filter by multiple tags and Authors.

Query block functionality added

Select text from multiple blocks

You can now select text from multiple blocks and edit them all at once; prior to WordPress 6.0, the entire block would be selected.

Select text from multiple blocks

Quick Access to the Links Menu

You can now insert internal links using a keyboard shortcut: type two brackets [[ to bring up the links menu.

Quick Access to the Links Menu

List View Improvements

Multiple blocks can now be selected in the list view by using shortcuts (Shift+Click or Shift+↑↓).

Multiple blocks can also be moved by drag & drop.

List View Improvements

Locking Blocks

Blocks can now be locked. Blocks can be moved, blocks can be deleted, or both can be disabled.

Locking Blocks

If you do not use block locking, you can disable it. The following article shows you how to disable block locking.

Reminder of tags and categories before publishing

If no tags or categories have been set, you will be suggested to add tags or categories before publishing.

Reminder of tags and categories before publishing

Block Themes

Switching Styles

You can change the style of the entire site without changing the theme by simply selecting one of the pre-prepared styles.

Twenty Twenty-Two offers four display styles with different typography and colors.

Switching Styles

New Templates Added

Author, Category, Date, Tag, and Taxonomy have been added to the templates.

New Templates Added

Exporting

Modified block themes can be exported as a Zip file. It can be imported to another WordPress.

Exporting

Changes for Developers

The following changes are available for theme and plugin developers.

Webfonts API

You can now register new web fonts from PHP or theme.json.

In theme.json, edit fontFamilies as follows

"fontFamilies": [
    {
        "fontFamily": "-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,\"Segoe UI\",Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,\"Helvetica Neue\",sans-serif",
        "name": "System Font",
        "slug": "system-font"
    },
    {
        "fontFamily": "\"Source Serif Pero\", serif",
        "name": "Source Serif Pero",
        "slug": "source-serif-pero",
        "fontFace": [
            {
                "fontFamily": "Source Serif Pero",
                "fontWeight": "200 900",
                "fontStyle": "normal",
                "fontStretch": "normal",
                "src": [ "file:./assets/fonts/SourceSerif4Variable-Roman.ttf.woff2" ]
            },
            {
                "fontFamily": "Source Serif Pero",
                "fontWeight": "200 900",
                "fontStyle": "italic",
                "fontStretch": "normal",
                "src": [ "file:./assets/fonts/SourceSerif4Variable-Italic.ttf.woff2" ]
            }
        ]
    }
],

For PHP, add the following to functions.php

add_action( 'after_setup_theme', function() {
	if ( ! function_exists( 'wp_register_webfonts' ) ) {
		return;
	}
	wp_register_webfonts(
		array(
			array(
				'font-family'  => 'Random Font Name',
				'font-weight'  => '200 900',
				'font-style'   => 'normal',
				'font-stretch' => 'normal',
				'src'          => array( 'file:./assets/fonts/SourceSerif4Variable-Roman.ttf.woff2' ),
			),
			array(
				'font-family'  => 'Random Font Name',
				'font-weight'  => '200 900',
				'font-style'   => 'italic',
				'font-stretch' => 'normal',
				'src'          => array( 'file:./assets/fonts/SourceSerif4Variable-Italic.ttf.woff2' ),
			),
		)
	);
} );

Filter Hooks added in WordPress 6.0

Filter HooksDescription
media_date_column_timeFilters the published time of an attachment displayed in the Media list table
plugin_install_descriptionFilters the plugin card description on the Add Plugins screen
edit_custom_thumbnail_sizesFilters whether custom sizes are available options for image editing
wp_admin_bar_show_site_iconsFilters whether to show the site icons in toolbar
the_author_linkFilters the author URL link HTML
register_{$post_type}_post_type_argsFilters the arguments for registering a specific post type
register_{$taxonomy}_taxonomy_argsFilters the arguments for registering a specific taxonomy
pre_wp_filesizeFilters the result of wp_filesize before the PHP function is run
wp_filesizeFilters the size of the file
wp_content_img_tagFilters an img tag within the content for a given context
term_exists_default_query_argsFilters default query arguments for checking if a term exists
wp_is_large_user_countFilters whether the site is considered large, based on its number of users
send_retrieve_password_emailFilters whether to send the retrieve password email
retrieve_password_notification_emailFilters the contents of the reset password notification email sent to the user

Action Hooks added in WordPress 6.0

Action HooksDescription
registered_post_type_{$post_type}Fires after a specific post type is registered
registered_taxonomy_{$taxonomy}Fires after a specific taxonomy is registered

How do I downgrade?

If you update to WordPress 6.0 and find problems, you can downgrade by installing WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version.

Past Updates

Previous updates to WordPress are described in the following articles.

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