WordPress 5.0 Release – What’s New, Updates & Features [With Screenshots]
WordPress 5.0 came out on December 6th. It is the major release of WordPress in 2018 and brought some big upgrades by introducing the new block based post editor.
Popularly known as Gutenberg.
When I heard about it the very first time, tons of questions were popped in my mind –
- Should I update to WordPress 5.0? Is now the right time to update?
- Will my site work with Gutenberg?
- What if I don’t want to update now, or I’m not ready?
- Whether my existing WordPress plugins or add-ons are compatible for Gutenberg?
I am sure these questions might have came across your mind too.
Table of Contents
What’s New In WordPress 5.0?
1. Gutenberg – The New Block Based Content Editor for WordPress posts and pages
Here’s what it looks like vs the classic editor:
What is Gutenberg? Gutenberg is the new block-based post editor with streamlines editing experience across the website. Now displaying content is more flexible whether you’re just beginning as a blogger, an experienced blogger or a WordPress developer.
You can read more about it on our complete guide on Gutenberg block-based WordPress editor.
2. Twenty Nineteen – The New Default WordPress Theme
Twenty Nineteen WordPress theme comes out with the release of WordPress 5.0.
Twenty Nineteen is designed with full block-based content editor compatibility and clearly shows off the power of Gutenberg.
1. Custom Styles For Gutenberg Blocks
Custom styles for the Gutenberg blocks are available by default in 5.0. It extends the use of editor styles.
2. Simple, Beautiful and High-Performance WordPress Theme!
Twenty nineteen is designed to be simply beautiful and high-performance WordPress theme.
Its headings are paired with modern sans-serif and body with the classic-serif font.
It boosts up the performance and increases loading speed by using system fonts rather than loading third party or Google fonts.
3. Wide Range of Use Cases
Twenty Nineteen is designed to cover a wide range of website niches like blogging, photo blogging, new business or a non-profit.
Block-based editor extends the possibilities more for Twenty Nineteen use cases.
Other WordPress 5.0 Features That You Should Know!
Apart from the block-based editor and new WordPress theme, there are other WordPress 5.0 features and updates that cannot be ignored at all.
Check them out –
1. All WordPress Default Themes Are Block Based Compatible –
All the previous WordPress default themes from Twenty Ten to Twenty Nineteen are compatible with the new block-based editor, Gutenberg.
2. PHP 7.3 Support –
WordPress 5.0 fully supports the PHP 7.3 version and will continue to work with PHP 5.2.4. Though it is recommended that you should upgrade the PHP version by WordPress community.
3. Content Accessibility Improved –
Content accessibility has been improved as simple ARIA labels can be saved in posts and pages now. It will help screen readers looking for text labels for objects like buttons etc.
4. For Developers – Translatable strings can be added to JavaScript Code
Translatable strings can now be added directly to the JavaScript code by using new JavaScript language packs.
Some Important Questions Related to WordPress 5.0 Features and Update!
Is WordPress 5.0 Compatible with Themes and Plugins?
WordPress gave enough time to Plugin and Theme Developers to test their product and compatibility with WordPress 5.0 version and new editor by releasing 5.0 beta release and 5.0 RC release early.
Most theme shops and plugin owners like Yoast have already made their product compatible with the new editor and WordPress 5.0 version.
However, if a plugin or theme on your website is not working properly and facing any type of compatibility issues with WordPress 5.0 and new editor, then you need to contact the plugin or theme developer and ask for compatibility issues.
If in case, you don’t receive a word from the plugin of theme developer then –
- You can temporarily disable the plugin or theme until you get receive a reply.
- You can switch back to the classic editor.
- You can replace that plugin with a better plugin or theme that provide regular updates.
Can I Still Use The Old WordPress Editor? What if I want to upgrade but I’m not ready for Gutenberg?
Absolutely! You can keep it classic. It’s okay not to use Gutenberg editor if you’re not ready to use it.
So, if you wish to keep the old WordPress editor, all you need to do is to install the Classic Editor plugin.
Classic Editor plugin disables the new block-based editor just after the activation and enables the old classic editor again.
For more details, see our article on How to disable Gutenberg and keep classic editor in WordPress?
Should I update to WordPress 5.0?
It completely depends on you! Whether you are ready to take new updates and move with the new editor.
OR
Would like to take some time and wait for a more stable version of the WordPress, third party themes and plugins.
What Happens to the Existing Content?
WordPress 5.0 wraps the old content inside a “Classic” editor block without affecting it.
You can easily edit old articles in the new editor inside the classic block.
If you wish to edit the old articles with the new block editor, you can easily do that by converting the old post to multiple blocks.
What Do I Recommend?
I absolutely loved the new WordPress 5.0 version and would definitely recommend you to update and try out the new block-based Gutenberg editor.
But before that, I would suggest you take a complete backup of your website before updating it to 5.0.
Just, in case if, any issue appeared because of the non-compatibility of existing WordPress plugins and themes with WordPress 5.0 and the new editor.
Your data is safe!
You can check out our compiled list of Best WordPress Backup & Restore plugins to take a Complete Backup of your Website.
Take Away!
We hope this article gave you a better understanding of What’s new in WordPress 5.0, all features and updates.
Let me know your thoughts about the WordPress 5.0 release and the new block-based editor?
Share your experience with the new WordPress 5.0 version in the comments section below!
