New in WordPress 6.3: Uncovering the Latest Features

Table of Content

• What’s New in WordPress 6.3?
  • Brand New Website Editor
  • Pattern Management with the Site Editor
  • Seamless Page Editing
  • Preview the Block Themes
  • Style Revisions for Undoing Any Style Customizations
  • Better Control Over Padding & Margins
  • Better Control Over the Image Aspect Ratio
  • Color & Layout Support for the Cover Block
  • Brand New Blocks
  • A New Command Tool
  • Better Link Control
  • Under-the-Deck Improvements
• How to Upgrade to the New WordPress 6.3?
• FAQs Related to New in WordPress 6.3
• Conclusion

Just a few days ago, WordPress CMS reached a new milestone with the release of its latest stable version, 6.3. And with it came a host of new features to help WordPress developers create some outstanding websites with creative designs and highly-advanced functionalities. 

For the past few months, there has been excitement among the WordPress community since the sneak previews of the new features surfaced. Well, now we have a complete view of the upcoming enhancements and additions that will soon enrich the WordPress experience for users and developers alike. From streamlined content creation tools to enhanced customization options, the upcoming release is poised to elevate website design and functionality to new heights.

So in this blog, we’ll see all the new features WordPress has introduced with its new Version 6.3.

Without further ado, let’s start with the first one.

What’s New in WordPress 6.3?

Every new stable iteration of WordPress comes with some outstanding features to improve the website development process comprehensively. And WordPress 6.3 is no different. As we have anticipated for months, this latest version of WordPress has introduced a bunch of cool features that we have discussed at length below.

#1. Brand New Website Editor

The two major points of focus with WordPress 6.3 are the site editor and collaboration. Let’s delve into the first one. Site editing is one of the first and most significant aspects of WordPress anyone has to encounter while creating a website. This part of the CMS has received a major overhaul to make it more intuitive and user-friendly.

Starting with the design earlier, the site editor used to have two menus, i.e., Templates and Template Parts. But now, the menu is split into five parts: Navigation, Styles, Pages, Templates, and Patterns. This upgrade will help create, customize, and manage the website a little more easily. 

First, new in WordPress 6.3, there is Site Navigation. It will help edit the main navigation menu at the top of the website with a curated collection of blocks. You can edit and organize the whole navigation and see the preview in real-time. Then, there’s the Styles menu, which will help you select different theme style combinations for your website. 

After that, there’s ‘Pages,’ which will help you edit the landing page and other pages (like privacy policy, 404 Error page, or any other new sample page) of your website. Then, you’ll see ‘Templates,’ which holds a variety of templates for different pages of your website. The final part of the site editor menu is ‘Patterns,’ which we’ll discuss in the next part. 

In WordPress 6.3, after editing and customizing your website, you can even have a sneak peek of your website through the “View Site” button at the top. So it will be easier to make the changes then and there.

#2. Pattern Management with the Site Editor

The next overhaul comes in the form of better pattern management offered by the site editor. Patterns play a major role in your website’s design. They promote consistency and efficiency in designing and developing the front end of your website. WordPress 6.3 has made the process of pattern management more intuitive and user-friendly than ever before.

The ‘Patterns’ section in the site editor is also new in WordPress 6.3. You can view all of your synchronized and unsynchronized patterns in one place. While the former act like reusable blocks you can utilize across the website, the latter work like standalone elements for customizability. 

If you have created a personalized pattern for any part of your website, you’ll be able to view it in “My Patterns.” Then, there are, of course, the different patterns you have used for different aspects of the website, like Posts, Footers, Forms, and so on. 

Finally, you can create your own completely customized patterns in WordPress 6.3 by just clicking “+” at the top. Plus, at the bottom, you’ll see “Manage all of my patterns,” from where you can edit and manage your customized reusable blocks and patterns. 

#3. Seamless Page Editing

Until now, when you wanted to edit a page, you had to jump through a few hoops to locate it and start editing. But with WordPress 6.3, all that hassle is gone.

As we discussed earlier, in the site editor’s menu, you’ll find “Pages.” This section of the editor lets you manage and edit the pages of your website. When you click on this option, a list will appear on the left side of the screen, where you can find the different pages of your website. Just click on the page and start editing. 

But, arguably, one of the best features of the new editor in WordPress 6.3 is that you can create new pages on your site without ever leaving the editing interface. Just click “+” next to “Pages”, and you’ll see a pop-up. Write the Page Title and click on “Create draft.” That will open the post editor with the new page. You can now start editing the page content and style in one place.

You’ll have better control over the page, along with an improved editing experience. So you can work on the WordPress pages and posts a little better. Plus, you can effortlessly switch between the page and template editor. That will help you better define whether the changes will affect just the current page or others. 

#4. Preview the Block Themes

When creating or customizing the website, one of the significant things you have to concentrate on is the design, which is chiefly dictated by the activated theme. Let’s say you have installed multiple themes from the WordPress directory or a third-party marketplace. But you can only activate one theme at a time. So you have to choose the most suitable one.

Earlier, you had to try on different themes on the website to see how it all fits seamlessly and ensures a good user experience. But WordPress 6.3 has introduced an exciting new feature; you can hover over a theme and have a live preview of how it will look on your website.

In the Themes section in “Appearance,” you’ll see the different themes. Just hover over one, and you’ll see the option to “Live Preview.” Click on this option, and you’ll be taken to the site editor, where WordPress has set up a preview of that theme on your website. 

Not only can you take a look at the preview, but you can also customize the appearance with the options like Navigation, Styles, Pages, Templates, and Patterns. After customizing the website with a particular previewed theme, you have two options. You can either go ahead and activate the theme on your website with those customizations or go back and preview another till you land on the best one. 

Although this feature is in its experimental phase, the fact that you can test-drive different themes on your website is outstanding. 

#5. Style Revisions for Undoing Any Style Customizations

Designing a WordPress website involves a variety of style customizations. Some will stick, and some won’t. If you are using WordPress 6.2 or earlier versions, you won’t have the freedom to go back to the design with ease. That means if something goes wrong with the style of typography, colors, layout, or something else, you’ll have to delete the style and start from the top. 

But now, new in WordPress 6.3, the feature “Revisions” has been introduced to site editor styles. It’s similar to the editing history offered by Google Docs. So you can view the changes made to the style and undo them easily, if necessary.

All you have to do is select a particular style or block of the page and click on the “Revisions” button. It looks like a clock with an anti-clockwise arrow. Then, you’ll see the Revision history showing the different changes made to the style of the particular block. If you like an older style, click on it, and you’ll be able to revise it to the older version. 

#6. Better Control Over Padding & Margins

Among the significant aspects of a WordPress web page are the padding and margins. They both contribute to the spacing and layout of the content on a web page. While the padding is the space between the content and the element’s border, margins define the space between an element and its adjacent elements.

In the previous versions of WordPress, unlinking padding and margin controls consumed a whole lot of space in the right column. Plus, the process of adjusting the padding and margins used to be time-consuming. 

But now, with WordPress 6.3, you’ll see a dedicated section for it under “Dimensions” in the WordPress block editor. That has made the process of adding margins and padding on any page of the website much easier. 

#7. Better Control Over the Image Aspect Ratio

Now, we’re on to one of the more little feature changes. But they can improve the editing experience big time.

WordPress 6.3 has introduced a separate menu to select the aspect ratio of the images on the website. WordPress experts can now use the Aspect Ratio section in the Block editor to select the most suitable aspect ratio for a particular image without affecting its size or quality.

That ensures you can display the image exactly how the photographer or image creator intended. 

#8. Color & Layout Support for the Cover Block

WordPress 6.3 brought with it an easier way to customize the look and feel of the Cover block to match your website’s style. To that end, the WordPress contributors have enhanced the Cover block with support for color and layout options.

First, there is Color. You can now change the color of the overlay on the Cover block. It can be used to create a more visually appealing look or to match the color scheme of your website. Then, there are the three different Layout options for the Cover block: i.e., constrained, flow, and full-width.

You can use the layout option to choose a layout that fits your content. If you have a lot of text on your page, you may want to use the constrained layout to make sure that the text is readable. If you have a lot of images on your page, you may want to use the flow layout to allow the images to expand to the width of the content.

But wait. It doesn’t end there. WordPress 6.3 has also introduced enhanced duotone filters. Let’s say you have a beautiful picture for your website. Then you can either paste it as it is or add a little zing to it. There are loads of duotone styles that can help add a cool filter to the picture and match the tone of your website.

#9. Brand New Blocks

We’ve already discussed the new features with respect to the site editor. WordPress 6.3 introduced two new blocks for improved website design: Footnote Block & Details Block.

With the previous versions of WordPress, there was no easy approach to adding footnotes to a page or post. So you had to either contact a WordPress development company to integrate a third-party plugin or add the footnote manually. But now, thanks to WordPress 6.3, this process has been simplified. 

Just search for “Footnotes” in the blocks menu. That will add a new Footnote block to the page, which you can add more references to bolster the credibility of the content on the web page. 

The “Detail” block is also new in WordPress 6.3. You may have seen some pages or websites that don’t show the whole information all at once. Rather, you have to click on something like “Read more” in front of the content to continue.

Earlier, WordPress specialists had to add this feature with custom codes or some plugin. But now, there is a Details block. It lets you hide interesting info so the reader or website user can reveal and read it with just a simple click. So you can deliver outstanding content with an air of mystery for a better user experience.

#10. A New Command Tool

WordPress has always been admired by beginners and experts alike for its outstanding user interface. Well, WordPress 6.3 has made the UI even better with a new command tool. 

The Command Tool can be opened by simply clicking Ctrl+K (or Command+K for macOS) while editing a WordPress website. With this tool, you can conveniently perform various actions and even search for things like pages, posts, blocks, patterns, templates, and more to create an outstanding WordPress website. 

For example, let’s say you’re working on an eCommerce website and need the perfect template for a particular aspect of the website. Then all you have to do is enter the query in the command tool and let it deliver the desired results. 

#11. Better Link Control

WordPress 6.3 has improved the way you add links to part of the content on your website. After adding a link to a particular content, you can customize it with “Advanced” settings. You can use the target attribute to open links in a new tab. It is a good practice for links that go to external websites, as it prevents users from accidentally leaving your website.

You can assign the ‘nofollow’ attribute to prevent search engines from following links that are not relevant to your website. This practice is for links to social media sites, as you don’t want search engines to index these links.

#12. Under-the-Deck Improvements

Till now, we have discussed the latest features that anyone (regardless of their coding skills or experience) can utilize. But there are some improvements introduced with dedicated WordPress developers in mind. Here are a few of them:

• Support for async and defer was added to the WP Scripts to ensure a more efficient script loading.
• A more fine-tuned image fetch priority.
• Images outside the loop in classic themes will skip lazy loading. 
• Merge get_pages() and get_posts().
• Add Rollback for a failed theme and plugin updates.

These core enhancements are sure to help every WordPress development service create more high-quality websites with ease. 

Some of these improvements introduced by the latest WordPress 6.3 are in their experimental phase. But still, we have tested them at length and found them to be extremely promising when it comes to improving quality and work efficiency.

Now, we’re sure after learning about these new features in WordPress 6.3, you must be wondering how to upgrade your website to it. Let’s find out.

How to Upgrade to the New WordPress 6.3?

Upgrading to a particular iteration of WordPress is quite an easy process. But before you start, make sure you have a complete backup of your website, including the database and files. It’s crucial to ensure you can restore your site if anything goes wrong during the upgrade process.

As you may already know, WordPress is a user-friendly CMS, which means updating it shouldn’t be an issue. Good News! It isn’t.

Just open the WordPress Admin Dashboard. If WordPress has come out with the new version (in this case, WordPress 6.3), you’ll see an option saying “Update Now.” Just click on it, and your website will be upgraded to the latest WordPress version.

But if you encounter some problem, there is a manual way to move forward. 

Step 1: Download the zip file for WordPress 6.3.

Step 2: Extract the downloaded zip file.

Step 3: Deactivate the plugins installed on the website. 

Step 4: Delete the wp-includes and wp-admin directories on your website’s host. (the best way would be through FTP)

Step 5: After that, use FTP to upload the new wp-admin and wp-include directories to the website host. 

Step 6: In the WordPress file & directory structure, upload the files from the new wp-content folder to the existing folder, one by one. But make sure you don’t delete any files and folders from the existing directory.

Step 7: Shift all the new loose files from the root directory of the new to the existing WordPress root directory.

Step 8: Remove the .maintenance file from your WordPress directory through FTP. That will help remove the message showing “failed update.”

Step 9: Open your website’s WordPress admin page by adding /wp-admin in front of the domain. If the website needs a new database, WordPress will detect it and offer a URL to upgrade it. Follow the instructions in that link, and your database will be upgraded. Finally, clear the cache of your website. Otherwise, your site visitors will continue to see the older version. This process can be a little complex for those without the necessary technical know-how. So we recommend you consult with professional WordPress programmers.

Conclusion

On August 8, 2023, we saw the introduction of WordPress 6.3, the second major release of the year. And with it came a host of new features and functionalities to improve the design, performance, security, support, and more. 

The new navigation panel in the site editor has made creating the website an easier task. Plus, there is a new command tool and “Style Revisions” feature to improve the editing process. There are also two new blocks, pattern management, block theme preview, and more, to improve the customization.

Moreover, new in WordPress 6.3, there are a number of under-the-deck changes to help the web developers make extensive improvements in performance, security, and accessibility. If you are looking for more info on what’s new in WordPress 6.3 and want to use it for more customized websites, contact our experts today!