WordPress 6.3

Release Date: August 8, 2023

On August 8, 2023, WordPress released WordPress 6.3, named “Lionel” in honor of legendary jazz artist Lionel Hampton.

WordPress 6.3 brings a number of enhancements and features designed to make website creation and management easier.

Here is a video introduction to the new features of WordPress 6.3:

Site Editor Centralization

WordPress 6.3 introduces the Site Editor, bringing content, templates, and patterns together in one place.

This streamlines the site-building process, allowing you to add pages, explore style variations, create synced patterns, and control navigation menus all within the Site Editor.

Preview Block Themes

Before committing to a new theme, you can now preview block themes and customize them directly. This feature helps you choose the perfect theme that aligns with your vision.

My Patterns Section

Easily arrange and save blocks as patterns in the “My Patterns” section. You can even synchronize patterns across your site, ensuring consistent design elements.

Manage all your patterns in one place, create, browse, manage, and sync patterns with ease.

Here’s a quick video overview:

Overview of My patterns

Command Palette

WordPress 6.3 introduces the Command Palette, a handy tool for quick access to expanded functionality through keyboard shortcuts or icons in Site View, enhancing your workflow efficiency.

The Command Palette is a rapid search and command access tool, enhancing your editing experience.

Here’s a quick video overview:

Overview of Command Palette

Design Tools

Fine-tune your designs effortlessly. Customize captions, manage duotone filters, and access new settings for the Cover block, enhancing your website’s aesthetics.

Distraction-Free Mode

Distraction-free designing is now available in the Site Editor.

Style Revisions

A new audit trail allows you to track style changes over time, providing greater control and the option to revert to previous styles.

Footnotes Block

Add footnotes to your content, creating convenient annotations to enrich your posts and pages.

Details Block

Use the Details block to reveal or hide content, perfect for interactive Q&A sections or concealing lengthy paragraphs.

Additional Enhancements

WordPress 6.3 includes additional “under the hood” enhancements:

Performance Improvements

WordPress 6.3 boasts over 170 performance updates, ensuring faster load times and an enhanced user experience. Experience faster load times, thanks to efficient server resource utilization and multiple performance updates.

Accessibility Focus

More than 50 accessibility improvements have been incorporated, optimizing navigation for users with disabilities.

Other Highlights

• Set aspect ratios on images for better design integrity.
• Distraction-free designing is now available in the Site Editor.
• Rediscover the Top Toolbar with enhanced features.
• List View improvements allow for easy content management.
• Create templates with patterns for efficient site building.
• PHP 5 support is discontinued; PHP 7.0.0 is the new minimum.
• Automatic restoration of plugins or themes in case of failed updates.
• Seamless transition between content, templates, and patterns.

Much More

With over 500 new features, 400+ bug fixes, and the dedication of over 650 contributors, WordPress 6.3 offers a comprehensive improvement to your website building and management experience.

WordPress 6.3 “Lionel” combines creativity and efficiency, making it a powerful platform for all users. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a non-technical user, these new features will empower you to craft stunning websites effortlessly.

Videos – What’s New In WordPress 6.3

The videos below discuss new features introduced in WordPress version 6.3.

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WP 6.3: Introduction To All Additions & Changes

This video provides an overview of the new changes in WordPress 6.3. (3:51)

WP 6.3: Site Editor – 1

This video looks at the enhanced site editor in version 6.3. (5:10)

WP 6.3: Site Editor – 2

This video looks at additional features of the enhanced site editor in version 6.3. (3:25)

WP 6.3: Style Revisions

This video looks at the style revisions feature in version 6.3. (3:14)

WP 6.3: Distraction Free Mode

This video looks at the new distraction-free mode feature. (2:31)

WP 6.3: Enhanced Patterns

This video looks at the new and improved block patterns in the WordPress block editor. (7:33)

WP 6.3: Details Block

This video looks at the new Details block in the WordPress block editor. (4:00)

WP 6.3: Footnotes Block

This video looks at the new Footnotes block in the WordPress block editor. (2:26)

WP 6.3: Margin Padding Settings

This video looks at the new and improve margin padding settings that display in the WordPress post and page editors. (2:21)

WP 6.3: Command Palette

This video looks at a new feature added to WordPress called the Command Palette. (3:37)

WP 6.3: Block Theme Preview

This video looks at the new “Theme Preview” feature added to the WordPress Block Editor in version 6.3. (3:05)

WP 6.3: Image Aspect Ratio

This video looks at the new aspect ratio added to WordPress image and featured image blocks in version 6.3. (2:48)

WP 6.3: Miscellaneous New Features

This video looks at miscellaneous additions and changes made to WordPress in version 6.3. (3:43)

To learn how to build your own WordPress site, see this video course: How To Build A WordPress Site Fast

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Updated: July 5th, 2024