What to Expect with WordPress 5.7

Date

Timestamps

  • 0:30 — Block Editor Updates
  • 1:34 — Lazy Loading for iFrames
  • 2:00 — Standardized Colors in the Admin
  • 2:21 — Better Transition to HTTPS
  • 2:48 — Other Updates

WordPress 5.7 is just around the corner. This first major release of the year will see significant updates to the block editor, Gutenberg, as well as new features such as lazy loading for iFrames, like YouTube videos, easier transitioning to HTTPS for sites and a new Robots API. Plus, there are improvements to the jQuery…


Hey there and welcome back!

Don’t look now but we’re about to come up on another major release for WordPress. That’s right WordPress 5.7 is scheduled to be released on March 9. And with it will come new features and fixes.

So today let’s take a look at what you can expect with WordPress 5.7 once it’s released.

But before we get started, if you want to see more videos about WordPress, ecommerce, digital marketing and other website related topics, be sure to hit the subscribe button and to ring the bell for notifications.

Now let’s get started.

Block editor updates

First off, as with all of the major releases, there are some updates to the block editor, Gutenberg. This update will bring it to be alongside Gutenberg 9.9, so if you use the plugin, you’ve probably already seen some of the changes.

Drag and drop from Inserter

One pretty cool update is that you can now drag blocks into the post or page from the block inserter. This is pretty handy as you can place it anywhere you want in the content without first having to hunt for the little plus icon. This should make it quicker and easier for you to build your posts and pages.

100 percent viewport height support

Another update is that you now have the option to make a block be 100 percent of the height of the viewport or window. A classic example of this would be using the image or cover blocks to create a “hero” image at the top of the page. That’s something that’s taken some time to finagle to create in the past, but should be super simple now.

Block variations

Finally, with block variations, there will now be a brief description of the variation beneath it so you know what it does. And there will be a new dropdown in the block inspector to make it easier to switch between variations.

To see the full list of changes to the block editor, be sure to check out the links in the description below.

Lazy Loading for iFrames

WordPress 5.5 brought us lazy loading for images and now 5.7 will do the same for iFrames. Now a loading attribute will be added to any iFrame, allowing it to be loaded as the user scrolls down the page as opposed to just on the page load. And this will basically apply to any video from an external source as well, like YouTube or Vimeo. And it will be a big help in speeding up any page that features an iFrame.

Standardized colors in the admin

Next, CSS colors in the admin will be standardized. WordPress 5.7 will add custom CSS properties for different sections of the admin. This will make it easier to create your own admin color scheme. Previously you had to do this through SCSS, which required extra compiling. But if you want to use crazy colors for your admin area, now you can.

Better transition to HTTPS

Also, it’ll now be easier to transition to HTTPS for your website. If you have an SSL certificate for your website and currently aren’t using HTTPS, you should see a button on the Site Health page that will switch your website to HTTPS for you. All of the URLs to your site in the database will be updated, which can be a bit of a hassle to do by hand. So really you have no excuse to not be using HTTPS.

Other Updates

Finally, we have a few smaller, developer-focused items.

jQuery Migration

First, WordPress 5.7 continues the migration of core to jQuery 3. There aren’t any dramatic changes like what 5.5 and 5.6 brought, but this does clean up the amount of notifications sent to users and makes them easier to understand.

New Robots API

Also, there’s a new API for developers to use to manage the contents of the robots meta tag for each post and page. For example, you can control whether search engines can show a large preview image for the post or page. This will be on by default, but you can change it through the API.

If you want to take a deep dive into that specifically, you can find more information in the links in the description below.

Outro

So what are you most excited about with WordPress 5.7? Is there anything that you’re disappointed about? Be sure to leave your answers down in the comments section below.

And before it comes out on March 9, be sure to check out my video on how to properly update your website so that you can upgrade safely to 5.7 when it’s released.

Finally, if you want to see more videos about WordPress, ecommerce, digital marketing and other website related topics, be sure to hit the subscribe button and to ring the bell for notifications.

But until next time, happy WordPressing!

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