One of the reasons for the success of the WordPress web design platform is that it has always been easy to create a site from scratch, even without significant specialist website design skills.
The introduction of the Gutenberg editor in 2018, a block-based system for creating web pages, further simplified the writing and editing process for users, but it is the release of WordPress 6.0 in May 2022 that looks like being the culmination of this journey to make WordPress even more user friendly.
Why is a block-based editor important for you?
The goal of the WordPress website design platform has always been to make both the creation and editing of website pages as intuitive as possible. The block editor concept has gone a long way to achieving this, as it makes it very simple and straightforward to incorporate media and other features into a site, or to edit the style and look of a page.
This has meant that custom web design and development has become easier than ever, as users have flexibility and options to configure almost every design element of a web page. In turn, this means you can integrate both your content and website design so that it better aligns with a digital content marketing strategy.
Gutenberg Editor – Phase 2
With the release of WordPress 5.9 in January 2022, what has been termed the Gutenberg Project Phase 2 has been brought to its conclusion, with the block editing features that it has introduced over time now all fully embedded in its default themes.
This has ensured that block editing has now become an integral part of the WordPress web design platform, paving the way for the new 6.0 edition.
Planned features for WordPress 6.0
As we provide web design services Perth businesses rely on to create their online presence, we have been keenly anticipating the latest installment of the WordPress website design platform.
Although all of the features that are to be included in WordPress 6.0 have not yet been finalised, below is a brief review of what we are expecting to see and how they may impact the direction of website design.
Site Editor
There are a number of refinements anticipated for the Site Editor. Some new features are being added, while some areas where there hasn’t been sufficient flexibility have been upgraded to improve the user experience. As a web design agency, we are looking forward to assessing these features and finding out for ourselves how much flexibility they provide.
Most notably, you will be able to switch between pre-made style elements within a page without this impacting on the overall global style of the site. It also appears that you will have the ability to select text across multiple blocks at the same time in order to apply style elements. Also, if you transform one type of block into another, style elements that you have already applied will be retained.
There is also expected to be a greater range of template options, as well as the ability to customise templates.
Blocks
In order to make new features such as those described above even easier to use, there have been improvements made to the user interface (UI) so that it is fulfilling its goal of being a genuinely visual website editor.
However, in order to make all of the changes and benefits accessible to anyone working in custom web design and development, it will also require WordPress theme developers to include theme.json configuration files so that it is straightforward to move between different templates and styles of page.
Patterns
Page patterns are a new feature in WordPress 6.0 that will enable theme developers to create patterns for the most common types of pages, e.g., contact pages, article pages, about pages, etc.
The patterns function has been created so that it can be incorporated into both Gutenberg and non-Gutenberg themes.
Design Tool
It is expected that there will be some significant enhancements to the design tool, with greater customisation and expanded API support.
This will mean that users will have greater control and ability to customise features, such as the post date format and colour palette. In addition, you will be able to add web fonts to the global style, there will be more options to customise the typography in container blocks, and image galleries will be able to be customised in more ways.
Ignite Search, your WordPress Web Design Partners
We provide a range of web design services Perth wide for businesses and organisations in all types of sectors and industries. As specialists in WordPress web design, we create websites that not only look stunning but also load quickly and offer users a highly enjoyable experience.
Speak to Perth’s Leading Web Design & Development Agency Ignite Search to find out more about how we can deliver your online vision through innovative WordPress website design.
