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WordPress 6.8 Beta 1 is ready for download and testing!

This beta version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, set up a test environment or a local site to explore the new features.

How to Test WordPress 6.8 Beta 1

You can test this beta release in any of the following ways: 

WordPress Beta Tester Plugin	Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. Select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream.
Direct Download	Download the Beta 1 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
Command Line (WP-CLI)	Use this WP-CLI command: wp core update --version=6.8-beta1
WordPress Playground	Use a 6.8 Beta 1 WordPress Playground instance to test the software directly in your browser. No setup required–-just click and go!

The scheduled final release date for WordPress 6.8 is April 15, 2025. Your help testing Beta and RC versions over the next six weeks is vital to ensuring the final release is everything it should be: stable, powerful, and intuitive.

How important is your testing?

Testing for issues is a critical part of developing any software, and it’s a meaningful way for anyone to contribute—whether or not you have experience.  Details on what to test in WordPress 6.8 are here.

If you encounter an issue, please share it in the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums. If you are comfortable submitting a reproducible bug report, you can do so via WordPress Trac. You can also check your issue against this list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general and how to get started? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

WordPress 6.8 will include many new features that were previously only available in the Gutenberg plugin. Learn more about Gutenberg updates since WordPress 6.7 in the What’s New in Gutenberg posts for versions 19.4, 19.5, 19.6, 19.7, 19.8, 19.9, 20.0, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, and 20.4.

What’s New in WordPress 6.8 Beta 1

This is a polish release, with user enhancements throughout incorporated into the latest Gutenberg updates. WordPress 6.8 brings a luster and gloss that only a polish release can.

WordPress 6.8 Beta 1 contains over 370 enhancements and 520 bug fixes for the editor, including design improvements, polishing the query loop, and more than 230 tickets for WordPress 6.8 Core. Here’s a glimpse of what’s coming:

Editor improvements

Easier ways to see your options in Data Views, and you can opt to ignore sticky posts in the Query Loop. Plus you’ll find lots of little improvements in the editor!

The Style Book comes to Classic themes

The Style Book now features a structured layout so you can preview site colors, typography, and block styles more easily. You can use the Style Book in classic themes with editor-styles or a theme.json file and includes clearer labels, and you can find them under Appearance > Design.

Support for Speculation browser API

WordPress 6.8 introduces native support for speculative loading, leveraging the Speculation Rules API to improve site performance with near-instant page loads. This feature prefetches or prerenders URLs based on user interactions, such as hovering over links, reducing load times for subsequent pages.

By default, WordPress 6.8 applies a conservative prefetching strategy, balancing performance gains with resource efficiency. Developers can customize speculative loading behavior using new filters, since the API does not include UI-based controls. The existing Speculative Loading feature plugin will adapt to the core implementation, allowing deeper customization.  Please test this feature in supported browsers (currently Chrome 108+ and Edge 108+, with more browsers evaluating) and provide feedback on #62503 to help refine its implementation.

Major security boost

WordPress 6.8 will use bcrypt for password hashing, which significantly hardens WordPress. Other hashing is getting hardened, too, throughout the security apparatus. You won’t have to change anything in your daily workflow.

The features included in this first beta may change before the final release of WordPress 6.8, based on what testers like you find.

Get an overview of the 6.8 release cycle and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.8-related posts in the next few weeks for further details.

Caveat on testing 6.8 Beta 1 in versions older than 5.1

Due to an update made to the upgrade routine during this release, (see r59803), any upgrade from versions older than 5.1 will fail. Folks are working to resolve this specific issue, so please hold off on reporting on this while testing the Beta 1 release.

Vulnerability bounty doubles during Beta & Release Candidate

The WordPress community sponsors a monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities. This reward doubles during the period between Beta 1 on March 4, 2025 and the final Release Candidate (RC) scheduled for April 15, 2025.  Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies. You can find those on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Just for you: a Beta 1 haiku

March winds shift the tide.
Hands unite in open source;
WordPress moves ahead.

Props to @audrasjb @marybaum @mamaduka @michelleames @bph @jorbin @joemcgill @krupajnanda @desrosj @benjamin_zekavica @lysyjan87 for reviewing and collaborating on this post!

Over 1,400 attendees from 71 countries gathered at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila, and nearly 15,000 more joined online, for WordCamp Asia 2025.

The flagship WordPress event started with a dedicated Contributor Day, followed by two days of engaging talks, panels, hands-on workshops, and networking. Notable guests included WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg and Gutenberg Lead Architect Matías Ventura, who were joined by a diverse lineup of speakers and panelists.

Throughout the event, the sponsor hall buzzed with activity as companies from across the WordPress ecosystem showcased their latest products, engaged with attendees, and offered live demos and giveaways. Each day, attendees refueled with diverse food offerings featuring Filipino favorites, turning meals into a prime networking opportunity where new connections were made and ideas were exchanged.

New Ways to Engage

This year’s event introduced several new programs to the schedule:

• Solutions Spotlight—a series of dynamic 10-minute lightning talks that gave an inside look at innovative products, cutting-edge strategies, and real-world solutions from top-tier sponsors, all designed to help attendees succeed in the WordPress ecosystem. These fast-paced sessions offered a unique opportunity to discover how leading brands are solving challenges, empowering users, and shaping the future of WordPress.
• YouthCamp, a dedicated event for kids and teens ages 8-17, offered a full day of free, hands-on sessions designed to spark creativity and introduce the world of WordPress and open source. Through interactive workshops covering web basics, design, and development, participants gained practical skills while exploring the power of building online. 
• The new Career and Social Corners enhanced networking, fostered meaningful connections, and created new opportunities for those within the WordPress community. Career Corner was the go-to space for attendees exploring career opportunities, connecting with sponsors, and discovering exciting new roles. Meanwhile, Social Corner offered a relaxed, lounge-style environment where attendees could engage in informal discussions over refreshments.

Contributor Day

WordCamp Asia kicked off with an incredible Contributor Day, bringing together almost 800 contributors, many of them new, to collaborate, share knowledge, and give back to WordPress. With 37 dedicated table leads and 16 experts from the Human Library guiding the way, participants of all experience levels engaged in meaningful discussions, tackled important tasks, and made a lasting impact on the WordPress project.

Key contributions included resolving a critical media bug, advancing vertical text editing in Gutenberg, and refining the editing experience with dozens of issue closures. Performance optimizations and accessibility improvements abounded, joined by seven fresh patterns, and over 44,000 newly translated strings.

New tools and workflows were explored to enhance testing and development. The day also saw meaningful conversations between hosting providers and users, improvements to event organizing processes, and hands-on training.

With innovative ideas, new faces, and significant progress across multiple areas, Contributor Day reinforced the spirit of open source collaboration that drives WordPress forward.

The Future is WordPress

On the first full conference day, attendees gathered to celebrate the power of open source collaboration and innovation. Opening remarks from global and local event leads reflected on the incredible journey of WordCamp Asia, tracing its roots back to the first Southeast Asian WordCamp in Manila in 2008. This full-circle moment underscored how the WordPress community has flourished over the years, driven by shared knowledge and a commitment to an open web. The excitement continued with a highly anticipated opening keynote from Matías Ventura, who shared insights into the future of Gutenberg and WordPress, inspiring attendees to embrace the next wave of innovation and creativity in content publishing.

The day then began in earnest. Talks highlighted new ways to integrate WordPress with external applications, opening possibilities for more interactive and scalable digital experiences. Simultaneously, content strategists and marketers explored evolving best practices in SEO, learning how to optimize their sites for visibility, engagement, and long-term growth. These sessions emphasized the importance of adaptability in a constantly evolving digital landscape, ensuring that WordPress users stay ahead of industry trends.

Workshops throughout the day provided hands-on learning experiences tailored to a wide range of skill levels. Developers refined their expertise, gaining practical knowledge they could apply to their own projects. Accessibility advocates led discussions on designing for inclusivity, showcasing strategies to make WordPress-powered websites more navigable and user-friendly for people of all abilities.

As the conference continued into the afternoon, conversations expanded to performance optimization and emerging technologies shaping the future of WordPress. A dedicated session explored AI-driven workflows, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can enhance site performance, automate repetitive tasks, and create more personalized user experiences. These discussions showcased the evolving role of WordPress as a versatile platform that extends beyond traditional publishing.

The first day culminated in a thought-provoking keynote panel, WordPress in 2030, where industry leaders explored the future of the platform. The discussion covered the expanding open source community, emerging technologies, and the role of education and mentorship. Panelists shared their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges ahead, encouraging attendees to actively shape the future of WordPress by contributing, innovating, and advocating for an open web.

Returning for the final day of WordCamp Asia 2025, attendees explored a new set of sessions designed to push the boundaries of web development and strategy. Technical discussions on advanced Gutenberg block development highlighted innovative ways to build more dynamic and interactive content experiences, while another session examined performance optimization strategies to enhance site speed, accessibility, and overall user engagement. Content creators and marketers gained valuable insights into audience growth, effective storytelling, and data-driven content strategies to maximize impact.

The final sessions of the conference reinforced WordPress’s adaptability and innovation, equipping attendees with new skills and strategies.

Q&A

As the final day drew to a close, Matt shared historic photos from WordCamp Davao 2008 in the Philippines, and then answered questions from the audience.

Questions covered a variety of topics, incluiding: publishing on the open web, AI, headless WordPress, education, and Matt’s personal motivations. It was clear throughout the Q&A that the future of WordPress is as bright as the island-themed attire at the event’s after-party.

Closing

Thank you to all the hard-working organizers who made this event possible, the speakers who took the stage, the visitors who ventured to Manila, and everyone who tuned in from around the world. Our hope is that every WordCamp attendee leaves with new knowledge, new friends, and new inspiration to build a better web.

Be sure to mark your calendars for other major WordPress events in 2025: WordCamp Europe (Basel, Switzerland) and WordCamp US (Portland, Oregon, USA). Then join us in Mumbai, India for WordCamp Asia 2026!

Welcome to the latest in WordPress innovation with the release of WordPress 6.7! This update brings a wave of new features, design flexibility, and performance enhancements to elevate your WordPress experience, whether you’re building your first site or fine-tuning a complex project.

From the introduction of the Twenty Twenty-Five theme to powerful new editing tools and developer capabilities, WordPress 6.7 empowers you to create a site that’s dynamic, engaging, and uniquely yours.

As always, WordPress.com sites are updated automatically, so you may already see these new features live. Read on to discover what’s new and how these updates make it easier than ever to build, design, and manage a standout site on WordPress.com.

Table of contents

1. The basics
2. Twenty Twenty-Five theme release
3. Expanded block customization options
4. Streamlined creation with Zoom Out
5. Simplified Query Loop block
6. Improved font management tools
7. Customizable Data Views
8. Developer features
   1. Template Registration API
   2. Data Views API
   3. Block Bindings improvements
9. And more

The basics

WordPress 6.7 brings a host of new features, design tools, and bug fixes to enhance your website creation experience. WordPress.com updates sites automatically, so there’s nothing you need to do before you can enjoy these benefits.

As a WordPress.com user, you may have already enjoyed early access to some of these improvements, reflecting our commitment to keeping you equipped with the most up-to-date features. If you experience any issues, our Happiness Engineers are here to help at wordpress.com/help.

Let’s look at some new enhancements that can help take your site to the next level.

Twenty Twenty-Five theme release

As part of the annual tradition, WordPress 6.7 introduces a new default, block theme: Twenty Twenty-Five. 

Twenty Twenty-Five is designed for bloggers of all scales—from hobbyist writers to major news sites—capturing a balance between simplicity and versatility. It allows you to intuitively create a site that feels truly personal while offering the flexibility for complex designs. With a diverse array of patterns and templates for everything from landing pages to photo blogs, the theme is tailored to enable seamless storytelling for any purpose. Natural, universal imagery and thoughtfully chosen typography bring warmth and a timeless aesthetic that resonates on a global scale.

Built to support multiple languages and visual styles, Twenty Twenty-Five includes a curated selection of color palettes and font pairings, ensuring both accessibility and elegance in design. Whether you lean toward a minimalist personal blog, a striking photo gallery, or a content-rich magazine layout, the theme’s templates and design tools empower you to build a site that is uniquely yours

Expanded block customization options

WordPress 6.7 also introduces even more styling flexibility, adding additional options for borders, backgrounds, shadows, and spacing across numerous blocks. These updates allow you to create custom designs without extra code. Notably, the Group block now supports shadow effects and the Content block allows for a background image, while blocks like Paragraph, Heading, and Buttons offer additional options for borders, color, and padding.

Streamlined creation with Zoom Out

The new Zoom Out feature offers a fresh way to view and design your content at a high level. By toggling to this zoomed-out perspective, you can easily style entire sections or adjust the arrangement of blocks across a page, all without getting caught up in the details of individual blocks.

With Zoom Out, you can make broader edits using patterns, giving you control over top-level containers and block groups. Click or drag-and-drop to add patterns and use the arrows to the left to rearrange them. When you’re ready to dive back in, simply double-click the content area or click the Zoom Out icon to return to the standard editor view. This feature is a game-changer for efficient layout creation, whether you’re building pages or fine-tuning templates.

Simplified Query Loop block

The Query Loop block, known for its power and complexity, has been refined to make it more user-friendly. A new toggle allows you to choose between “Default” and “Custom” modes, simplifying the creation of content-rich sections on your site. In Default mode, the block automatically inherits settings from your template, so posts display instantly without extra configuration. This means you can drop in the Query Loop block and see your content right away, saving setup time. For more specific use cases, switch to Custom mode for precise control over what content is displayed.

Additional refinements include a cleaner layout of the Settings Sidebar on the right, making it simple to adjust display options in one place.

Key features and updates to take note of:

• Quick preview when adding the block from the inserter
• Display controls moved from the toolbar to the sidebar
• New post format filter for customized content display (on select themes)

Improved font management tools

The latest updates bring powerful new options to font management for block themes, making it easier to customize typography across your site. In the Global Styles section, you can now create, edit, and delete custom font size presets. These presets let you define reusable font sizes site-wide, with options to customize names, base sizes, and fluid scaling, which automatically adjusts font size based on screen dimensions.

Additionally, fonts are now grouped by source (theme or Google Fonts), giving you a clear view of where each font originates. A convenient “Select All” option lets you quickly activate or deactivate fonts as needed, with active fonts visibly highlighted for easy management.

Customizable Data Views

Data Views, a powerful tool for managing pages, patterns, and templates in the Site Editor, now features several enhancements to simplify navigation:

• Grid Layout Preview Size: Choose the view that works best for you.
• Customizable Columns: Reorder columns based on your preference.
• Bulk Actions on Grid Layout: Select multiple items and take action quickly.

These refinements make it easier than ever to organize your site, whether you’re handling a few pages or hundreds.

Developer features

WordPress 6.7 introduces several enhancements for developers, making it easier to create unique site experiences.

Template Registration API

This release allows developers to register custom block templates directly within plugins, simplifying the process of creating and managing front-end template outputs. The Template Registration API enables developers to define default content for custom post types, taxonomies, and virtual pages—all built on the block system, so both themes and users can customize templates to their needs.

Data Views API

Developers can now use a new API to register and unregister Data Views actions, offering more flexibility in managing project-specific actions. Learn how to use Data Views in your own plugins and for adding images to the Media Library. This update is part of ongoing work in Gutenberg’s Phase 3 and the Admin Redesign project, providing expanded tools for custom workflows.

Block Bindings improvements

Building on Block Bindings introduced in previous releases, this update adds a user interface for admins and editors to connect block attributes with custom field data directly in a block.

And more

There are too many great updates to cover them all here, but here are a few smaller yet valuable enhancements worth noting:

• Block inserter: The block inserter now stays open while you interact with the editor canvas, making it easier to navigate your content as you add blocks.
• Editor topbar: The action icons in the top right corner have been reordered for improved accessibility.
• Pre-publish check buttons: The second Publish (or Save) button has been repositioned within the pre-publish panel, so you won’t need to move your mouse after clicking the initial Publish (or Save).

WordPress 6.7 brings hundreds of improvements, developer features, and bug fixes. The above highlights are only a taste of what’s available. If you’d like to dive deeper, the official WordPress 6.7 Field Guide has all the technical details.

Click below if you’re a developer and want to leverage the benefits of hosting your sites with WordPress.com:

Each WordPress release celebrates an artist who has made an indelible mark on the world of music. WordPress 6.7, code-named “Rollins,” pays tribute to the legendary jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Known as one of the greatest improvisers and pioneers in jazz, Rollins has influenced generations of musicians with his technical brilliance, innovative spirit, and fearless approach to musical expression.

Sonny Rollins’ work is characterized by its unmatched energy and emotional depth. His compositions, such as “St. Thomas,” “Oleo,” and “Airegin,” are timeless jazz standards, celebrated for their rhythmic complexity and melodic inventiveness. Rollins’ bold and exploratory style resonates with WordPress’ own commitment to empowering creators to push boundaries and explore new possibilities in digital expression.

Embrace the spirit of innovation and spontaneity that defines Rollins’ sound as you dive into the new features and enhancements of WordPress 6.7.

Welcome to WordPress 6.7!

WordPress 6.7 debuts the modern Twenty Twenty-Five theme, offering ultimate design flexibility for any blog at any scale. Control your site typography like never before with new font management features. The new Zoom Out feature lets you design your site with a macro view, stepping back from the details to bring the big picture to life.

Introducing Twenty Twenty-Five

Endless possibility without complexity

Twenty Twenty-Five offers a flexible, design-focused theme that lets you build stunning sites with ease. Tailor your aesthetic with an array of style options, block patterns, and color palettes. Pared down to the essentials, this is a theme that can truly grow with you.

Get the big picture with Zoom Out

Explore your content from a new perspective

Edit and arrange entire sections of your content like never before. A broader view of your site lets you add, edit, shuffle, or remove patterns to your liking. Embrace your inner architect.

Connect blocks and custom fields with no hassle (or code)

A streamlined way to create dynamic content

This feature introduces a new UI for connecting blocks to custom fields, putting control of dynamic content directly in the editor. Link blocks with fields in just a few clicks, enhancing flexibility and efficiency when building. Your clients will love you—as if they didn’t already.

Embrace your inner font nerd

New style section, new possibilities

Create, edit, remove, and apply font size presets with the next addition to the Styles interface. Override theme defaults or create your own custom font size, complete with fluid typography for responsive font scaling. Get into the details!

Performance

WordPress 6.7 delivers important performance updates, including faster pattern loading, optimized previews in the data views component, improved PHP 8+ support and removal of deprecated code, auto sizes for lazy-loaded images, and more efficient tag processing in the HTML API.

Accessibility

65+ accessibility fixes and enhancements focus on foundational aspects of the WordPress experience, from improving user interface components and keyboard navigation in the Editor, to an accessible heading on WordPress login screens and clearer labeling throughout.

And much more

For a comprehensive overview of all the new features and enhancements in WordPress 6.7, please visit the feature-showcase website.

Learn more about WordPress 6.7

Learn WordPress is a free resource for new and experienced WordPress users. Learn is stocked with how-to videos on using various features in WordPress, interactive workshops for exploring topics in-depth, and lesson plans for diving deep into specific areas of WordPress.

Read the WordPress 6.7 Release Notes for information on installation, enhancements, fixed issues, release contributors, learning resources, and the list of file changes.

‘Explore the WordPress 6.7 Field Guide. Learn about the changes in this release with detailed developer notes to help you build with WordPress.

The 6.7 release squad

Every release comes to you from a dedicated team of enthusiastic contributors who help keep things on track and moving smoothly. The team that has led 6.7 is a cross-functional group of contributors who are always ready to champion ideas, remove blockers, and resolve issues.

• Release Lead: Matt Mullenweg
• Release Coordinator: David Baumwald
• Core Tech Leads: Peter Wilson, Kira Schroder
• Editor Tech Leads: David Smith, Kai Hao, Robert Anderson
• Core Triage Leads: Stoyan Georgiev, Ahmed Kabir Chaion
• Editor Triage Leads: Nick Diego, Damon Cook
• Documentation Leads: Fabian Kägy, Mumtahina Faguni
• Test Lead: Ankit K. Gupta
• Design Lead: Joen Asmussen
• Performance Lead: Mukesh Panchal
• Default Theme Design Lead: Beatriz Fialho
• Default Theme Development Leads: Carolina Nymark, Juan Aldasoro

Thank you, contributors

The mission of WordPress is to democratize publishing and embody the freedoms that come with open source. A global and diverse community of people collaborating to strengthen the software supports this effort.

WordPress 6.7 reflects the tireless efforts and passion of more than 780 contributors in countries all over the world. This release also welcomed over 230 first-time contributors!

Their collaboration delivered more than 340 enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all—a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress open source community.

!Benni · 75thtrombone · Aaron Jorbin · Aaron Robertshaw · Aaron Ware · aatanasov · Abha Thakor · abhi3315 · Abhishek Deshpande · Abir · acafourek · Adam Heckler · Adam Silverstein · Adam Wood · Adam Zieliński · Adarsh Akshat · Adrian · aduth · ah72king · Ahmar Zaidi · Ahmed Kabir Chaion · Ahmed Saeed · Ajit Bohra · Akash Dhawade · Aki Hamano · Akira Tachibana · Akshat Kakkad · Al-Amin Firdows · Alan Fuller · Albert Juhé Lluveras · Alessandro Tesoro · Alessio · Alex Concha · Alex Lende · Alex Stine · alex27 · Alexander Frank · Alexandre Buffet · Alexandru Horeanu · alexcu21 · Ali Ali · aliaghdam · allilevine · Alvaro Gómez · Alvi Tazwar · Amin Charoliya · Amir Abbas · Amit Raj · Amjad Ali · Anand Thakkar · Andrea Fercia · Andrea Roenning · Andrei Draganescu · Andrei Lupu · andreiglingeanu · Andrew Hayward · Andrew Ozz · Andrew Serong · Andrey "Rarst" Savchenko · André Maneiro · Andy Fragen · Angelika Reisiger · Aniket Patel · Ankit K Gupta · Ankit K. Gupta · Ankit Kumar Shah · Ankur Vishwakarma · Anne McCarthy · Anthony Burchell · Anthony Hortin · Antoine · Anton Vlasenko · Antonio Sejas · apmeyer · Ari Stathopoulos · Armando J. Perez Carreno · Armands · arnaudbroes · Art Smith · Artemio Morales · Arthur Chu · arypneta · asafm7 · Aslam Doctor · Autumn · Ayesh Karunaratne · Bård Bjerke Johannessen · Béryl de La Grandière · Balu B · Barry Ceelen · Bart Kalisz · Beatriz Fialho · Ben Dwyer · Benjamin Denis · Benjamin Zekavica · Benoit Chantre · Bernhard Kau · Bernhard Reiter · Bernhard Riedl · bernhard-reiter · berubenic · Bhavesh · bijit027 · Birgit Pauli-Haack · blindmikey · bobbyleenoblestudios · Bogdan Nikolic · Brad · brad hogan · Brad Jorsch · Brandon Kraft · Brent Jett · Brett Shumaker · Brian Alexander · Brian Coords · Brian Gardner · Brian Gosnell · Brian Henry · bridgetwes · brobken · Bruno Freiberger Garcia · Cambabutonono · Carlos Bravo · Carlos G. P. · Carolina Nymark · Carsten Bach · cbirdsong · Chirag Mathur · ChriCo · Chris Reynolds · Chris Trynkiewicz (Sukces Strony) · Christoph Daum · Christopher Finke · Christopher Kanitz · Christy Nyiri · Ciprian · codersantosh · Colin Stewart · Corey Worrell · Courtney Robertson · craynor · creativethemeshq · Cullen Whitmore · Cupid Chakma · cweiske · Cyrille · da5f656f · Dademaru · daleharrison · Damon Cook · Damon Cook · Dani Guardiola · Daniel Richards · Daniele Scasciafratte · Danny · dannyreaktiv · darerodz · Dareth NHANG · Darren Ethier (nerrad) · Darshit Rajyaguru · daveagp · David · David Ballarin Prunera · David Baumwald · David Biňovec · David Bowman · David Brown · David Calhoun · David Godleman · David Henriet · David Herrera · David Levine · David Rozando · David Shanske · David Smith · ddewan · Dean Sas · DEBARGHYA BANERJEE · Deepak Rohilla · Deepak Vijayan · Dekadinious · Dennis Snell · Derek Smart · Deryck · designsimply · Devansh Chaudhary · devspace · Dhananjay Kuber · Dharmesh Patel · Dhrumil Kumbhani · Dhruval Shah · Dhruvang21 · Dilip Bheda · Dilip Modhavadiya · Dion Hulse · Divi Banks · dj.cowan · djennez · Doni Kuntoro · Dor Zuberi · Drew Jaynes · Drivingralle · drzraf · Earle Davies · eballeste · eclev91 · Ed Beck · ejnwebmaster · elfu98 · Elio Rivero · Ella van Durpe · Elliott Richmond · Emmanue ATSÉ · Emmanuel Hesry · emmanuel78 · Enrico Battocchi · Enrique Sánchez · Eric Dye · Erik · erikiva · erikyo · Evan Herman · Evan Mullins · Fabian Kägy · Fabio Rubioglio · FahimMurshed · Faisal Ahammad · Faisal Alvi · Faizan Nabi · Farhan Ahmed · Fayyaz · Felix Arntz · Felix Renicks · Fernando Jorge Mota (a11n) · Firoz Sabaliya · Francisco · Fransisca H · fullworks · Gale Wallace · gansbrest · Gareth Elwell · Garrett Hyder · Gary Pendergast · Gaurav Tiwari · gauravsingh7 · Georg · George Mamadashvili · Gerardo Pacheco · Germán Freixinós · gmariani405 · GraemeF · Grant M. Kinney · greentreefrog · GreenWorld · Greg Ziółkowski · Guido Scialfa · Gyurmey · Héctor Prieto · Halil ESEN · hanneslsm · Hans-Gerd Gerhards · Hardip Parmar · Hareesh S · Harper Holsinger · Harsh Gajipara · harshvaishnav · Haz · hectorjarquin · hedgefield · Helen Hou-Sandi · Henrique Iamarino · Himanshu Pathak · hirschferkel · Hit Bhalodia · Hossein · htmgarcia · huubl · Huzaifa Al Mesbah · Ibrahim · Ibrahim Riaz · Imran Hossain (a11n) · Isabel Brison · IT Path Solutions · itapress · Ivan Ottinger · Jack Stevens · Jacob Cassidy · Jacob Smith · jagirbahesh · Jainil Shah · Jakob Trost · James Koster · James Osborne · James Rosado · James Wesley Goedert · Jan Pfeil · janak Kaneriya · Jarda Snajdr · jarekmorawski · Jarko Piironen · Jason Bahl · Jason LeMahieu (MadtownLems) · javad2000 · Javier Arce · Jawad Malik · Jay · Jayadevan k · jbrya029 · JD Ahir · Jean-Baptiste Audras · Jeff Chi · Jeff Ong · Jeffrey de Wit · Jeffrey Paul · Jenil Kanani · Jennifer Farhat · Jenny Dupuy · Jeremy Felt · Jeremy Herve · Jerry Jones · Jesko Bendmann · Jessica Lyschik · jetaldobariya1 · Jigar Panchal · jimmyh61 · Joe Dolson · Joe Hoyle · Joe McGill · Joen Asmussen · John Blackbourn · John Espiritu · John Godley · John James Jacoby · John Regan · JohnRDOrazio · Jon Surrell · Jonas · Jonathan Bossenger · Jonathan Desrosiers · Jonny Harris · Jonny Waters · jordesign · Jorge Costa · Jos Klever · Jose Varghese · Josepha · Joshua Goode · Jossnaz · Juan Aldasoro · JuanMa Garrido · julianoe · Julie Moynat · Juliette Reinders Folmer · Juned Sabaliya · Justin Tadlock · K. 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More than 40 locales have fully translated WordPress 6.7 into their language making this one of the most translated releases ever on day one. Community translators are working hard to ensure more translations are on their way. Thank you to everyone who helps make WordPress available in 200 languages.

Last but not least, thanks to the volunteers who contribute to the support forums by answering questions from WordPress users worldwide.

Get involved

Participation in WordPress goes far beyond coding, and learning more and getting involved is easy. Discover the teams that come together to Make WordPress and use this interactive tool to help you decide which is right for you.

When you’re browsing the web, how quickly do you navigate elsewhere if a website isn’t instantly loading? We all know from experience that every second counts. If your website takes too long to load, visitors won’t hesitate to move on—sometimes straight to your competitors. 

Faster load times not only improve user satisfaction but also boost your search engine rankings and ultimately drive more conversions. 

That’s why you’re going to love using our new Site Speed Tool. It can quickly identify areas impacting your site’s Core Web Vitals (CWV), like load times, interactivity, and visual stability and provides actionable insights and recommendations, making it easier to optimize your site’s performance and deliver a smoother, faster user experience.

The need for speed 

The numbers speak for themselves:

• Nearly 70% of consumers admit that page speed impacts their willingness to buy from an online retailer.
• Almost half of consumers say they’ll try to refresh a page at least once when it takes 3 seconds to load. But 22% say they’ll close the tab, and 14% say they’ll visit a competitor’s site.
• 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less.
• If a website takes more than three seconds to load, 40% of the people will leave that site.

Website performance plays a critical role in the success of any online business. Slow websites will cost you not only visitors but also potential revenue. Investing in performance optimization could be the difference between closing a sale and losing out to a competitor.

A faster website gives you a competitive edge by capturing traffic from slower sites. Visitors are more likely to stay, explore, and convert into customers when your site loads quickly. Speed isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a key driver of business growth. 

Optimize your WordPress site for lightning-fast performance

Is your WordPress site as fast as it could be? Test the speed of your WordPress site with free our Site Speed Tool and get detailed performance metrics and tailored recommendations with just a few clicks. Simply enter any public WordPress URL, and we’ll run real-time tests on your site to assess its performance.

Our tool evaluates key areas, such as:

• Loading speed: How fast your site loads for users.
• Core Web Vitals: Metrics that focus on user experience, including loading, interactivity, and visual stability.
• Historical performance: Tracking your site’s performance over time to spot trends and areas for improvement.

Once analyzed, you’ll receive an easy-to-understand performance score and WordPress-specific, AI-enhanced recommendations to boost your website’s speed and overall performance.

You can access our developer documentation for more specifics about the report.

If you already have a site on WordPress.com with a Business or Commerce plan, you can also easily access the speed test directly in your dashboard. Test your performance across all of your sites to better understand correlations between site changes and performance.

Get weekly performance change alerts

Want to stay ahead of performance issues? Sign up for weekly performance change alerts, which provide a comprehensive overview of your website’s metrics over the last handful of weeks. These reports will highlight trends, performance fluctuations, and areas where further optimization is needed—keeping you informed and in control of your website’s health.

Test your site today

Your website’s performance can make or break your success online. With our easy-to-use performance measurement tool, you can take the guesswork out of optimizing your site.

Test your URL now for free and get personalized recommendations to ensure your site performs at its best, or head to the Performance tab in your site’s Hosting Overview menu to get automatic performance data about your WordPress.com sites.

Don’t leave your website’s success to chance—start optimizing today.

The third release candidate (RC3) for WordPress 6.7 is ready for download and testing!

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC3 on a test server and site.

Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 6.7 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 6.7 RC3 in four ways:

Plugin	Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. (Select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
Direct Download	Download the RC3 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
Command Line	Use the following WP-CLI command: wp core update --version=6.7-RC3
WordPress Playground	Use the 6.7 RC3 WordPress Playground instance (available within 35 minutes after the release is ready) to test the software directly in your browser without the need for a separate site or setup.

The current target for the WordPress 6.7 release is November 12, 2024. Get an overview of the 6.7 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.7-related posts in the coming weeks for further details.

What’s in WordPress 6.7 RC3?

Get a recap of WordPress 6.7’s highlighted features in the Beta 1 announcement. For more technical information related to issues addressed since RC2, you can browse the following links:

• GitHub commits for 6.7 since October 29
• Closed Trac tickets since October 29

How you can contribute

WordPress is open source software made possible by a passionate community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help the world’s most popular open source web platform, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Testing for issues is critical to ensuring WordPress is performant and stable. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 6.7. For those new to testing, follow this general testing guide for more details on getting set up.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

From now until the final release of WordPress 6.7 (scheduled for November 12, 2024), the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

For plugin and theme authors, your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for all users. 

Thanks for continuing to test your themes and plugins with the WordPress 6.7 beta releases. With RC3, you’ll want to conclude your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.7.

If you find compatibility issues, please post detailed information to the support forum.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Русский? 日本? हिन्दी? বাংলা? You can help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

Release the haiku

RC3 arrives,
Final polish, last bugs fall,
Six point seven calls.

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @peterwilsoncc, @joedolson, @sabernhardt.

Imagine you’re sitting in your favorite coffee shop. Your latte is hot, your laptop is open, and you’re ready to write your next brilliant blog post. Where others see a blank page, you see a limitless sea of possibility, waiting to be filled with your persuasive prose and captivating copy.

You start tapping away at the keys, sipping your coffee, thrilled with your progress.

Then you try reading what you’ve written and realize it’s hard to follow. In fact, you’re not exactly sure what you’re even trying to say. If you’re confused, your readers will be confused too. The awesome article you hoped to write is turning into a mess.

Where did you go wrong? You started writing without creating an outline first.

It’s an easy mistake to make. Fortunately, it’s also a mistake you never need to make again. We’re going to show you how to create effective blog post outlines that will help you write better articles more quickly. Plus, we’ll give you a copy-and-paste template to make the task even easier.

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Table of Contents:

1. The essential elements of an effective outline
2. Step 1: Figure out your topic
3. Step 2: Figure out your angle
4. Step 3: Determine the format for your post
5. Step 4: Figure out the main points of your post
6. Step 5: Nail down the specific subpoints you’ll make in each section
7. Step 6: Think about your conclusion
8. Step 7: Review the structure of your outline
9. An example blog post outline you can follow
10. Use this copy and paste template
11. When should you write an outline?
    1. Does it ever make sense to skip an outline?
12. Now you’re ready to make your writing life easier

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The essential elements of an effective outline

Blog post outlines are simple documents that describe the angle and structure of your article. They make it easier to write clearly and efficiently while staying focused on your topic. At a minimum, a good outline should include the following items:

• Your topic: What are you writing about?
• Your angle: What’s your perspective on that topic?
• Your structure: What specific points will you make to support your angle?

You can also include working titles, though some writers prefer to write headlines after their post is finished. This helps make sure your selected headline actually fits the finished article.

Different writers have different approaches to creating outlines. Steal this process to get started, then feel free to adapt it to fit your own needs.

Step 1: Figure out your topic

Get specific with what you want to write about.

Let’s say you want to write about your most recent vacation. You had an awesome time and you’re sure your readers want to hear about it. But rather than summarizing the entire trip, you want to share a story about something specific. You could start narrowing down your topic by asking:

• Where did you go?
• Why did you go there?
• When did you visit?
• How did you travel there?
• What did you do at your destination?

These are simple questions but there is a purpose to this exercise. I’ll share some example answers from an actual vacation my wife and I went on:

1. Where: Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine.
2. Why: To see the fall colors, to see a state we’ve never been to before, and to see where the sun first rises in the United States.
3. When: In the fall (to see those leaves along the mountainside turning colors).
4. How: Plane and two rental cars (the first car got hit by a semi-truck).
5. What we did: All kinds of stuff! Hiking, climbing, catching lobsters in a net, and more.

From this simple list, you can see there are a ton of topics I could write about. What happens when you get into a vehicular accident with a rental car on vacation (and how did we survive)? What’s it like taking a tour on a lobster boat? What does it look like when the leaves hit peak fall colors in New England?

Suddenly, our blog post about a vacation just got a lot more interesting, and it might actually turn into multiple different blog posts on specific topics that people might enjoy. By asking yourself the five W’s (what, when, where, why, and the honorary 5th W, how), you can break down any broad topic into more specific points too.

If you need a spark of inspiration, here’s over 100 ideas for blog posts you can borrow.

Step 2: Figure out your angle

Anyone can copy content they’ve found through Google but not everyone can bring a unique perspective to their topic. That’s where developing an angle for your blog post comes in.

An angle is the intersection of your topic and your perspective. It’s part of what blog post introductions are intended to establish, helping the reader to understand not only what they’re about to read, but why they should care about it in the first place.

For example, to continue with the vacation example from the previous section, let’s say our blog post is about Acadia National Park. Some good angles might include:

• Why is Acadia National Park the best place to see the fall colors in New England?
• What do you wish you knew before tackling the toughest trails in the park?
• Where is the best destination to find a lobster roll near the park?

These angles not only address the topic but also the perspective. Instead of dry facts and information, they give the reader an incentive to care, and they’ll be more likely to click, read, and stick around the blog. That’s the power of having an angle.

Step 3: Determine the format for your post

Different topics will lend themselves more easily to different formats. Here are some types of posts you could consider and when each one might make the most sense for your article:

Type of blog post	Best suited for these types of topics	Example headline
How-to	Instructional guide on completing a task or learning a skill.	How to Get Started With Mountain Climbing
What-is	An extended definition of a term or topic.	What is the Most Difficult Mountain to Climb?
Why-is	Answering a question that people commonly ask (or perhaps don’t ask often enough).	Why is [PRODUCT] the Best Option for [TASK] When Mountain Climbing?
When	Informing readers about what to do in a given set of circumstances.	When Should You Avoid Mountain Climbing If You’re Unsure About the Weather?
Essay	Writing about a personal experience.	What I Learned From Climbing a Mountain
Review	Covering a product you’ve used or want to recommend.	Why I Recommend [PRODUCT] for Mountain Climbing
List	Rounding up your favorite things or options within a category or topic.	10 Things You Should Know Before Mountain Climbing
Comparison	Stacking two products or options against one another.	[MOUNTAIN A] vs. [MOUNTAIN B]: Which One Should Beginners Climb First?
Interview	Sharing a Q&A with an individual or a feature article based on an interview.	A Conversation With a Famous Mountain Climber
Feature Article	Deep dive into an interesting story based on interviews and research.	The Interesting Story About the World’s Best Mountain Climber

There are more types of blog posts that could consider writing, but these are some ideas for common formats that you might choose. What matters most is that you understand which one you are writing before you begin, rather than getting too deep into your post, and realizing that you need to change direction after you have already spent time working on a draft.

If you do decide to pivot or start over, that’s okay too. This process is only meant to avoid that from happening, but there’s no shame in changing your mind.

Step 4: Figure out the main points of your post

One blog post isn’t enough to cover everything about our vacation, so we’ve narrowed down one specific topic. We’ve also narrowed down an angle that combines our topic with our perspective. Next, we need to identify the main points that our blog post needs to make, in order to follow through on our angle.

In order to construct our outline, we’ll identify three to five points we want to make (you can include as many as you need, but if you have fewer than three main sections in your blog post, you might not need to write an outline).

Going back to our vacation example, let’s say I’m writing about what I wish I knew before hiking in Acadia National Park. Here are some things I might want to cover:

1. Know your skill level and choose trails accordingly. 
2. Make sure you have the right footwear for the terrain.
3. If you’re afraid of scaling rock faces, how can you overcome that fear?
4. If you only have enough time for a few trails, which ones should you prioritize?
5. What times are the trails usually the most crowded?

That looks like a solid list. Next, we’ll need to figure out what we’ll say for each of these items.

Step 5: Nail down the specific subpoints you’ll make in each section

Once you have the main points of your blog post mapped out, think about what you’ll say for each one. This can be as simple as two or three bullet points per section.

Let’s take the first item from the list of trail tips in the previous section:

1. Know your skill level and choose trails accordingly
   1. Some trails will stretch your abilities but some are for experts only
   2. You can get a trail map that will help you find ones you’re comfortable with
   3. Difficult trails sometimes have alternate routes you can take if you get tired

Straightforward stuff, right? Continue with each subsection until you have two or three subpoints for all of them.

Step 6: Think about your conclusion

Generally speaking, a conclusion should wrap up the main points of your blog post, and bring your topic to a resolution. But there may be other details here to consider. Take a moment to think through the following:

• Is there a specific action I’d like the reader to take after reading the post, such as signing up for emails, making a donation, purchasing a product, or registering for an event?
• Is there a specific point you really want to drive home before the reader moves on?
• Are there other similar articles on your blog that you could direct the reader toward (and continue to hold onto their attention)?

It’s okay if the answer to one or all of these questions is “no,” but it’s worth taking the time to be intentional about how you’ll end your post. 

Step 7: Review the structure of your outline

Follow steps one through four, and before you know it, you’ll have a completed outline. Take a moment to read it over and make sure your angle fits your topic and everything flows in a logical order. If it doesn’t, try moving some sections around, and see if it clicks. The time you spend on this now can save you much more time later.

An example blog post outline you can follow

Now, let’s take a look at an example outline you can follow. Here’s what the finished product might look like when it’s all said and done:

• Headline: Five Things I Wish I Knew Before Hiking in Acadia National Park
• Format: List
• Introduction (angle): Acadia National Park is a great place to hike, but it’s even better when you know what to be prepared for. Here’s my personal experience.
• Tip 1: Know your skill level and choose trails accordingly
  • Some trails will stretch your abilities but some are for experts only
  • You can get a trail map that will help you find ones you’re comfortable with
  • Difficult trails sometimes have alternate routes you can take if you get tired
• Tip 2: Bring the Right Footwear
  • Good hiking boots are a must on most trails
  • However, decent sandals may be sufficient for some trails
  • Bring multiple pairs of boots and shoes for different situations
• Tip 3: Overcome Your Fear of Treacherous Trails
  • Some trails will take you up rocky portions of mountainside on very narrow walkways
  • They are safe as long as you’re careful (just don’t look down)
  • The rewards are worthwhile when you see the views from the top
• Tip 4: Prioritize Trails to Make the Most of Your Time
  • If you know there are certain types of scenery you want to see the most (mountains, forest, ocean, etc.) choose trails that provide those types of terrain and views
• Tip 5: Hike at Off-Peak Hours (If Possible)
  • The park is very busy
  • Consider hiking in the early morning or evening to beat the crowds
  • Timing your trip outside of peak vacation season can also help alleviate crowding
• Conclusion
  • End with a link to the park’s website to find more information

This is a very quick and simple outline but it’s sufficient for demonstration purposes.

Use this copy and paste template

Now that we’ve walked through the entire process of crafting an outline, here is an easy-to-use template that you can copy and paste into a document. You can edit and update this template however you’d like (some suggestions might be to add sample headlines or a brief two or three-sentence section describing your angle):

• Introduction (what’s the angle of this post?)
• Type of Post:
• Main point 1
  • Subpoint 1
  • Subpoint 2
  • Subpoint 3
• Main point 2
  • Subpoint 1
  • Subpoint 2
  • Subpoint 3
• Main point 3
  • Subpoint 1
  • Subpoint 2
  • Subpoint 3
• Conclusion
• Optional CTA 

When should you write an outline?

If you landed on this article, then odds are you already knew you wanted to write a blog post outline. But you might still have some questions about why we actually take the time to write them in the first place. 

Personally, I know some writers who are meticulous about outlining, and some who skip them entirely. Sometimes you just want to let your consciousness flow onto the page and sometimes that can produce great writing that can’t be planned. I’ve even bounced between being in both camps, sometimes choosing to write outlines, and sometimes choosing to skip them.

So, when does it make sense to put one together, and when can they safely be skipped? Here are some thoughts based on personal experience:

1. You’re writing a long-form post (approximately 1,000 words or more).
2. You’re writing about a complex topic that requires a lot of research to accurately cover.
3. You’re assigning a post to another writer for your blog and need to make sure they understand what you want the post to touch on.

Does it ever make sense to skip an outline?

The point is to clarify your thinking so you can clarify your writing and produce better content more quickly. However, the point is not to follow rules for no reason, and there are times when it may not be necessary to write an outline.

For example, if you’re writing a personal essay for your blog, you might prefer to let your thoughts flow in a more stream of consciousness sort of way. Or if you’re crafting a short news blurb, you could probably write your entire post in the time it’d take to outline it. Use your own judgment, because when it comes to learning what works for you, experience will be your best teacher.

Now you’re ready to make your writing life easier

Writing outlines doesn’t have to take too much time in order to be an effective exercise. Once you get into the habit of writing them before starting on blog posts, and start to see the benefits of doing so, you won’t want to break the habit. Now, go forth and write better blog posts, faster!

Ready to start your own blog? Find out why more bloggers and creators choose WordPress.com. Start your journey here.

In the world of web development, creating custom layouts often feels like a balancing act between functionality and design. But with Gutenberg, WordPress’s powerful block editor, developers now have the tools to craft complex, unique layouts—all without the need for third-party page builders. Whether you’re building a site from scratch or looking to enhance an existing one, Gutenberg offers a streamlined, flexible approach to layout design.

In this post, we dive into five specific Gutenberg blocks that stand out for their versatility and power. 

• Group Block: Allows you to group multiple elements and apply consistent styling across them.
• Columns Block: Enables developers to create multi-column layouts that are fully responsive across all devices.
• Cover Block: Combines visuals with layered content, like text and buttons, to create immersive, standout sections.
• Spacer Block: Provides an easy way to manage consistent spacing throughout a layout without adjusting individual block settings.
• Query Loop Block: Dynamically displays lists of posts or other content, offering flexible filtering and layout options.

These blocks are essential tools for developers who want to create custom layouts that are both visually stunning and fully functional. Keep reading to explore how each block works, see examples of them in action, and learn about potential use cases that can elevate your next project.

Unlock Custom Layouts with the Group Block

When it comes to crafting custom layouts in WordPress, the Group block is one of the most versatile tools in your arsenal. This block allows you to combine multiple elements—such as text, images, and buttons—into a single, cohesive section. By grouping elements together and utilizing the Group block variations, you gain greater control over their positioning, styling, and responsiveness.

Why the Group Block is Powerful

The strength of the Group block lies in its ability to simplify your design process. Instead of having to adjust settings on each element individually, the Group block allows you to apply consistent styling to an entire section. This not only saves time but also ensures that your layouts are cohesive and visually appealing across different devices. It’s also the primary block used for creating fixed elements, such as a sticky header or sidebar.

How to Work with the Group Block

In the screen recording below, you’ll see how the Group block enhances the process of building a hero section by combining elements like images, text, and buttons into one cohesive section. Notice how easily you can adjust the spacing, colors, and alignment, streamlining your design workflow.

Putting the Group Block into Action

The Group block excels at creating reusable modular sections, such as a call-to-action or feature area, that can be deployed consistently across multiple pages. This block is also essential for organizing complex content arrangements into a single, unified section that can be easily updated site-wide. Whether you’re crafting a sticky header or organizing a product showcase, the Group block gives you precise control over how these elements are positioned and styled.

Design with Flexibility Using the Columns Block

The Columns block offers flexibility in organizing content side-by-side, allowing developers to create multi-column layouts that can accommodate grids, comparison sections, or any layout where parallel information is key.

Why Developers Love the Columns Block

The true power of the Columns block lies in its versatility for designing structured layouts. Its flexibility allows you to customize the number of columns, their width, and spacing, from simple two-column layouts to more complex grids. The Columns block is also fully responsive, ensuring layouts automatically adjust across different screen sizes, providing developers with seamless control over visually balanced designs.

See the Columns Block in Action

This recording showcases the Columns block used to create a three-column layout featuring services or products. Notice how columns with multiple components can be duplicated and edited.

When to Use the Columns Block for Maximum Impact

The Columns block is ideal when content needs to be displayed side by side, such as in service comparisons, product grids, or team member profiles. Combining it with the Group block allows for more complex, unified sections with consistent styling while still leveraging the flexibility of columns.

Create Stunning Visual Impact with the Cover Block

After organizing your content with the Group and Columns blocks, the Cover block steps in to add a bold, immersive visual experience. Whether it’s a full-width section with a background image or a full-screen video, the Cover block helps create standout moments on your page, perfect for grabbing your audience’s attention as they scroll.

Why the Cover Block Stands Out

What sets the Cover block apart is its ability to combine beautiful visuals with layered content like text and buttons. This block allows for a sleek, modern look with customizable overlays, and its parallax effect creates a sense of depth as users scroll. It offers developers a visually striking way to engage visitors and direct attention to key content.

How to Use the Cover Block as a Section Break

The following video demonstrates the Cover block being used to create a dynamic section break with a full-width image, overlay text, and a contrasting color filter. Pay attention to how this visually striking break guides users from one section to the next.

Where the Cover Block Shines

Whether for a hero section, a banner to break up sections, or a feature area to emphasize important content, the Cover block works best where you want to make an impression. It’s ideal for landing pages, events, or promotional areas where a mix of powerful visuals and actionable text is needed to guide visitors toward their next step. 

Create Balance and Breathing Room with the Spacer Block

For developers, clean, balanced layouts are crucial to a great user experience. The Spacer block might seem simple at first glance, but its ability to fine-tune the spacing between elements gives you precise control over your design. Rather than manually adjusting margins or padding across multiple blocks, the Spacer block offers a streamlined approach for maintaining consistency throughout your layout.

Why Developers Choose the Spacer Block

One of the key benefits of the Spacer block is its ability to apply consistent spacing without needing to modify each block’s individual settings. For developers managing complex layouts, this can be a huge time-saver. You can insert Spacer blocks between sections to ensure consistent spacing, avoiding the need to repeatedly jump between block settings. This results in a cleaner workflow and a more polished design.

Simplifying Layout Spacing

This clip highlights how the Spacer block ensures balanced spacing between sections. You’ll see how adding Spacer blocks keeps the layout clean and cohesive without needing to adjust individual padding and margins for each element. Plus, see how changing the height of multiple Spacer blocks is one step when you create a Spacer synced pattern.

Where the Spacer Block Adds Efficiency

The Spacer block shines when you need to maintain uniform spacing throughout a project. You can preset its default dimensions or sync it within design patterns, and any future adjustments can be done in one place, saving you time when managing entire page or site-wide updates. For added flexibility, you can apply custom CSS classes to synced Spacer block patterns, making it simple to adjust spacing for different screen sizes. This not only improves the speed of implementation but also ensures consistency across your layouts, whether for landing pages, posts, or custom templates.

Dynamically Display Content with the Query Loop Block

The Query Loop block allows you to easily pull in lists of posts, pages, or custom post types, dynamically displaying content based on specific parameters such as categories, tags, or author. It’s an essential tool for developers who want to showcase content in customizable layouts without needing to manually curate each section.

Why Developers Rely on the Query Loop Block

The Query Loop block provides developers with powerful filtering and display options that are fully customizable. With complete control over how posts are pulled and arranged, developers can customize the Query Loop block to display filtered content based on categories, tags, or other criteria, allowing for tailored blog grids, portfolios, or archive pages that fit seamlessly into their overall site design.

Creating and Enhancing a Custom Query Loop Layout

This example shows how the Query Loop block is configured to display a custom set of blog posts, filtered by category. Notice the versatility and how integrating blocks together enhances the layout, resulting in a dynamic, visually balanced blog section that updates automatically.

Where the Query Loop Block Shines

On sites with frequently updated content, the Query Loop block provides a dynamic solution for showcasing new material. When integrated with other blocks it helps developers create visually engaging layouts that update automatically while keeping a consistent design structure.

Elevate Your Layouts with These 5 Powerful Blocks

These five versatile Gutenberg blocks—Group, Columns, Cover, Spacer, and Query Loop—can transform your layouts, helping you build dynamic, fully customized designs. Whether you’re creating responsive multi-column sections with the Columns block, adding visually striking breaks with the Cover block, or displaying dynamic content with the Query Loop block, these tools empower you to build and refine layouts with precision and creativity.

Each block offers unique strengths, and when used together, they give developers a powerful toolkit to craft sophisticated designs directly within the WordPress editor. By combining these blocks, you can streamline your workflow, maintain consistency, and create layouts that are both visually appealing and highly functional.

Try It Yourself!

Now it’s your turn. Experiment with these blocks in your next project and explore the different ways they can work together to create custom layouts tailored to your needs. In the comments below, share your unique Gutenberg-powered layouts and show us how you’ve applied these blocks to your projects. We’d love to see what you come up with!

The second release candidate (RC2) for WordPress 6.7 is ready for download and testing!

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC2 on a test server and site.

Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 6.7 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 6.7 RC2 in four ways:

Plugin	Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. (Select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
Direct Download	Download the RC2 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
Command Line	Use the following WP-CLI command: wp core update --version=6.7-RC2
WordPress Playground	Use the 6.7 RC2 WordPress Playground instance (available within 35 minutes after the release is ready) to test the software directly in your browser without the need for a separate site or setup.

The current target for the WordPress 6.7 release is November 12, 2024. Get an overview of the 6.7 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.7-related posts in the coming weeks for further details.

What’s in WordPress 6.7 RC2?

Get a recap of WordPress 6.7’s highlighted features in the Beta 1 announcement. For more technical information related to issues addressed since RC1, you can browse the following links:

• GitHub commits for 6.7 since October 22
• Closed Trac tickets since October 22

How you can contribute

WordPress is open source software made possible by a passionate community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help the world’s most popular open source web platform, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Testing for issues is critical to ensuring WordPress is performant and stable. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 6.7. For those new to testing, follow this general testing guide for more details on getting set up.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

From now until the final release of WordPress 6.7 (scheduled for November 12, 2024), the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

For plugin and theme authors, your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for all users. 

Thanks for continuing to test your themes and plugins with the WordPress 6.7 beta releases. With RC2, you’ll want to conclude your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.7.

If you find compatibility issues, please post detailed information to the support forum.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Русский? 日本? हिन्दी? বাংলা? You can help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

Release the haiku

Six point seven’s dawn,
RC2 sweeps bugs away,
Sites stand firm and strong.

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @jorbin.

In nearly 1,000 days, the WordPress community has created 1,000 Block themes—coming together to use the full potential of the Site Editor and unleash new creative possibilities for everyone.

First introduced in WordPress 5.9, Block themes have steadily evolved, improving flexibility and functionality for themers, users, and agencies alike. Now, design tools allow customizing almost every detail. With style variations, users can change the overall look of their site in a few clicks. You can even use curation options to customize the editing process itself. But we’re not done! We can’t wait to keep pushing Block themes even further. Thank you to every early adopter who, by embracing early features with passion, helped shape the Block themes we love today with feedback and testing.

If you haven’t yet explored Block themes, check out some of the resources below to get inspired:

• Use one of the 1,000 Block themes available and see what you can create. For an easy way to explore, try WordPress Playground to quickly get started with a temporary site. 
• Read the Theme handbook to understand types of themes, how themes work, and how to get started building. 
• Use the Create Block Theme plugin to streamline Block theme creation with a dedicated tutorial on Learn WordPress that will help you get started.  
• Get inspired by watching and joining community members building themes together. This is a great way for folks new to Block themes to learn, hands-on. 

Let’s celebrate and share our contributions! Please comment on the Theme Team’s post dedicated to highlighting this milestone to share your favorite Block theme and thank those who have contributed along the way. 

Thank you to @kristastevens for editorial help, @beafialho for the featured image, and @kafleg for reviewing.