Yalla Download

The best Black Friday deal isn’t a disposable gadget or a trendy clothing item. Instead, consider something that will help you grow and will grow along with you. Your website isn’t just about your online presence—it’s the foundation for everything you hope to achieve.

From today through Cyber Monday (November 27), we’re offering unbeatable deals on website plans and domains.

Save up to 50% on websites  

For a limited time, both our monthly and annual website plans are on sale:

50% off monthly plans 

Get half off the first month of any monthly plan when you use the code bf23monthly at checkout. 

25% off annual plans 

Get 25% off the entire year when you purchase any 1-year plan. Use the code bf23annual at checkout. 

Redeeming your discount is simple 

Three simple steps for taking advantage of this Black Friday discount: 

1. Choose “Monthly” or “Annual” at the top of the page
2. Pick your plan
3. At the checkout page, click “Add a coupon code” 

Here’s what you get with all paid plans

• Stunning design options: dive into a sea of themes and find the perfect one. 
• Monetization tools: set up payments and donations in a flash. 
• Expert support: our dedicated team is here, anytime you need.

150+ premium domain extensions up to 90% off 

With over 150 domain extensions on sale, you have unlimited opportunities to express yourself or memorably brand your business. With some domains starting at under $1 for the first year, owning your identity online won’t break the bank. 

Visit wordpress.com/domains to start exploring. 

The most popular domains—.com, .net, and .org—are always available for just $12 per year. 

---

These deals are valid for new website and domain purchases only (no renewals or upgrades). The offers are good through the end of the day Monday, November 27, wherever you are in the world. 

Imagine you spot a new theme that would make your site shine. Or a plugin that will elevate your website’s functionality and user experience to new heights. Understandably, you’d probably like to test these changes before making them live to the world. 

In May, we announced the availability of staging sites, which make it easy to experiment with changes like these. We’re excited to announce that you can now use our new synchronization feature to push changes from your staging site to your live, or “production,” site. 

Starting today, fearlessly try out new ideas and designs before publishing them to the world. Let’s take a deeper look. 

Be sure to check back on Friday in order to grab our best deals of the year on hosting plans and domains!

Staging sites take the stress out of building your website

Let’s say you have a thriving pet grooming business. You have a nice, professional website, but it could use a few more handy features (like appointment scheduling) and a bit more pizzazz in general. Using a staging site, you play around with a few different themes and ultimately decide to design your own with our fun and easy-to-use assembler tool. You land on the perfect design for your site and now you need a plugin that allows clients to book an appointment. You try a couple different options, but nothing looks or works quite how you want it until you land on WooCommerce Bookings. Perfect. 

Now, after those few days of experimenting and trying new things, you have a new, jazzed up website that you’re happy to share with the world. Simply click a couple of buttons on the Hosting Configuration page, and voila, your new site is live. 

By working on your new site in a staging environment, you were able to maintain a professional presence while making magic happen behind the scenes. With our new staging sites synchronization feature, you’re now able to easily push your changes live. 

How to synchronize your staging sites on WordPress.com

First, create a staging site on a Business or Commerce site with Hosting Features enabled. Once your staging site is created, try out some new plugins, play around with a new site design, or build a brand new homepage.

When you are satisfied with your changes and would like to copy them from staging to production, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to your hosting dashboard: Settings → Hosting Configuration 
2. Scroll down to the “Staging site” section
3. Select one of the options under “Choose synchronization direction”
4. Toggle your desired options under “Synchronize this data” 
5. Click “Synchronize”

When the confirmation window appears, proceed by clicking “Synchronize” one final time. 

For more details, including how to use the synchronization feature for different scenarios, visit our staging sites support page. This feature is accessible to all of our customers on our Business and Commerce plans.

Build your next site on WordPress.com

At WordPress.com, we’re committed to making your website management experience as seamless as possible. In the last year alone, we launched SSH and WP-CLI access, site preview links, global edge caching, staging sites, and more. With data synchronization for staging sites, we’ve added yet another powerful feature to your toolkit. Stay tuned for more exciting updates, and don’t forget to follow our Developer Blog to stay in the loop.

What other features would you like to see? How can we make WordPress.com an even more powerful place to build a website? Feel free to leave a comment.

The WordPress.com team is always working on new design ideas to bring your website to life. Check out the latest themes in our library, featuring beautiful new options for bloggers, photographers, restaurateur, and event planners.

---

Magalog

Magalog is a blog theme designed to display your content in a three-column layout. This theme’s structure is comprised of a narrow left-hand sidebar while the blog content of a featured image + title + excerpt live in middle and right-hand columns. The large sans serif typography and clean construction help give the design a modern flair.

There are two style variations in addition to its beautiful default colors, offering engaging palettes to showcase your best stuff.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

---

Dawson

Dawson is a portfolio theme specifically tailored for photography. With a two column layout, it’s ideal for those looking to showcase their exquisite work. Dawson offers five distinct style variations, providing a wide range of aesthetic options to choose from.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

---

Peirao (Premium)

Peirao is a theme inspired by the pervasive use of deep green paint on restaurant doors in Galicia, Spain. It’s the perfect look for a restaurant whose authenticity and history are their brand.

For typography, we’ve chosen Bricolage Grotesque—a fresh, open-source font brimming with character. The typeface’s feel and personality were just right. The entire theme evokes a feel of pride and dignity, while playful details make it friendly and approachable.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

---

Podcasty (Premium)

Podcasty is a podcast theme that’s especially suited for creators who want their cover art and episode titles to shine. This theme is simple, direct, and elegant. There are five vibrant color variations to suit your individual tastes.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

---

Foam

Foam is a fun, straightforward theme made with events in mind. Entirely customizable, Foam presents event details—location, speakers, FAQs, etc.—in an appealing and engaging way.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

---

To install any of the above themes, click the name of the theme you like, which brings you right to the installation page. Then click the “Activate this design” button. You can also click “Open live demo,” which brings up a clickable, scrollable version of the theme for you to preview.

Premium themes are available to use at no extra charge for customers on the Premium plan or above. Partner themes are third-party products that can be purchased for $79/year each.

You can explore all of our themes by navigating to the “Themes” page, which is found under “Appearance” in the left-side menu of your WordPress.com dashboard. Or you can click below:

The countdown is on for this year’s State of the Word! If you missed the initial announcement a few weeks ago, you’ll want to mark your calendars for December 11, 2023.

State of the Word is the annual keynote in which WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg celebrates the progress of the open source project and offers a glimpse into its future.

For the first time, State of the Word ventures beyond North America, bringing the WordPress community to a new and vibrant city that plays a vital role in the WordPress project — Madrid, Spain! The event will be live-streamed to WordPress enthusiasts and newcomers around the globe via the WordPress YouTube channel.

Please visit the event website for more event details and live-streaming information.

What: State of the Word 2023
When: December 11, 2023, 15:00 UTC (Start of live stream)
Where: Palacio Neptuno, Madrid, Spain
Streaming: Watch the live stream on the WordPress YouTube channel.
Tickets: Request a ticket to attend in person.
Please note that the venue’s capacity is limited; therefore, not all ticket requests will be granted. 
Meetups: The community will sponsor several local watch parties globally, both in
person and online. Find one near you or organize one.

Have a question for Matt?

State of the Word will include a Q&A session. If you want to participate, you can send your question to ask-matt@wordcamp.org or ask during the event via the Q&A app Slido. A QR code for your submission will be provided during the event live stream.

Given the volume of questions usually submitted, only some will be answered live, while others will be covered in a follow-up post published after the event on make.wordpress.org/project.

Is this your first State of the Word? Check out prior events on WordPress.tv for an introduction to the format.

See you in person and online on December 11!

---

Thank you to Reyes Martínez and Chloé Bringmann for reviewing this post.

When it comes to designing a website, one size doesn’t fit all. We understand that every WordPress user has unique needs and goals, whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a passionate photographer, a prolific writer, or a bit of them all. That’s why we are thrilled to introduce Twenty Twenty-Four, the most versatile default theme yet—bundled with WordPress 6.4 and ready to make it uniquely yours.

A theme for every style

Unlike past default themes, Twenty Twenty-Four breaks away from the tradition of focusing on a specific topic or style. Instead, this theme has been thoughtfully crafted to cater to any type of website, regardless of its focus. The theme explores three different use cases: one designed for entrepreneurs and small businesses, another for photographers and artists, and a third tailored for writers and bloggers. Thanks to its multi-faceted nature and adaptability, Twenty Twenty-Four emerges as the perfect fit for any of your projects.

As you dive into its templates and patterns, you will notice how the new Site Editor functionality opens up different pathways for building your site seamlessly.

Patterns at every step

Whether you’re looking to craft an About page, showcase your work, handle RSVPs, or design captivating landing pages, Twenty Twenty-Four has got you covered. Choose from an extensive collection of over 35 beautiful patterns to customize and suit your needs.

For the first time, this theme features full-page patterns for templates like homepage, archive, search, single pages, and posts. Some are exclusively available during the template-switching and creation process, ensuring you have the right options when you need them.

Moreover, you can take advantage of a variety of patterns for page sections, such as FAQs, testimonials, or pricing, to meet your site’s most specific requirements.

With this diverse pattern library, Twenty Twenty-Four offers a flexible canvas to quickly assemble pages of any kind without having to start from scratch—saving you time and energy in the creation process. Just let your creativity flow and explore the possibilities!

Site editing in its finest form

Twenty Twenty-Four ushers in a new era of block themes by bringing together the latest WordPress site editing capabilities. Discover newer design tools such as background image support in Group blocks and vertical text, providing an intuitive and efficient way to create compelling, interactive content.

Find image placeholders with predefined aspect ratio settings within patterns, allowing you to drop images that perfectly fill the space. To go one step further, make your visuals interactive by enabling lightboxes. Ideal for showcasing galleries or portfolio images, this feature allows your visitors to expand and engage with them in full-screen mode. Activate it globally for all images throughout your site or for specific ones.

For a smoother browsing experience on your site, you can disable the “Force page reload” setting in the Query Loop block. This ensures that the necessary content is loaded dynamically when switching between different pages without needing a full-page refresh.

Elegance with purpose

Twenty Twenty-Four goes beyond versatility with a beautiful aesthetic inspired by contemporary design trends, giving your website a sleek and modern look. Key design elements include:

• Cardo font for headlines: The Cardo font adds a touch of elegance to your site, creating a sophisticated visual experience.
• Sans-serif system font for paragraphs: The sans-serif font ensures that your texts are cleaner and easier to read, enhancing overall readability.
• Eight style variations: Twenty Twenty-Four presents a light color palette for a fresh and inviting appearance out-of-the-box, but you can customize it with seven additional style variations. Each includes fonts and colors carefully curated to work beautifully alongside the patterns and templates.
• Sans-serif variations: Besides the default styles, the theme offers two additional sans-serif variations, providing more choices for your site’s typography.

Along with its design, Twenty Twenty-Four has been meticulously optimized for performance. This ensures that your website not only looks great but also delivers a fast and efficient user experience.

More information can be found in the following links:

• Download Twenty Twenty-Four
• Twenty Twenty-Four Documentation
• Twenty Twenty-Four Kick Off

The Twenty Twenty-Four theme was designed by Beatriz Fialho and made possible thanks to the passion and tireless work of more than 120 contributors.

WordPress Executive Director, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, speaks to the strategic approach to integrating open source solutions within your company and offers insight into initiating open source advocacy conversations. Tune in for a session that could redefine your company’s technological approach.

Have a question you’d like answered? You can submit them to wpbriefing@WordPress.org, either written or as a voice recording.

Credits

Host: Josepha Haden Chomphosy
Editor: Dustin Hartzler
Logo: Javier Arce
Production: Brett McSherry
Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod

Show Notes

• Small List of Big Things
  • WordPress 6.4 “Shirley” – The final major release of 2023 launched on November 7 – WordPress 6.4 “Shirley.” Download and check out this empowering release.
  • The Training Team recently published several new Learn resources for training guides to support Meetup Organizers. From lesson plans to online workshops, there are several ways to help you in your goals as a contributor to WordPress.
  • The Diversity Team recently published a new Diverse Speaker Training page, providing resources for new and experienced contributors to bring more diverse speaker lineups and inclusive, diverse WP events for official WordPress Meetups and WordCamps.
  • If you have a story showing how WordPress has impacted what you are doing or what people you know have done, record something and send it to wpbriefing@WordPress.org. We’d love to hear from you.

Transcripts

[00:00:00] Josepha: Hello everyone. And welcome to the WordPress Briefing. The podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.

[00:00:28] (Intro music) 

[00:00:40] Josepha: Today, we’re talking about something I used to have a lot of experience with in my career before WordPress. I worked at a marketing agency. I wasn’t a developer. I was in data and strategy sorts of things. But part of the work heading into every project was an evaluation of what software was best. There were always a variety being considered, but WordPress was frequently one of them.

Now, I don’t know if any of you have had that moment where you’re having to talk open source with a CTO or a CEO, but it can be nerve-wracking, to say the least. And it makes sense, right? Open source has a PR problem, especially when you’re speaking to leadership inside a business. And it doesn’t really matter the size, right?

You’re advocating for something that requires a completely different mental model. It doesn’t fit into accepted concepts of what makes a business thrive or what makes a bet a sure thing. There were three, maybe four, concerns that came up every time I had this conversation. So, I’m going to share those concerns with you and a few possible counterpoints to get you started.

[00:01:48] Josepha: First and always is the concern around security. I believe that this particular mismatch is rooted in an idea that controlled equals secure, which isn’t always the case. So the talking point is this. Since open source has a transparent development process, it is often more secure than proprietary software, contrary to what you might hear.

That transparency allows vulnerabilities to be identified by independent researchers and community members and then patched quickly because you aren’t limited by who or what you know personally.

And if you’re not having a conversation where you’re having to defend the security in open source and you just want to bring it up yourself, here is a conversation opener for that. Security is a top concern for all of us. Surprisingly, open source solutions often have stronger security measures due to the collaborative nature of their development. It’s a proactive approach to minimizing risks. 

[00:02:43] Josepha: A second thing that frequently came up was questions around innovation and future proofing of open source products. I think this mismatch is fully rooted in the Cathedral and the Bazaar methods of advancement. So the talking point for that one is this. Embracing open source fosters innovation. We can tap into the latest technologies and stay ahead of industry trends that way. It is specifically because we have a diverse set of viewpoints that we can make sure to quickly account for future risks, along with taking advantage of future opportunities. And by our organization being more active, we can potentially get exactly the solutions we need for our clients long term.

And the conversation opener for this, if you are the one bringing up the topic, is I’ve been thinking about our long-term goals and how to keep our technology stack relevant. Open source not only keeps us current but also positions us as innovators in our field.

[00:03:40] Josepha: And finally, the thing that seems to make or break the decision is the concept of independence. Part of any good business decision, especially around software, is determining upfront costs to getting started, long-term effectiveness of the chosen solution, and long-term mobility should circumstances change. Open source can address these from multiple vantage points.

So here’s a good talking point for that one. Open source liberates us from vendor lock-in. We’re not tied to a single vendor’s roadmap or pricing changes, providing us with more options that suit our needs our clients’ needs. Also, given how ubiquitous WordPress is in particular, there will always be a disaster recovery option should a senior developer leave.

And beyond all of that, clients can own all of the content, audience attention, and clientele that we have all worked so hard to help them earn. And again, if you’re not defending things and instead choosing to bring them up as somebody who is trying to affect change in your own organization, here is a good place to start for that.

Considering the dynamic nature of our industry, having the freedom to choose solutions independent of a specific vendor makes sure that we are always in control of our destiny.

[00:04:59] Josepha: So, those are the three most frequent things I encountered when I was having conversations about which software to choose and what software was the best choice long term for both our organization and our client’s organizations.

If you have been in the midst of this type of conversation and have been longing for some counterpoints, I hope this helps. But if you have been feeling in your heart of hearts that your company or organization would be better off using open source software, and of course, in my context, particularly WordPress as that software, but you’ve been worried about bringing it up, I hope this gives you the courage to get out there and be an agent of change in your organization. You can do it, and I know you can.

[00:05:44] (Music interlude) 

[00:05:51] Josepha: All right, my friends, that brings us now to our small list of big things. 

[00:05:57] Josepha: First on the list, big, big thing. We launched WordPress 6.4 on November 7th, about a week ago. Be sure to download and check out the latest update on this monumental release. And while you’re doing it. Be sure to check out the new default theme that came out with it. It has a lot of patterns in it. I know I’ve talked about it quite a bit over the course of the year, but it’s really beautiful, and I think that it’s worth a good, strong highlight. So WordPress 6.4, you can get it on WordPress.org/download or inside your own host, probably. 

[00:06:29] Josepha: The second thing that we have is that the training team recently published several new Learn resources to support meetup organizers. So we’ve got over there some lesson plans, tutorials, online workshops. And there are also new materials that help you figure out how to accomplish your goals as a contributor to the WordPress project.

[00:06:49] Josepha: And we also have a recently published new diverse speaker training page. It provides incredible resources for new and experienced contributors to bring more diverse speaker lineups and inclusive, diverse WordPress events for official WordPress meetups and WordCamps. 

[00:07:06] Josepha: And the fourth thing on our small list of big things today is that I would love to get a few voice recordings from you all, from folks who are listening to the WordPress Briefing, or folks that you know, to learn more about how WordPress has impacted you. 

One of the things that I miss the most from my days as a WordCamp organizer is that annually, I got to see people who had shown up, once at a meetup, you know, to learn what WordPress was, and then came back year after year to our WordCamp with these new goals and new successes and I got to watch their businesses change over time. And so if you have a story like that where WordPress impacted what you are doing or what people that you know have done, record something and send it to wpbriefing@WordPress.org.

So that, my friends, is your small list of big things.

[00:08:04] Josepha: Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite podcasting app or subscribe directly on WordPress.org/news. You’ll get a friendly reminder whenever there is a new episode. If you liked what you heard today, share it with a fellow WordPresser. Or, if you had questions about what you heard, you can share those with me at wpbriefing@WordPress.org. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Thanks for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks. 

[00:08:31] (Music outro)

September-October 2023 was yet another fun and eventful chapter in WordPress, with more WordCamps hosting exciting discussions, knowledge sharing, and learning. This month also welcomed the release of WordPress 6.4 and the Twenty Twenty-Four theme. Let’s check it out.

Meet WordPress 6.4 “Shirley”

WordPress 6.4 “Shirley” was released on November 7, 2023, and named after the iconic jazz artist Shirley Horn. With the release of WordPress 6.4 comes the new Twenty Twenty-Four theme, a multi-faceted, highly flexible default theme pre-loaded with more than 35 templates and patterns. 

This release includes more than 100 performance-related updates for a faster and more efficient experience. There’s also a host of new features and enhancements that help improve the content creation process and streamline site editing. 

WordPress 6.4 was made possible by more than 600 contributors in at least 56 countries. 

State of the Word 2023

Mark your calendars for State of the Word! The annual keynote address delivered by the WordPress project’s co-founder, Matt Mullenweg, will be held on December 11, 2023. For the first time, the event will take place outside North America—this time with the Spanish community in Madrid, Spain.

A live stream will be available for WordPress enthusiasts who will not be able to attend in person. Stay tuned for more information, including how to reserve a ticket, soon!

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Two new versions of Gutenberg shipped in October:

• Gutenberg 16.8 was released on October 11, 2023. It introduced enhancements to the Cover block and Font Library, and added the option to view the active template when editing pages.
• Gutenberg 16.9 was released on October 25, 2023. This update lets you rename nearly every block from within the editor, as well as duplicate or rename individual patterns. 

October’s Core Editor Improvement post dives into all the writing enhancements expected in the latest WordPress 6.4 release.

https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

Team updates

• The journey to update WordPress.org continues with the launch of a new Showcase design. 
• The Performance Team held a Hallway Hangout to discuss WordPress 6.3 performance impact in the field, diving into WordPress 6.4 performance improvements and looking ahead at what can be learned for WordPress 6.5.
• The Documentation Team created a new GitHub repo for end-user documentation and its translations to all locales. You can find out more about this here.
• Openverse has been awarded the 2023 Open Education Award for Excellence in the Open Infrastructure category. Congratulations!
• Learn more about the next chapter for the FSE (Full Site Editing) Outreach Program, which looks to transition into a focused space for solving issues, creating resources, and facilitating conversations around adopting Phase 2 of Gutenberg.
• The Accessibility team is holding weekly office hours to discuss accessibility principles and best practices for the project.

Requests for feedback & testing

• Version 23.6 of the WordPress mobile app for iOS and Android is ready for testing.

https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

WordPress events updates

• WordCamp Asia has extended their call for sponsors for their conference slated to take place in Taipei, Taiwan, March 7-9 2024. 
• There will be a WordPress #WPDiversity Speaker Workshop for Women Voices in Latin America in San Jose, Costa Rica on November 11, 2023.
• WordCamp Valencia 2023 will take place on November 10-11, 2203.
• WordCamp Verona 2023 will take place on November 17-18, 2203.
• WordCamp Hong Kong 2023 will take place on November 18, 2203.
• WordCamp Islamabad 2023 will take place on November 25-26, 2203.

---

Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

Thank you to Bernard Meyer and Reyes Martínez for their contributions to this edition of The Month in WordPress.

WordPress 6.4.1 is now available!

This minor release features four bug fixes. You can review a summary of the maintenance updates in this release by reading the Release Candidate announcement or view the list of tickets on Trac.

WordPress 6.4.1 is a short-cycle release. If you have sites that support automatic background updates, the update process will begin automatically. If your site does not update automatically, you can also update from your Dashboard.

You can download WordPress 6.4.1 from WordPress.org, or visit your WordPress Dashboard, click “Updates”, and then click “Update Now”.

For more information on this release, please visit the HelpHub site.

Thank you to these WordPress contributors

This release was led by Aaron Jorbin and Tonya Mork. Thank you to everyone who tested the RC and 6.4.1, and raised reports.

WordPress 6.4.1 would not have been possible without the contributions of the following people. Their quick and concerted coordination to deliver maintenance fixes into a stable release is a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.

@afragen @clorith @desrosj @pbiron @schlessera @azaozz @davidbaumwald @tomsommer @nexflaszlo @howdy_mcgee @baxbridge @earnjam @timothyblynjacobs @johnbillion @flixos90 @joedolson @jeffpaul @zunaid321 @courane01 @audrasjb @tacoverdo @ironprogrammer @webcommsat @otto42 @barry @chanthaboune @rajinsharwar @aaroncampbell @peterwilsoncc @anandau14 @iandunn @matthewjho @coffee2code @boogah @jason_the_adams @joemcgill @johnjamesjacoby @jrf @renehermi @dlh @mukesh27 @sumitbagthariya16 @starbuck @sergeybiryukov

How to contribute

To get involved in WordPress core development, head over to Trac, pick a ticket, and join the conversation in the #core channel. Need help? Check out the Core Contributor Handbook.

Thanks to @jeffpaul and @webcommsat for proofreading.

Jolie Karno will be the first person to admit that she’s not technologically literate. As a wood-turner in Oakland, California, she works with her hands day in and day out and doesn’t want to spend hours fiddling with a website.

Of course Jolie needs to make a living, though, so she wanted a website to sell her custom-made wood products. The thought of building out a full e-commerce website was so daunting that she struggled to find a way to get started. Until she learned that WordPress.com offers easily customizable templates and 24/7 support.

With the help of our incredible Happiness Engineers, she was able to get her online store launched, which makes her creations shine. Take a look for yourself at joliekarnodesign.com.

After you’ve watched the video, visit WordPress.com/customers or click below to learn more and get an exclusive 25% off coupon.

Say hello to WordPress 6.4 “Shirley,” named after the iconic jazz artist Shirley Horn. Her distinctive voice and extraordinary connection to the piano established her as one of the leading jazz musicians of her generation. Horn’s journey from the Washington D.C. jazz scene to the international stage is a testament to her dedication and perseverance. Her influence reached far beyond the confines of traditional jazz, breaking boundaries and inspiring audiences worldwide.

Enjoy the easy pace of Shirley Horn’s music as you take in all that 6.4 offers.

This latest version of WordPress introduces a new, versatile default theme and a suite of upgrades to empower every step of your creative journey. Craft your content seamlessly with further writing improvements. Explore more ways to bring your vision to life and streamline site editing with enhanced tools. Whether you’re new to WordPress or an experienced creator, “Shirley” has something for you. Discover the unmatched flexibility of building with blocks and let your ideas take flight.

Many of the features and enhancements in WordPress 6.4 fall in the “small but mighty” category. Along with the adaptable beauty of the Twenty Twenty-Four theme, these updates help content creators and site developers alike save time and effort while delivering the high value, low hassle WordPress experience the world has grown to expect.

Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of WordPress

What’s inside 6.4

Meet Twenty Twenty-Four

Experience site editing at its finest with Twenty Twenty-Four. This new multi-faceted default theme has been thoughtfully crafted with three distinct use cases in mind, from writers and artists to entrepreneurs. Save time and effort with its extensive collection of over 35 templates and patterns—and unlock a world of creative possibilities with a few tweaks. Twenty Twenty-Four’s remarkable flexibility ensures an ideal fit for almost any type of site. Check it out in this demo.

Let your writing flow

New enhancements ensure your content creation journey is smooth. Find new keyboard shortcuts in List View, smarter list merging, and enhanced control over link settings. A cohesive toolbar experience for the Navigation, List, and Quote blocks lets you work efficiently with the tooling options you need.

The Command Palette just got better

First introduced in WordPress 6.3, the Command Palette is a powerful tool to quickly find what you need, perform tasks efficiently, and speed up your building workflow. Enjoy a refreshed design and new commands to perform block-specific actions in this release.

Categorize and filter patterns

Patterns are an excellent way to leverage the potential of blocks and simplify your site-building process. WordPress 6.4 allows you to organize them with custom categories. Plus, new advanced filtering in the Patterns section of the inserter makes finding all your patterns more intuitive.

Get creative with more design tools

Build beautiful and functional layouts with an expanded set of design tools. Play with background images in Group blocks for unique designs and maintain image dimensions consistent with placeholder aspect ratios. Do you want to add buttons to your Navigation block? Now you can do it conveniently without a line of code.

Make your images stand out

Enable lightbox functionality to let your site visitors enjoy full-screen, interactive images on click. Apply it globally or to specific images to customize the viewing experience.

Rename Group blocks

Set custom names for Group blocks to organize and distinguish areas of your content easily. These names will be visible in List View.

Preview images in List View

New previews for Gallery and Image blocks in List View let you visualize and locate where images on your content are at a glance.

Share patterns across sites

Need to use your custom patterns on another site? Import and export them as JSON files from the Site Editor’s patterns view.

Introducing Block Hooks

Block Hooks enables developers to automatically insert dynamic blocks at specific content locations, enriching the extensibility of block themes through plugins. While considered a developer tool, this feature is geared to respect your preferences and gives you complete control to add, dismiss, and customize auto-inserted blocks to your needs.

Performance wins

This release includes more than 100 performance-related updates for a faster and more efficient experience. Notable enhancements focus on template loading performance for themes (including Twenty Twenty-Four), usage of the script loading strategies “defer” and “async” in core, blocks, and themes, and optimization of autoloaded options.

Accessibility highlights

Every release is committed to making WordPress accessible to everyone. WordPress 6.4 brings several List View improvements and aria-label support for the Navigation block, among other highlights. The admin user interface includes enhancements to button placements, “Add New” menu items context, and Site Health spoken messages. Learn more about all the updates aimed at improving accessibility.

Other notes of interest

• PHP 8.1 or 8.2 are recommended for use with WordPress 6.4. Find in-depth details on PHP support in this post.
• WordPress 6.4 disables attachment pages for new installations.

Learn more about WordPress 6.4

Check out the new WordPress 6.4 page to learn more about the numerous enhancements and features of this release.

Explore Learn WordPress for quick how-to videos, online workshops, and other free resources to level up your WordPress knowledge and skills.

If you are looking for detailed technical notes on new changes, the WordPress 6.4 Field Guide is for you. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Developer Blog to stay on top of the latest development updates, tutorials, and more.

For more information on installation, fixes, and file changes, visit the 6.4 release notes.

The 6.4 release squad

​​The WordPress 6.4 release comes to you from an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome and empower diverse voices in the WordPress open source project.

Being part of the 6.4 release coordination team has allowed me to closely observe the intricate release process, where every detail, no matter how minor, is meticulously addressed—taking into account various factors like performance and backward compatibility. There’s still much to learn, but I feel fortunate to have had the chance to contribute to WordPress 6.4.

Akshaya Rane, 6.4 release coordinator team member

Over several weeks, the 6.4 release squad kept the release on track and moving forward by leading collective work, connecting ideas, and removing roadblocks.

• Release Lead: Josepha Haden Chomphosy
• Release Coordinators: Chloé Bringmann, Ebonie Butler, Akshaya Rane, Francesca Marano. Cohort: Dee Teal, Jaimie Olmstead, Jyolsna J E, Mary Baum
• Core Tech Leads: Mike Schroder, Tonya Mork. Cohort: Stephanie Walters
• Editor Tech Leads:  Sarah Norris, Siobhan Bamber, Tammie Lister. Cohort: Devan Ferguson, Frédérique Battel, Jessica Goddard, Katie Ayres, Marta Torre, Nyasha Green, Pooja Bhimani
• Core Triage Leads: Nicole Furlan, Olga Gleckler
• Editor Triage Leads: Anne McCarthy, Birgit Pauli-Haack. Cohort: Emily Leffler Schulman
• Documentation Leads: Abha Thakor, Femy Praseeth, Mushrit Shabnam. Cohort: D.J. Billings, Jamie VanRaalte, Laura Byrne, Tiffany Bridge, Winstina Hughes
• Marketing and Communications Leads: Meher Bala, Reyes Martínez, Sé Reed. Cohort: Meagan Hanes, Michelle Frechette
• Test Lead: Pooja Derashri. Cohort: Anne Bovelett, Birgit Olzem
• Design Leads: Ellen Bauer, Estela Rueda. Cohort: Allison Tarr, Ana Cirujano, Cathi Bosco, Sonia Gaballa, Ohia
• Performance Lead: Emily Clarke. Cohort: Linnea Huxford
• Training Leads: Courtney P.K., Courtney Roberston
• Default Theme Leads: Jessica Lyschik, Maggie Cabrera

Thank you, contributors

WordPress believes in democratizing publishing and the freedoms that come with open source. Supporting this idea is a global and diverse community of people working together to strengthen the software.

WordPress 6.4 reflects the countless efforts and passion of more than 600 contributors in at least 56 countries. This release also welcomed over 170 first-time contributors!

Their collaboration delivered more than 1150 enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all—a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress open source community.

6adminit · Aaron D. Campbell · Aaron Jorbin · Aaron Robertshaw · aayusha · Abha Thakor · Abid Omar · Adam Silverstein · Adhun Anand · admcfajn · adrianduffell · aegkr · ahardyjpl · Ahmed Hussein · Ahmed Kabir Chaion · ajakaroth · Aki Hamano · Akihiro Harai · Akira Tachibana · Akshaya Rane · Al-Amin Firdows · Albert Juhé Lluveras · Alex Concha · Alex King · Alex Lende · Alex Stine · Alexandre Buffet · Alisha Bajracharya · allisonplus · Alvi Tazwar · amedv · Ana Cirujano · Anders Norén · André · Andrea Fercia · Andrei Draganescu · Andrew Hayward · Andrew Hutchings · Andrew Nacin · Andrew Ozz · Andrew Serong · Andrew Wilder · Andy Fragen · Andy Peatling · Ankit Gade · Ankit K Gupta · Ankit Panchal · Anna · Anne Katzeff · Anne McCarthy · Anne-Mieke Bovelett · anphira · Anthony Burchell · Anton Plauche · Anton Timmermans · Anton Vlasenko · Anveshika Srivastava · archon810 · arena · Ari Stathopoulos · Arnab Mondal · Artemio Morales · Arthur Chu · asafm7 · Aslam Doctor · Aurooba Ahmed · Austin Ginder · Ayesh Karunaratne · azharckra · Balu B · bangank36 · barbmiller · Bart · Basilis Kanonidis · Beatriz Fialho · behoney · ben · Ben Dwyer · Ben Greeley · Ben Hansen · benimub · Benjamin Intal · Benjamin Zekavica · benjaminknox · Benoit Chantre · Bernhard Reiter · Bernie Reiter · Bhrugesh Bavishi · Bijay Yadav · Binsaifullah · Biplav · Birgit Olzem · Birgit Pauli-Haack · Block Themes Pro · bmalsht · bonger · bookwyrm · Boone Gorges · Boro Sitnikovski · Brad Jorsch · Bradley Jacobs · Brandon Kraft · Brandon Vreeman · Brian Gardner · Brian Haas · Brooke · Brooke. · Bud Kraus · Caleb Burks · Calvin Alkan · Carlo Cannas · Carlos Bravo · Carlos G. P. · Carolina Nymark · Cathi Bosco · ceer · Chad Chadbourne · chased@si.edu · Chintan hingrajiya · Chip Bennett · Chloé Bringmann · Chris Runnells · chriscct7 · chrisdesrochers · codersantosh · Colin Stewart · Corey Worrell · Courtney Patubo Kranzke · Courtney Robertson · Crisoforo Gaspar · crstauf · Csaba (LittleBigThings) · Cupid Chakma · cybeardjm · Cyberchicken · Daisuke Takahashi · Dajeema Rai · Damon Cook · Damon Sharp · Dan Tovbein · Daniel Bachhuber · Daniel Richards · danieldudzic · Daniele Scasciafratte · Danielle Zarcaro · danieltj · darerodz · Darin Kotter · darkfate · Darren Ethier (nerrad) · Darshit Rajyaguru · Dave Loodts · dave03 · David Baumwald · David Biňovec · David Calhoun · David E. Smith · David Favor · David Herrera · David Ryan · David Smith · Dawid Urbanski · daxelrod · De Belser Arne · Dean Sas · Dee Teal · Deepak Vijayan · Denis Žoljom · Dennis Snell · Derek Blank · Derrick Tennant · Devan Ferguson · dhamibirendra · Dharmesh Patel · Dhrumil Kumbhani · Dhruvi Shah · Diane Co · Dilip Bheda · Dimitris Mitsis · Dion Hulse · DJ · dj.cowan · Dominik Schilling · doughamlin · Drew Jaynes · Earle Davies · Ebonie Butler · Edi Amin · Edward Caissie · Ehtisham S. · Ella van Durpe · Ellen Bauer · emailjoey · Emerson Maningo · Emily Clarke · Emily Leffler Schulman · emirpprime · enodekciw · Enrico Battocchi · Erik Betshammar · Esrat Sultana Popy · Estela Rueda · Fabian Kägy · Fabian Todt · Fabio Rubioglio · Faisal Alvi · Felipe Elia · Felix Arntz · Femy Praseeth · floydwilde · FolioVision · Francesca Marano · Fredde Battel · fzhantw · Gabriel Koen · Ganesh Dahal · Garrett Hyder · Gary Cao · Gary Pendergast · Gennady Kovshenin · George Hotelling · George Mamadashvili · Gerardo Pacheco · Gio Lodi · Glen Davies · Gnanasekaran Loganathan · Gopal Krishnan · GOZER · gpotter · Grant M. Kinney · Greg Ross · Greg Ziółkowski · gregfuller · Guss77 · Gustavo Bordoni · gvgvgvijayan · Héctor Prieto · H.M. Mushfiqur Rahman · hanneslsm · Hanzala Taifun · Hareesh S · Harsh Gajipara · Hasanuzzaman · Haz · Helen Hou-Sandi · Hemant Tejwani · Hit Bhalodia · hlunter · Howdy_McGee · Huzaifa Al Mesbah · Ian Dunn · Incursa Designs · ironprogrammer · Isabel Brison · itecrs · Ivan Zhuck · jaimieolmstead · Jakaria Istauk · Jake Goldman · Jake Spurlock · James · James Janco · James Koster · James Roberts · james0r · Jamie McHale · Jamie Perrelet · Jamie VanRaalte · jane · Jarda Snajdr · Jari Vuorenmaa · Jarko Piironen · Jason Crist · jastos · Jean-Baptiste Audras · Jeff Bowen · Jeff Everhart · Jeff Ong · jeffikus · Jeffrey Paul · jeflopo · Jeremy Felt · Jeremy Herve · Jeremy Yip · jeryj · Jesin A · Jessica Duarte · Jessica Goddard · Jessica Lyschik · Jick · Jip Moors · jivygraphics · Joe Dolson · Joe Hoyle · Joe McGill · Joen A. · John Blackbourn · John Hooks · John James Jacoby · John Regan · Jon Brown · Jon Cave · Jonathan Desrosiers · Jonny Harris · Jono Alderson · Joona · Joost de Valk · JordanPak · jordesign · Jorge Costa · Joseph G. · Josepha Haden · joshcanhelp · joshuatf · JR Tashjian · Juan Aldasoro · JuanMa Garrido · Juliette Reinders Folmer · Justin Tadlock · Jyolsna J E · K M Ashikur Rahman · K. Adam White · KafleG · Kai Hao · Kalmang · Kalpesh · Kamrul Hasan · Karlijn Bok · karmacharya50 · Karol Manijak · Karthik Thayyil · Katie Ayres · kawsaralameven · Keanan Koppenhaver · Kelly Choyce-Dwan · Kevin Fodness · Kevin Miller · khleomix · Khokan Sardar · Kim Coleman · Kishan Jasani · kkmuffme · Koji Kuno · Konstantin Kovshenin · Konstantin Obenland · Kopila Shrestha · krokodok · Krupal Panchal · ktaron · Labun Chemjong · Lance Willett · LarryWEB · lastsplash (a11n) · lau@mindproducts.com.au · launchinteractive · Laura Adamonis · Laura Byrne · laurelfulford · Lauren · Laxmikant Bhumkar · Lee Willis · Lena Morita · Liam Gladdy · Linkon Miyan · Linnea Huxford · Lloyd Budd · Lovekesh Kumar · Luigi · Luis Felipe Zaguini · Luis Herranz · Luke Cavanagh · lunaluna · lyndauwp · Márcio Duarte · maciejmackowiak · madejackson · Madhu Dollu · Madhu Dollu · Maggie Cabrera · Mahbub Hasan Imon · Mahrokh · Mai · Maja Benke · maltfield · Manesh Timilsina · manfcarlo · Manzoor Wani · marcelle42 · Marcelo de Moraes Serpa · Marco Ciampini · Marco Pereirinha · Marcoevich · margolisj · Marin Atanasov · Mario Santos · Marius L. J. · Mark Jaquith · Marko Ivanovic · Marta Torre · Martijn van der Klis · martin.krcho · Mary Baum · Masoud NKH · mathsgrinds · Matias Benedetto · Matias Ventura · Matt Keys · Matt Watson · Matthaus Klute · Matthew Eppelsheimer · Matthew Farlymn · Matthew Haines-Young · maurodf · Maxwell Morgan · maysi · Md HR Shahin · meagan hanes · Mehedi Hassan · Meher Bala · Mel Choyce-Dwan · mer00x · merel1988 · Michael Arestad · Michael Burridge · Michael Showes · Michal Czaplinski · Michalooki · Michelle Blanchette · Michelle Frechette · Michi91 · Miguel Fonseca · Mikael Korpela · Mike Jolley (a11n) · Mike McAlister · Mike Schinkel · Mike Schroder · Mike Straw · Mikin Chauhan · Milen Petrinski - Gonzo · mimi · mitchellaustin · Monir · Mrinal Haque · mrwweb · Muhammad Arslan · Muhibul Haque · mujuonly · Mukesh Panchal · Mumtahina Faguni · Mushrit Shabnam · Myles Taylor · Nalini Thakor · nandhuraj · Nazgul · Nazmul Sabuz · Neil Hainsworth · nendeb · Nick Diego · Nicolas Juen · Nicole Furlan · nicomollet · nidhidhandhukiya · Niels Lange · Nihar Ranjan Das · Nik Tsekouras · Nilambar Sharma · Nilo Velez · niravsherasiya7707 · Nitesh Das · Nithin John · Nithin SreeRaj · Noah Allen · Nyasha · ockham · Ohia · okat · Olga Gleckler · Oliver Campion · OllieJones · Paal Joachim Romdahl · pannelars · Pascal Birchler · Paul Biron · Paul Kevan · pavelevap · Pedro Mendonça · pentatonicfunk · Pete Nelson · Peter Wilson · petitphp · petrosparaskevopoulos · Petter Walbø Johnsgård · Phill · Pieterjan Deneys · piyushdeshmukh · Plugin Devs · Pooja Bhimani · Pooja Derashri · Pooja N Muchandikar · pranavjoshi · Prashant · Presskopp · r-c · Rajin Sharwar · Ramon Ahnert · Ramon Corrales · Ramon James · Rebekah Markowitz · Remy Perona · ren · Renatho (a11n) · Reyes Martínez · Riad Benguella · Rian Rietveld · Rich Tabor · Robert Anderson · Robert O'Rourke · Robin · robpetrin · Rolf Allard van Hagen · Ryan Duff · Ryan McCue · Ryan Neudorf · Ryan Welcher · Sérgio Gomes · Sagar Tamang · Sajjad Hossain Sagor · Sakib Mohammed · Sal Ferrarello · samba45 · Sampat Viral · Sarah Norris · sarahwilliams889 · Sarath AR · Satish Prajapati · saulirajala · saxonfletcher · Scott Kingsley Clark · Scott Taylor · Scout James · scribu · Sergey Biryukov · Sergio Scabuzzo · Seth Rubenstein · Shail Mehta · shawfactor · Shawn Hooper · shilo-ey · Shiva Shanker Bhatta · shresthaaman · Shubham Sedani · Simon Dowdles · Siobhan · Siobhan Bamber · Smit Rathod · sofiashendi · Sonia Gaballa · Soren Wrede · SourceView · Spenser Hale · Stephanie Walters · Stephen Bernhardt · Stephen Edgar · Steve Erdelyi · Steve Jones · Subodh Sunuwar · Subrata Sarkar · Suji K Chandran · Sumi Subedi · Sumit Singh · Sunita Rai · suprsam · syamraj24 · Sybre Waaijer · Synchro · Sé Reed · Tahmid ul Karim · Tahmina Jahan · Takayuki Miyoshi · Tammie Lister · Tanvirul Haque · Teddy Patriarca · tejadev · thinkluke · Thomas Patrick Levy · tibbsa · Tiffany Bridge · Tim Nolte · timdix · Timothy Jacobs · tmatsuur · TobiasBg · tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn Fjellner) · Tom · Tom Cafferkey · Tom H · Tom J Nowell · tomluckies · Tomoki Shimomura · Tonya Mork · Toro_Unit (Hiroshi Urabe) · Torsten Landsiedel · toscho · Tran Ngoc Tuan Anh · Trinisha · Trisha Salas · tristanleboss · TV productions · Ugyen Dorji · Ulrich · Upadala Vipul · Utsav tilava · valentindu62 · Valerie Blackburn · Vicente Canales · Viktor Szépe · Vipul Ghori · vivekawsm · vortfu · Vraja Das · webashrafians · WebMan Design | Oliver Juhas · Weston Ruter · WHSajid · Will Skora · Willington Vega · Winstina · winterstreet · WraithKenny · wyrfel · Yoseph Tamang · Yui · zieladam · Zunaid Amin · Илья

Over 60 locales have translated 90 percent or more of WordPress 6.4 into their language. 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 is not limited to coding. If contributing appeals to you, 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.

Looking ahead

Over the past two decades, WordPress has transformed the digital publishing landscape and empowered anyone to create and share, from handcrafted personal stories to world-changing movements.

The present and future of WordPress hold exciting opportunities for everyone, builders and enterprises alike. The foundational work for Phase 3 of the roadmap continues, with efforts focused on fostering real-time collaboration and streamlining publishing flows to improve how creators and teams work together in WordPress.

Stay on top of the latest news and contributing opportunities by subscribing to WordPress News and the WP Briefing podcast.

A release haiku

The smooth feel of jazz
The cutting-edge of the web
Install 6.4