What’s New with WordPress Version 5.5 – Cosmetic Changes

Video Transcript

This and the next couple of classes are going to introduce you to the WordPress version 5.5 and some of the additions and changes that come along with it.
Now, just a quick reminder, before any updates, you should always do a full backup of both your files and database. Now, in many of the previous classes where I cover the what’s new and that particular version of WordPress, I usually begin with the differences between the version types. One is the major release, kind of like this one, 5.5 and the others are minor releases, kind of like a version 5.5 0.1.

Well, in this class, I’m going to simply refer you to those previous classes for all the detailed explanations.

But I will just say that with a major release, like this one, you should wait a few days to a week before you upgrade. But with any minor releases, you should immediately update to those.

Major release, wait a bit Minor release, immediate update.
I know it sounds kind of backwards, but be sure to check out those other classes, if you need to, for all the details as to why you should consider waiting a bit for the major releases and definitely doing the minor releases immediately.

Okay. So let’s go ahead and get into the what’s new part of the what’s new in version 5.5 and this class I’m mainly going to cover some of the cosmetic changes or user interface. Also known as UI changes here in the editor window, beginning with the ad block button. It’s no longer the plus sign in a circle and actually it looks like a button. Now you also have some new icons. Most of it’s the same tool. It just looks a little bit different. And in the different toolbars, we’ve got more defined borders. And here’s a look at some of the different icons.

Again, same tool just looks a little bit different. One of the better changes in my opinion, is those handlebars off to the left here, which allowed you to move a block up or down has been incorporated inside of the inline toolbar, which to me is a major improvement small as it is. It’s still a major improvement because it’s no longer in your way out here even.

So I still prefer to have the inline toolbar stuck up to the top, which you can do by the way, over here, under more tools and options and clicking on top toolbar in the view module. Like, so let’s go ahead and undo this because that’s going to be a nice segue into the next edition that I want to cover. And that is your ability to preview your editor window, not just in the desktop mode like it is by default, but also in tablet mode and mobile mode.

Not only does it allow you to see what it looks like in a tablet and mobile view, but allows you to continue editing in those views as well. For example, we go to mobile, it shows you what it would look like in a mobile device. And like I said, you can continue editing this too. Now, if you’re a user of some of these other page builders that allow you to make changes within a mobile view that is different than that of a tablet or desktop view, the block editor here has not gotten there just yet.

I’m sure they will eventually, but whatever changes you make here in the mobile view in the editor window also takes place in the desktop or tablet mode. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry about it. Just know that you can edit in these other modes, as well as being able to view what your content looks like in those modes.

And you also have the preview and new tab, which like the name says allows you to see what this looks like in your browser outside of the editor window. Like, so let’s go ahead and close that up. Now, before I close out this class, cause that’s pretty much all I wanted to go into in this class detailing some of the cosmetic changes and additions. But before I close out this class, I do want to mention that WordPress has its major release field guide.

In this case, WordPress 5.5 field guide, which covers all the details of all the stuff that’s being added to this new version. So just do a search for WordPress 5.5 field guide. This is the one for the themes, but if you click on this one here for WordPress 5.5 field guide, that’ll take you over to wordpress.org. Just scroll down a bit here.

This covers all the details. Check out some of the other links in here. You might just want to bookmark this just in case as you’re playing around with your new block editor and you have any questions that maybe my classes aren’t covering for you refer back to this. You might find your answers in here. Well, that’s going to bring us to the end of this first of three classes on the introduction to WordPress version 5.5. Thanks for checking it out and you have a great day.