WordPress 5.5 introduced major improvements to the Gutenberg Block Editor, automatic plugin and theme updates, native XML sitemaps, and built-in lazy loading for images. This update marked a significant step forward for website performance, usability, and SEO.

Block Editor Features and Improvements

The WordPress Block Editor comes with a long list of new features and improvements, which not only ease the development process but also improve the loading speed of pages built with it.

• Device Previews – A new feature is added directly into the builder, allowing you to preview how your website appears on different devices – Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile.
• Block Patterns – Block patterns are ready to insert and customize block layouts. They can drastically reduce the time needed to design your page, as they are effortless to work with. Several patterns will be included by default with the new release.
• Block Movers – Quite more flexibility in moving blocks around and getting the desired layout. Blocks can now be dragged and dropped to any location, as well as copied and pasted in any available position.
• Block Directory – The Block Editor now allows you to discover and install new block directories right through it. You should be aware that any of these block directories will be installed as a separate block plugin on your website, which we would not recommend as a good practice. You might consider an entire block package as a suitable alternative.
• Inline Image Editor – You can crop, rotate, and zoom images on the go right from the image block. You will be able to select different orientations and styles for the images.
• User Interface Improvements – The block inserter panel has been refined. It displays streamlined categories and collections. It also supports patterns and integrates by default with the new block directory.
• Fixed Block Panel – When expanded, the Block Panel stays fixed while you scroll through the page you are editing.
• Backgrounds and gradients – Backgrounds and gradients can be added to a wider range of blocks, such as groups, columns, media, and text.
• More types of measurements – Along with pixels, now ems, rems, percentages, vh, vw, and even more are supported.

WordPress 5.5 comes along with over 1,500 valuable improvements, dramatically enhancing the Block Editor experience.

XML Sitemaps

Native XML Sitemaps are now included and enabled in the WordPress Core by default.

The primary purpose of XML sitemaps is to help Search Engines better index a website. Previously, users who wanted to have a sitemap had to install a plugin in order to implement it. With WordPress 5.5, the home page, posts page, core post types, custom post types, core taxonomies, custom taxonomies, and users (authors) will be included in the sitemap with consideration to improving site visibility and SEO ranking.

The URL of the Native XML Sitemap will be:

domain.com/wp-sitemap.xml

The native XML sitemap feature reduced the need for third-party plugins while helping search engines discover and index website content more efficiently. Site owners can access sitemap indexes directly through the default WordPress sitemap endpoint.

Auto Theme and Plugin Updates

This is arguably the most significant update in WordPress 5.5, expanding the CMS’s auto-update capabilities. Presently, automatic updates are available only for the WordPress Core. Starting version 5.5, users will be able to control whether their plugins and themes are automatically updated as well. A new feature will be implemented, allowing users to enable auto-updates for specific plugins and themes.

Automatic plugin and theme updates reduce maintenance overhead but should still be monitored to ensure compatibility with custom themes, plugins, and ecommerce functionality. We would not encourage our customers to enable this new feature unless they are using quality plugins and themes from trusted sources that perform thorough testing before releasing an update.

Manual Theme and Plugin Updates

With version 5.5, users will be able to manually update their plugins and theme by uploading the corresponding archive. Previously, if the auto-update feature failed, manually updating a theme or plugin was inconvenient and complicated. Upon uploading the update files, users used to encounter an error stating the plugin/theme already existed, and they had to remove it altogether in order to update it properly. In version 5.5, that issue is eliminated, and now you can seamlessly upgrade the desired theme or plugin.

Lazy-Loading Images

Another performance improvement coming with WordPress 5.5 is native lazy-loading image support. For those who are not familiar with the concept of lazy loading images, only images within the visitor’s viewport are loaded. Generally, this is useful for long pages that require a lot of scrolling. Loading images on the go when the visitor actually reaches them reduces bandwidth usage and improves website performance and user experience.

Conclusion

To wrap up, WordPress 5.5 will simplify the process of building websites even more by enhancing the functionalities of the Block Editor and bringing everything together in one place. The second most important aspect is the improvement of the loading performance and the ability to achieve that with less effort. We are positive your expectations will be met and even exceeded by the new version!

FAQs