With WordPress 6.5 being released on March 26th, it’s time to take a look at what the WP developers have installed for us. This is the year’s first major release, and it’s bound to have plenty of new features and tweaks. As it has been over the past two years, the focus has primarily been on the editor and customization features.

Still, there are some interesting new additions to the best CMS platform. So, let’s take a closer look at what WordPress 6.5 has to offer.

The Fonts Library

Probably the most significant upgrade in this rendition of the website-building platform goes to the fonts library. This new feature was planned for v. 6.4 but needed some extra work. Thus, the developers pulled it at the last minute for this release. Thankfully, in v. 6.5, the font library is finally finished.

The fonts library is in the Styles panel in the site editor. Once there, switch to typography, and you will see the manage fonts button right across from “Fonts.” Clicking on the button will open a pop-up window covering the screen. This is the library.

Right off the bat, you will see the fonts you currently installed. If you want to use your own unique font, you can upload it. Make sure, however, that it is in an acceptable format and that you have the right to use it.

You can also check out all Google Fonts under the “Install Fonts” tab and choose the one that best suits your brand. Though browsing is an option, we suggest finding one first, as the library contains over 2000 pages of Google fonts. Browsing through all of them wouldn’t be a proper use of your time.

After finding the font you want to integrate into your website, select it and click the install button. It will then be back in your “Library” tab in a few seconds.

This will help you build your brand typography without the limitations of WP fonts or the complications of finding and installing external fonts.

Plugin Dependencies

Users have been waiting for this feature for a long time. For a platform priding itself on the massive number of plugins, WordPress didn’t make it easy to find out which add-ons play nicely together and which don’t. With the v. 6.5 update, this significant inconvenience is a thing of the past.

Plugins often require other plugins to work correctly. For example, some payment add-ons require WooCommerce to be installed on the website for them to work as intended. On the other hand, some plugins may conflict with other plugins if their functions contradict or overlap.

Thus, plugin creators can now add a “Requires Plugin” entry to their header.

Once all required plugins for the main plugin to work are installed and activated, the user can activate the main plugin. On the other hand, they won’t be able to deactivate plugins that would interfere with another plugin. For example, if you want to deactivate WooCommerce, you must first deactivate all plugins that are dependent on it.

So, why is this so important? Well, it helps you avoid the stress, wondering, and additional research on why a particular plugin does not work. So far, you had to check this on Google, in forums, and by opening tickets. Now, you know what it takes for a plugin to operate at its optimal capacity before opening it. It’s a small change indeed, but it enhances the UX immensely.

Custom Fields for Blocks

Arguably, the most exciting debut with v. 6.5 is the association of custom fields with block attributes. Though custom fields are nothing new for the WP infrastructure, until now, they were only possible for posts, pages, and other content types. With v. 6.5, developers can attribute custom-field data (such as metadata) to individual blocks.

Moreover, advanced users can also provide dynamic data for blocks from various sources thanks to the block-binding API. This functionality will allow developers to choose dynamic values from a drop-down menu by registering previously established connections in the editor.

Design and Customization

As usual, WordPress focused on improving design and customization options. This trend has been ongoing for several years, since WP developers began working on the Gutenberg page builder. WordPress 6.5 does not disappoint when it comes to design and customization enhancements.

Block Editor Improvements

The Custom Field for Blocks is the highlight of the design and customization updates. Still, it’s hardly the only upgrade. WP developers took it upon themselves to massively improve the block editor. After all, that’s where most users spend the majority of their time on WordPress.

Over a dozen small but instrumental tweaks and fixes make working within the editor much easier.

Drop Shadow Effect

One of the more exciting debuting features in WordPress 6.5 is the Drop shadow effect. It will be available for several block types, including images, columns, and buttons.

To activate the shadow, select the block, go to the Style Panel, select the three-dot menu next to “Border & Shadow,” and activate the shadow.

Smart Overlay Colors

The Cover block also got some pampering with a brand-new feature. With WordPress 6.5, users will be able to give the cover block a smart overlay refurbishment. What makes the feature smart is its automated detection of the image’s background color and its selection of the best shade to give your cover an exquisite look. To use this option, go to the cover block’s style panel and select “Overlay” under “Color”.

New List View Options

Making editing more straightforward and better organized is one of the foremost efforts of the WP developers. In v. 6.4, they allowed users to rename Group blocks from the List View. This allowed them to find more effortlessly the block group they wanted to work on. It was a great way to optimize the work and prevent mix-ups.

With v. 6.5 on the way, WP continues this trend, allowing users to rename any block in the list view. This will further enhance organizational clarity when working inside the editor.

Furthermore, with v. 6.5, users can access the settings by right-clicking a block. Indeed, that’s not a huge change, but it effectively enhances the user experience and streamlines the work.

Improved Preference Panel

Another small but efficient change is upgrading the preference panel. With this update, two new panels will appear – “Appearance” and “Accessibility.” This will gather many handy options in one place and categorize them by their specific niche, naturally leading to far more intuitive usability.

Link Control Changes

Another minor change that brings a much better user experience is the link control. WordPress 6.5 still lets you choose from a list of your website pages, but it displays them with different icons. Though a small change, this will make finding the right page much easier.

Moreover, when the anchor word is bound, you will now see one more option along with the edit and remove link. The new option is copy, which will come in quite handy for those who want to link the same page multiple times throughout the content.

Synced Patterns Get More Powers

Ever since their inception, synced patterns have been a hit among developers. They allow developers to reuse them and make global changes without visiting every single copy, streamlining the workflow immensely. Now, with v. 6.5, synced patterns become even more powerful.

This had one very obvious flaw. Sometimes, patterns have to be changed. But with v. 6.4, this was no longer possible. A change in one copy of the synced pattern leads to a change in every single one.

With v. 6.5, this has been solved. Developers can now change some aspects of the pattern without affecting the rest. For example, if you want to change specific content, go to the block settings, expand the advanced panel, check the “Allow Instance Overrides” box, and make your change. This makes the patterns immensely more powerful, as you can now use them not only as complete copies but also as editable patterns tailored to context and needs.

Improved Revisions

One of the more significant changes in WP 6.5 is the revisions. Up until now, you had to choose your previous style rendition blindly to see what had been changed. With WP 6.5, this is in the past. The revision list now describes the changes you made.

Implementing a previous version is also much more straightforward, with an apply button right beneath the description.

Interactivity API

The true MVP in this WordPress version, however, without a doubt, is the Interactivity API. This feature allows developers to build top-of-the-line front-end interfaces without requiring complete page reloads. This enables the creation of much more user-friendly websites that are far more “interactive,” SEO-friendly, and fast.

Essentially, this feature changes what users see without requiring a full reload of the website. This significantly cuts the loading time, allowing users to browse your content much faster. The Interactivity API is a game-changer for image-heavy websites and galleries.

The developers actually built a quick demo website to showcase this new feature. You can check it out here.

Note: before updating to WordPress 6.5:

• Take a full backup, update plugins/themes on staging first, then upgrade core.
• Review the official 6.5 documentation for highlights and developer notes.

Other Changes

Along with the big changes, WordPress developers also implemented another 681 enhancements. Moreover, they fixed 488 bugs, about half of which were reported by users.

Furthermore, performance has been significantly upgraded. The block and site editors will now load twice as fast, and the input time will be four times faster.

Of course, all of these enhancements will only be worthwhile if you have a brilliant hosting infrastructure to support your website. That’s where we at HostArmada excel. Along with our seamless WordPress integration, we offer lightning-fast speed, robust security, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

So, enhancing your website through updating your WordPress to v. 6.5 is only the first step. The genuine upgrade can only happen by securing HostArmada as a hosting provider.

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