What’s coming in WordPress 6.2 (BETA)
WordPress 6.2 BETA is out now and just like every time we decided to test the new features before the official release.
WordPress 6.2 will be the first major update of the year 2023.
And is scheduled to be released on March 28th 2023.
As this is the BETA version of WordPress 6.2, some of the features and improvements that we will be discussing might not make it to the final release.
In case you are looking to try features and improvements included in WordPress 6.2 BETA then you can do so by installing WordPress Beta Tester plugin.
We do not recommend installing this plugin on a LIVE / production site. Hence, the best option is to use it on a local site.
Having said that,
In this article we have briefly touched on new features included in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
WordPress 6.2 BETA
First things first, WordPress 6.2 is one of the last planned releases on Gutenberg phase 2.
This version celebrates the long road travelled and at the same time looks towards the future of publishing with more powerful tools.
Keeping this mind, below are the topics covered.
Beta Label Removed
Full site editing was introduced in WordPress 5.9 and it marked the release of site editor for block themes.
It is this site editor that allows you to create templates and customize theme / designs.
All in all, the site editor took the place of customizer in block themes.
Keeping this in mind, if you have been using the site editor then you must have noticed the Beta label in front of it under Appearance in your WordPress editor.
This label will be removed from the site editor after WordPress 6.2.
Improvements to Site Editor in WordPress 6.2 BETA
In WordPress 6.2 BETA, you will see quite a few changes in the site editor.
And in this section we will be discussing a few
Browse Mode
The first change that you will come across in the site editor after WordPress 6.2 is the browse mode.
Until now, when you opened the site editor, it instantly allows you to edit the template.
In other words, you do not get the option in the beginning to choose which template or template part to edit.
This has changes in WordPress 6.2 BETA and now when you will open the site editor it will show you the options in the sidebar to select the Template, Template Part or Navigation to edit.
After selecting you will have to click the Edit button on top and it will take you to the editor.
Template and Template Part Drill Down
While we are on the topic of selecting templates and template parts, when you will click any of these options, it will show you all the items.
- Templates in WordPress 6.2 BETA
- Template Parts in WordPress 6.2 BETA
Before we move forward, it is important to know that you will find the option to add and manage here as well.
When adding it will allow you to choose an area (Template part) or select a Template.
And when managing, it will take you to the same interface as before.
Preview Templates and Template Parts
If you have been using the site editor then you must be familiar with the fact that as of now there is no option available to preview templates or template parts.
This has changes in WordPress 6.2 BETA and now when you will select a template or template part in the new Browse Mode, it will show you its preview.
- Template preview in WordPress 6.2 BETA
- Template Parts preview in WordPress 6.2 BETA
As mentioned above, to make changes all you have to do is click Edit.
Style Book in WordPress 6.2 BETA
The improvement that you will come across in the site editor is the new feature known as Style Book.
And as the name suggests, with the help of this users can preview, select and change styling of
- Blocks
- Images
- Widgets
And more.
To see Style Book in WordPress 6.2 BETA, you will have to visit Style Settings in the site editor and then click the eye or Style Book icon.
On clicking this icon, it will open the Style Book and here you will be able to navigate between categories, select and make changes.
It is important to know that the Style Book display can be resized.
And the changes that you make are on a Global level.
Custom CSS
While we are on the topic of styling you must be familiar with the fact that Classic themes comes with Additional CSS option where you can add custom CSS.
This option was missing in the site editor and now has been included in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
To see this improvement you will have to click the ellipsis menu right next to the Style Book icon and it will show you Additional CSS option.
- Before WordPress 6.2 BETA
- After WordPress 6.2 BETA
On clicking Additional CSS , it will show the space where you will be able to add custom CSS in site editor.
Once you are done adding CSS, make sure to save changes.
Additional block CSS
Moving on,
A very similar option known as Additional Block CSS has been added to Block Style settings in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
To see this option you will have to click Blocks in site editor Style Settings and then select a block in which you want to add custom CSS.
Here you will find this options towards the bottom.
- Before WordPress 6.2 BETA
- After WordPress 6.2 BETA
On clicking Additional Block CSS, it will show you the option to add custom CSS in blocks.
Once you are done adding CSS, make sure to save changes.
Please Note- the above CSS is not properly structured as it is missing a selector.
However, the code runs perfect as it is just for the paragraph block and WordPress takes care of it for you.
Apply Globally
Before we move forward, it is important to know that you will come across a new option Apply Globally when using blocks in the site editor.
You will find this option under Advanced tab in block settings.
- Before WordPress 6.2 BETA
- After WordPress 6.2 BETA
On clicking Apply Globally, it will apply the style settings of this block to all across the site.
Color code for Template Parts and Reusable Blocks
Template parts and reusable blocks are built using one or more blocks and these can be used again on different pages / posts / templates.
To easily differentiate these from other blocks, a new color code has been assigned that will be visible in the List View, Block Toolbar and Canvas.
- List View
- Block Toolbar
- Canvas
It is important to know that this color code is visible when you hover your pointer over Template parts and reusable blocks.
Navigation in WordPress 6.2 BETA
After colorization of template parts and reusable blocks, the next change that we are going to discuss is for the Navigation block
Improvements to UI
The first change that you will come across in the navigation block is to its interface.
Until now, when you used to add this block, it started with an option to select a menu or start blank or had a default page list block.
And to select / add / manage menus, the option was on the navigation block sidebar as a dropdown.
This has changed in WordPress 6.2 BETA and now when you add a Navigation block it starts empty.
And the option to select / add / manage menus is in the sidebar and for that you will have to click the ellipsis menu.
List based editing
Now, when it comes to adding menu items and managing them all you have to do is click the + icon on the
- Navigation block placeholder
- Navigation block sidebar
- Navigation in the browse mode
Moving on to re-arranging menu items, all you have to do is drag and drop the item in the sidebar or browse mode.
As far as managing menu items is concerned, you need to hover the pointer on the menu item and it will show you the ellipsis menu.
The ellipsis menu in sidebar will contain options to remove and add sub-menu items.
And in the browse mode, it will show you options that you find in a block’s ellipsis menu.
Patterns in WordPress 6.2 BETA
If you have read our article about WordPress 6.1 BETA and WordPress 6.0 BETA, then you must be familiar with the fact that Patterns is a feature that has been receiving updates on a regular basis.
Continuing on this trend, in WordPress 6.2 BETA, the Patterns has received a few improvements
These are
Updated Interface in Block Inserter
If you have been using Patterns in WordPress then you must have a noticed a dropdown on top containing all the categories.
You can select any of the categories and it will show you related Patterns.
This interface has been revamped and the first thing that you will now see is the Patterns categories.
On clicking any of these, it will display all the Patterns in a new extended pane.
From here you can drag and drop and customize Patterns as per your needs.
Before we move forward, it is important to know that the Explore all patterns or just the Explore button has been moved to the bottom in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
- Before WordPress 6.2 BETA
- After WordPress 6.2 BETA
More Categories
While we are on the topic of Patterns Categories, a new category named Banner has been added to the list.
Media in WordPress 6.2 BETA
Moving on from Patterns, a new tab named Media has been added to the block inserter.
On clicking this, it will show you 2 options
- Images
- Openverse
And in this section we will be taking a brief look at these options.
Images
When it comes to building a website or creating pages or posts images play a vital role.
And you can easily upload images in WordPress Media Library and then add to pages or posts using Image or any of the media blocks.
Until now, there was no option available to add images from the Media Library using the block inserter.
And this has changed in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
Now, when you click Images under Media in block inserter, it will show you all the images that you have uploaded in WordPress Media Library in a new pane.
Here you can search for images using the search box on top.
And once found, you can simply drag and drop the image on the canvas.
It is important to know that you won’t be able to drag and drop these images on Media blocks.
For example, if you want to add an image to cover block using this feature then that is not possible as of now.
Keeping this in mind, if you want to open media library from the block inserter then then option to do so is at the very bottom.
All in all this is a welcome change and will improve workflow.
Openverse integration
Before we learn more about the Openverse Integration in WordPress 6.2 BETA, lets first understand what exactly it is.
Openverse is an open-source search engine for openly licensed media developed as a part of WordPress project.
It has an extensive library of over 600 million creatives that includes stock photos, images and audio.
And the best part is all of this is free to use.
Keeping this in mind, in WordPress 6.2 BETA, the Openverse has been added to the block inserter.
And you will find it under the Media tab.
On clicking Openverse, it will show you all the images in a new pane and you can drag and drop them on the canvas.
It is important to know that you won’t be able to find these images in Media Library as it is inserted from a URL.
Apart from this, to make things easier for you, there is a search box on top that you can use to search Openverse.
Distraction Free Mode in Block Editor
If you have been using the WordPress block editor to create pages and posts in WordPress then you must be familiar with the fact that there are different mode that you can choose from.
And you will find these in the block editor ellipsis menu on the top right.
And you can see, until now WordPress editor had
- Spotlight mode
- Full screen mode
And in WordPress 6.2 BETA, a new mode known as Distraction Free has been added to this list.
And on selecting this mode, it
- Hides top toolbar and it only appears on hover.
- Removes some top toolbar buttons
- Closes any sidebar
- Hides block toolbar
Split Block tools in WordPress 6.2 BETA
Moving on from the distraction free mode, the next change that we are going to discuss is the splitting of block tools into setting and style.
Until now when using blocks, all the settings were in the sidebar and there was basically no categorization.
This has changes in WordPress 6.2 BETA and in some blocks you will find it split and categorized as Setting and Styles in the sidebar.
The Setting will contain the general settings of the blocks and under styles you will find the option to change / set color, typography and more.
Import widgets from Classic themes
While browsing the web, you must have come across sites that have a sidebar.
In classic themes such areas are known as widget areas and these are built using blocks until you have disabled block widgets in WordPress.
It is important to know that until now there was no way to import widgets in to block themes when migrating from classic.
However, this has changes in WordPress 6.2 BETA and now you can add a new Template Part in the site editor and under Advanced in block settings you will find the option to Import Widget Area.
Here you will have to select widget arear from the dropdown and click Import.
On clicking Import, it will import it as a template part in site editor in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
As you can see in the screenshot above, on a successful import these can be found in the browse mode under Template Parts.
WordPress 6.2 Release Schedule
- February 7, 2023- Beta 1
- February 14, 2023- Beta 2
- February 21, 2023- Beta 3
- February 28, 2023- Beta 4
- March 7, 2023- Release Candidate 1
- March 14, 2023- Release Candidate 2
- March 21, 2023- Release Candidate 3
- March 27, 2023- Dry Run
- March 28, 2023- Stable WordPress 6.2
Update from 6.1 to WordPress 6.2
Now that you are familiar with WordPress 6.2 BETA, the next topic we are going to discuss is how can you easily update to WordPress 6.2.
Before we dive into the process, it is important to know that if you are on Managed WordPress hosting like Nexcess, Elementor Cloud or Cloudways then the company will take care of this for you.
If not then the first step in the process is to take a complete backup of your WordPress site.
For this you can use BackupBuddy or UpdraftPlus.
Once you are done taking backup, the next step is to click Update under Dashboard in your WordPress admin sidebar.
And it will show you if WordPress 6.2 update is available for installation.
If it is then you need to click Update to WordPress 6.2 and it will download and install.
This process can take a few minutes.
And that’s it you have successfully updated your site to latest version of WordPress.
Having said that,
I hope you will find this article helpful and are now familiar with What’s coming in WordPress 6.2 (BETA).
In case you have any queries then feel free to get in touch.
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