What’s Coming in WordPress 6.3 BETA
WordPress 6.3 BETA is out now and in this article we will be sharing some of the new features and improvements that you will comes across in the upcoming update.
WordPress 6.3 will be the second major update of the year and is slated to be released on August 8th 2023.
In this update quite a few improvements and new features for the site editor has been released along with 2 new blocks.
It is important to know that as this is a BETA version of the upcoming WordPress 6.3 update, there are chances that some of the features that we have discussed here might not make it to the final release.
In case you are looking to try the new features and improvements included then you will have to install WordPress Beta Tester plugin.
Please Note– We do not recommend you install this plugin on a live site and hence, the best option is to use it on a test or a local site.
Keeping this in mind, in this article we have briefly discussed what’s coming in WordPress 6.3 update.
WordPress 6.3 BETA
Before we move forward, it is important to know that WordPress 6.3 update is the final major release of Gutenberg Phase 2.
And it demonstrates the incredible progress achieved towards the goals outlined in WordPress roadmap.
Keeping this in mind, below are the topic covered.
Changes to Site Editor
In WordPress 6.3 BETA, there are quite a few improvements that you will come across in the site editor.
And in this section we have touched on a few.
Navigation in Browse Mode
The first change that you will come across in WordPress 6.3 BETA is for the Browse Mode.
And in this Styles, Pages and Patterns drilldown has been added to it.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
- After WordPress 6.3 BETA
Using these you will be able to browse through various style variations, patterns and pages easily.
Below we have discussed each of these options in a bit more detail.
Style Variations
If you have been following the development of WordPress then you must be familiar with the fact that Twenty Twenty-Three theme was released in WordPress 6.1.
And with that came 10 different bundled styles or style variations that you can use by just clicking Browse Styles in the Style Settings.
Before WordPress 6.3 BETA, this was the only way to access and use Style Variations.
However, after WordPress 6.3 BETA, you will find Style Variations under Styles in Browse Mode as well.
On clicking Styles, it will show you all the variations and you can use these with just one click.
It is important to know that the Styles option in Browse Mode also lets you access the Style Settings in the site editor.
And for this you need to click Edit / Pencil icon.
In case you want to access Style Book then you will have to click the eye icon.
And it will open Style Book.
Page List
Moving on from Styles, the next new option that has been added to the Browse Mode in WordPress 6.3 BETA is Pages.
This option displays a list of 10 most recently updated pages.
To see this Page List, all you have to do is click Pages in Browse Mode.
It is important to know that on clicking any of the pages on this list it will show you some basic details such as
- Status
- Slug
- Template
- Words
- Time to read
- Last Modified
And more.
Along with this you will be able to edit this page by clicking the edit / pencil icon on top and it will let you edit the page in site editor itself.
In case you want to delete then you can click ellipsis menu and it will show you the option to do so.
Content Editing in WordPress 6.3 BETA
While we are on the topic of editing and deleting pages, it is important to know that using the Browse Mode you will be able to add new pages as well.
And you will find the option to do so on the top.
On clicking this option, a new dialogue box will appear where you will have to add page title and then click Create Draft.
When you will click Create Draft, it will take you to the site editor only and here you will be create it.
It is important to know that there are other ways using which you will be able to add new posts and pages in site editor.
And that is by typing page or post in the Site Editor or Browse Mode search bar.
See the below screenshots for reference.
- Site Editor search bar in WordPress 6.3 BETA
- Browse Mode search bar in WordPress 6.3 BETA
Keep in mind, using this feature you will be able to view and edit existing pages and posts as well.
Dynamic Templates to Page List
Moving on,
Another improvement that you will come across in WordPress 6.3 BETA is the addition of dynamic templates in Page List.
Full site editing or Site editor is a relatively new feature that was introduced in WordPress 5.9.
And when you are using it there are chances that you will at times think of templates as pages.
The reason behind this confusion arises from certain templates being attached to dynamic pages such as 404 and archives.
To make things easier, dynamic templates have been added to the Page List and you will find these towards the bottom.
If you want to make changes to these templates then you need to select the template that you want to edit and then click the edit or pencil icon.
And it will allow you to make changes.
New icons
While we are on the topic of reducing confusion, the next improvement that you will notice is that the homepage and posts page (blog) have different icons.
- Homepage has the icon of home
- Posts page has the icon of Loop
These icons will give a clear indication to the user about the purpose of the page.
Before we move forward, it is important to know that if your site’s homepage is set to display latest posts then in the page list you will find an item named Home.
And on clicking, it will show you Latest Posts page settings.
Here to make changes to the template you will have to click Edit or Pencil icon.
Once done, click Save to save changes.
Distraction Free Mode
After content editing, the next new feature that has been introduced in site editor is the Distraction Free Mode in WordPress 6.3 BETA.
As the name suggests, when you will enable this mode, it will remove all the not so required options from the editor.
This option was added to the block editor in version 6.2 and we have touched on it in our article on WordPress 6.2 BETA.
Keeping this in mind, you will find Distraction Free Mode in the ellipsis menu in site editor.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
- After WordPress 6.3 BETA
To activate Distraction free mode in WordPress, you just have to click this option.
On doing so, it will hide the toolbar and sidebar and you will be able to write without any distraction.
Please Note- You will be able to access the top toolbar when hovering your cursor towards the top.
Preview for Block Themes
If you have been following the development of WordPress then you must be familiar with the fact that Twenty Twenty-Two was the first block theme.
And it was released in WordPress 5.9 update.
Since then there was no option to Preview block theme, be it in the customizer or the site editor.
See the below screenshot for reference
This has changed in WordPress 6.3 BETA and in the coming update you will be able to preview block themes inside site editor.
For this you will have to navigate to Themes under Appearance in your WordPress dashboard.
And search for a block theme that you have installed but is not active.
Unlike before, you will find a Live Preview button on the listing.
And on clicking, it will open the preview of the theme in Site Editor.
To activate this block theme, all you have to do is click Activate.
Revisions in Global Styles
When creating pages and posts using WordPress, you must have seen revisions option appear in the editor sidebar once have made a few changes.
These revisions allow you to restore previous versions of the document if required.
In WordPress 6.3 BETA, this feature has been added to Global Styles in site editor.
To view revisions, you will have to make a few changes first as the default state is not treated as one.
And once you are done, you will find the revisions in the Style toolbar.
On clicking this, it will show you the number of revisions and an option to restore default.
Here when you will click Revision History, it will show you all the revisions.
You can restore a revision by simply selecting it and then clicking Apply.
Please note- At the moment, the limit imposed by rest controller is of 100 revisions.
Style Captions in WordPress 6.3 BETA
While we are in the Global Styles settings, a new option to Style Captions has been introduced in WordPress 6.3 BETA.
And you will find it under both Global Typography and Color Settings. See the below screenshot for reference.
- Captions in Global Typography in WordPress 6.3 BETA
- Captions in Global Colors in WordPress 6.3 BETA
Using these settings you will be able to Style captions easily.
And remember, this change will have a site wide impact as these are global style settings for captions.
Duotone Filter in Site Editor
After the captions, the next improvement that you will come across in WordPress 6.3 BETA is for the Duotone filter.
If you have been using Global Styles for blocks in site editor then you must be familiar with the fact that in image or any of the blocks using image, you were unable to use Duotone filter Globally as the option was missing.
And this could only be done manually within theme.json file.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
This has changed in WordPress 6.3 BETA and now you will be able to set Duotone filter for blocks using images globally.
To see this improvement, you need to navigate to Style Settings in the Site Editor and then click Blocks.
Doing this will show you all the blocks in WordPress and here you will have to select a block that uses image(s) such as
- Image
- Post Featured Image
- Cover
On selecting, you will find the Duotone option under filter.
Please note- This option is not available in Media and Text block. Also, if you set a global filter on image block then the styles will be inherited by the Gallery block as well.
New Command Tool in WordPress 6.3 BETA
If you have been following this article till now then you know that by using the site editor search you can create, view and edit pages and posts easily.
Similarly, by using this feature, you can open templates and edit them as well.
This feature is known as command tool and you can access it by using the below shortcuts
- Windows- CTRL + K
- Mac- CMD + K
Once you have opened this tool then you can type in phrases like
- Header
- Footer
- Templates
- Pages
- Posts
And it will show you the option to create new or edit an existing.
Keeping this in mind, you can use specific commands or phrases such as 404 or name of the page / post / template and it will filter and show you results.
Please note- WordPress is still taking feedback on this tool and its final name is yet to be decided.
Templates in Site Editor
While we are on the topic of templates, there are quite a few improvements that you will notice for these in WordPress 6.3 BETA.
Updated Descriptions
The first improvements that has been released for the templates in WordPress 6.3 BETA is the new / updated descriptions.
If you have been using the site editor then you must have noticed that the templates that come with the block theme have a brief description that tell you about its purpose.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
In WordPress 6.3 BETA, nearly all of these descriptions have been updated to better explain what each template does.
You can see this change by navigating to Templates in the Browse Mode and then clicking Manage All Templates.
Patterns as Template Starters
Since the release of block themes and full site editing, WordPress has been prioritizing patterns to make it easier for beginners to build pages and templates from scratch.
In WordPress 6.3 BETA, this feature has received an improvement and now on adding a new template, a modal will appear that will show you related Patterns to choose from.
This change has been introduced with the motive of speeding up the template creation process.
Keep in mind, if you are looking to create a custom template then you can either close this modal or click Skip.
Synced Patterns in WordPress 6.3 BETA
While we are on the topic of Patterns, it is important to know that the reusable blocks have been renamed to Synced Patterns in WordPress 6.3 BETA.
In this a new option has been added to its modal where you will be able to choose if you want the changes to be reflected everywhere when the original pattern is updated.
To see this change, you need to add a block in WordPress and then click the ellipsis menu on its toolbar.
Doing this will show you Create Pattern option instead of Create Reusable Block.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
- After WordPress 6.3 BETA
On clicking this option, a modal will appear that will allow you to add the name and then select if you want changes to be synced or not.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
- After WordPress 6.3 BETA
Keep in mind, if it is non-synced then it will behave as an independent pattern.
New Filter in Patterns Library
If you have been using Patterns in WordPress then you must be familiar with the fact that there is a Pattern directory as well.
And in WordPress 6.3 BETA, this directory has received a change where a new filter named Curated has been added.
This filter will allow you to switch between core bundled and community patterns.
New Block in WordPress 6.3 BETA
Moving on from the Site Editor, the next topic that we are going to discuss is the addition of new blocks in WordPress 6.3 BETA.
Details
The first block that you will come across in WordPress 6.3 BETA is known as Details.
And you will find it under Text in the block inserter.
This is an experimental block and using it you can hide the content until the user is ready to receive it.
Basically, to view content users will have to click the Arrow.
Footnotes
The next block that you will come across in WordPress 6.3 BETA is Footnotes.
And as the name suggests using this block you will be able to add footnotes in WordPress.
To use this block you will have to first select a word or a phrase in the Paragraph Block on which you want to add footnotes.
After this you will have to click the more dropdown in the Paragraph Block toolbar and it will show the option to insert Footnote.
On selecting Footnotes, a new block will be added where you will be able to add the footnotes.
Aspect Ratio in Image block
After the new blocks, the next improvement that we are going to discuss has been introduced for the image block.
In this the aspect ratio controls have been revamped completely.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
- After WordPress 6.3 BETA
By default its value is set to original and it gives you a few options to choose from.
On selecting one, it will show you a new option that lets you choose if you want the image to cover or be contained.
This new option in Image block will help manage aspect ratio easily.
Cover Block in WordPress 6.3 BETA
Moving on from the Image block, the next few changes that you will come across in WordPress 6.3 BETA is for the Cover block.
There are 2 improvements
Addition of Text Color support
If you have been using the Cover block then you must be familiar with the fact that if you have multiple text blocks and want the color of the text to be same then you will have to select each block and then do this.
See the below screenshot for reference.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
This has changed in WordPress 6.3 BETA and now you will be able to set a color for all text blocks inside of a Cover block with just one click.
Layout Control
The next change that you will come across in Cover block is the addition of Layout Controls.
And using these you will be able to specify content width.
See the below screenshot for reference.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
- After WordPress 6.3 BETA
Optimized Padding and Margin Control
After the Cover block, the next improvement that you will come across in WordPress 6.3 BETA is for the Padding and Margin controls.
In this, its complete UI has been revamped and now it uses two-tone icons to let you select sides.
All Sides (default) has been split into axial controls
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
- After WordPress 6.3 BETA
When selecting individual sides, you do not have to scroll through everything
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
All you have to do is click the sides menu in Padding or Margin controls, select a side and set values.
- After WordPress 6.3 BETA
Editor Top Toolbar
Moving on from Padding and Margin, the next topic we are going to discuss is the changes to the Top Toolbar in WordPress 6.3 BETA.
If you have been using the top toolbar then you must have noticed that the Parent selector is missing for the nested blocks such as Group.
See the below screenshot for reference.
- Before WordPress 6.3 BETA
This has changes in WordPress 6.3 BETA and now you will find the Parent selector for nested blocks in Top Toolbar.
To see this change, the first step is to activate top toolbar in WordPress editor.
And for this you will have to click the main ellipsis menu and then select Top Toolbar.
After this you need to add or select a nested block and you will see the Parent selector in the top toolbar.
See the below screenshot for reference.
Drag and Drop in List View
After the Top Toolbar, the next topic that we are going to discuss is the improvement to drag and drop in list view.
If you have used the List View to re-arrange block in your pages or posts then you must have seen that the animation is not prominent and smooth.
And it makes the process a bit clunky.
This has changed in WordPress 6.3 BETA and now the animation is more pronounce when re-arranging blocks and you exactly know where you are dropping.
WordPress 6.3 Release Schedule
- June 28th 2023- Beta 2
- July 3rd 2023- Beta 3
- July 11th 2023- Beta 4
- July 18th 2023- Release Candidate 1
- July 25th 2023- Release Candidate 2
- August 1st 2023- Release Candidate 3
- August 8th 2023- Stable release of WordPress 6.3
Update to WordPress 6.3
Now that you are familiar with WordPress 6.3 BETA, the next topic we are going to discuss is how can you easily update to the latest version of WordPress.
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 6.3 update is available for installation.
If it is then you need to click Update to WordPress 6.3 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.
WordPress 6.3 BETA Update
Having said that,
I hope you will find this article helpful and are now familiar with what’s coming in WordPress 6.3 Beta.
In case you have any queries feel free to get in touch.
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