WordPress has released version 6.8, codenamed “Cecil” in honor of the legendary jazz pianist Cecil Taylor.
Known for his unconventional and experimental approach to music, Taylor’s spirit of innovation is reflected in this release, which brings a host of improvements designed to make WordPress faster, more secure, and easier to use.
WordPress 6.8 refines the tools you use every day, making site management a smoother experience. The Style Book now gets a structured layout and clearer labels, to make editing colors, typography, and other site styles even easier. Plus, the Style Book now works with Classic themes improving the versatility of styles across the platform.
Find the Style Book under Appearance > Design and use it to preview your theme’s evolution, as you edit CSS or make changes in the Customizer.
A standout feature is speculative loading, significantly speeding up page navigation by preloading links before users click them.
This nearly instant page load creates a smoother user experience without any impact on older browsers.
Moreover, password security is strengthened with bcrypt hashing, a more secure method for storing passwords, keeping your site safer from potential threats.
Accessibility has also been a major focus, with over 100 fixes and enhancements throughout the platform, including improvements to bundled themes, navigation menu management, and the Block Editor. These adjustments collectively create a more inclusive and user-friendly experience for everyone.
If you want to see the list of file changes, check the notes here.
WordPress 6.8 packs a multitude of performance fixes and enhancements, targeting editing speeds, block type registration, and query caching. With the Interactivity API, the goal is to bring all interactions down to less than 50 milliseconds.
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) powering millions of websites worldwide. Known for its flexibility and ease of use, WordPress is a popular platform for bloggers, businesses, and organizations of all sizes.
SOURCE WordPress.org
