WordPress 5.7 Field Guide: Full Features and Changes

Are you ready for the big release? WordPress 5.7 is almost here!

If you’ve not been living under a rock, you might be aware that a major version of WordPress, WordPress 5.7 is going to be released very soon. It is on for 9^th March 2021, which is only a few days away. So, with the major version release nearing, are you ready for the changes and new features coming along with it? Today, we are giving you a full guide on what to expect in the new version, WordPress 5.7.

Here at DevotePress, we’ve been following all the preparation going on for the major release and we’ve been publishing different articles on the beta releases and RCs. You can find them all here.

Now, without any delay, let’s dive into the features and changes you can find in WordPress 5.7.

Block Editor Enhancements
Easy Migration from HTTP to HTTPS
Lazy Loading iFrames
Enhanced WP-Admin Color Palette
New Robots API
Miscellaneous Developer Updates

Block Editor Enhancements

Like any other major update, WordPress 5.7 will also include an array of amazing performance enhancements regarding the Gutenberg Editor. The default block editor will include features from the last 7 Gutenberg Plugin Update releases (from 9.3 to 9.9). Moreover, performance improvements from versions 10.0 and 10.1 will also be included in WordPress 5.7.

Here are some of the highlights included to further enhance the Block Editor:

Buttons block: Overhaul alignment and justification controls
Adds variations for vertical layout on the Buttons block
Buttons block: Adds width selector
Code block: Adds support for font sizes
Cover block: Full Height Alignment control
List block: Adds font size support
Social Icons block: Adds Patreon, Telegram, and Tiktok icons
Social Icons block: Adds the ability to change social icon sizes
Spacer block: Use a semi-transparent background
Adds block variations transformations
Allow dragging blocks & block patterns from the inserter into the canvas

One-Click Migration from HTTP to HTTPS

You will be able to migrate a site to HTTPS from HTTP in just a click. URLs in the database are automatically replaced when the Site and WordPress Address are both using HTTPS. Also, Site Health now includes an HTTPS status check.

Lazy Loading iFrames

You can enable lazy-loading of iframes by simply adding the loading=“lazy” attribute to iframe tags.

Enhanced Color Palette in WP-Admin CSS

You will see an updated color palette in WP-Admin CSS with the release of WordPress 5.7. The available shades of blue, green, red, yellow, grey, black, and white make it simpler to build components that are easy on the eye.

New Robots API

The new Robots API allows the filter directives to be included in the ‘robots’ meta tag. Also, the directive max-image-preview:large is now included by default. It allows large image previews to be displayed in search engines (unless the blog is marked as not being public).

Miscellaneous Updates

Over 127 bugs, 66 enhancements and feature requests, and 29 blessed tasks have been marked as fixed in WordPress 5.7. Some additional ones include:

The major release is nearing and we, as a responsible part of this wonderful community, should help our developers deliver the new version as smoothly as possible. Therefore, we request you to please test your code. So that any prevailing issues can be fixed beforehand and help you and other millions of WordPress users and sites.

We’re eagerly waiting for the major update to land and we’re sure you are too. Stay updated with us for more WordPress-related articles. Happy WordPressing!