This new version of WordPress is the first major release of 2021. This is not a security update, but a feature upgrade.
WordPress 5.7 brings you fresh colors in the admin, simpler interactions in the editor, and controls right where you need them, WordPress 5.7 lets you focus on the content you create.
WordPress 5.7 Release (wordpress.org)
Font-size adjustment in more places: now, font-size controls are right where you need them in the List and Code blocks. No more trekking to another screen to make that single change!
Reusable blocks: several enhancements make reusable blocks more stable and easier to use. And now they save automatically with the post when you click the Update button.
Inserter drag-and-drop: drag blocks and block patterns from the inserter right into your post.
Full-height alignment: have you ever wanted to make a block, like the Cover block, fill the whole window? Now you can.
Buttons block: now you can choose a vertical or a horizontal layout. And you can set the width of a button to a preset percentage.
Social Icons block: now you can change the size of the icons.
This new streamlined color palette collapses all the colors that used to be in the WordPress source code down to seven core colors and a range of 56 shades that meet the WCAG 2.0 AA recommended contrast ratio against white or black.
Find the new palette in the default WordPress Dashboard color scheme, and use it when you’re building themes, plugins, or any other components. For all the details, check out the Color Palette dev note.
Starting now, switching a site from HTTP to HTTPS is a one-click move. WordPress will automatically update database URLs when you make the switch. No more hunting and guessing!
The new Robots API lets you include the filter directives in the robots meta tag, and the API includes the max-image-preview: large directive by default. That means search engines can show bigger image previews, which can boost your traffic (unless the site is marked not-public).
Now it’s simple to let iframes lazy-load. By default, WordPress will add a loading="lazy" attribute to iframe tags when both width and height are specified.
For years jQuery helped make things move on the screen in ways the basic tools couldn’t—but that keeps changing, and so does jQuery.
In 5.7, jQuery gets more focused and less intrusive, with fewer messages in the console.
The previous version of WordPress was 5.6.2 on February 23, 2021.
Our Website Maintenance Department will be in contact with you regarding these upgrades. Clients that have signed up for our Automatic WordPress Update Program or Website Care program will get their website updated in the next week or so or if a follow-up version of WordPress is released.
View the complete list of WordPress versions here and here.
Read more about why WordPress updates are important.
If you haven’t heard about our Website Care, then you’re missing out on savings and peace of mind!
There are different levels to choose from but with each level, you get your installation of WordPress checked weekly for updates to the core software, plugins and themes. The benefit is that your website software is kept up to date. This work is done by hand and we test your website after the upgrade to make sure everything works like it should.
The program is either by monthly subscription or you can save 10% and pay for a year in advance. When you use this program you save about 40% on updating WordPress. It’s kind of a no-brainer!
Sleep better knowing that your website is being taken care of when you enroll in our Website Care today!
-Webstix Support
