WordPress 6.9 is just around the corner and brings some exciting new features. In this post, you’ll get a concise overview of the new blocks and functions coming in the upcoming release.
WordPress 6.9
New Features:
- Block Comments: From version 6.9 onwards, blocks can have comments that can be edited, replied to, and resolved in the editor. This is a very useful feature that teams can use for coordination and feedback. Note: Standard posts and pages will have the new feature automatically, but it must be activated for custom post types.
- Allowed blocks: Several blocks now offer the option in “Advanced Settings” to configure which blocks can be used within them. For example, you can define that only text, headings, and images may be used within a group.
- Hide blocks: With WP 6.9, blocks can now be hidden in both the frontend and backend. They are not rendered in the frontend and can only be seen in the backend via the list view. In Greyd.Suite, you also have the option of hiding blocks specifically for breakpoints.
- Additional CSS can now only be found via the three dots in the Global Styles header.
New Blocks:
- Akkordeon
- Time to Read Block
- Term Query Block: A new block that works similarly to the query loop, but returns the terms of a selected taxonomy.
- Math Block for displaying mathematical formulas
- Comment Count & Comment Link blocks
Block Extensions:
- Stretch variants for headings and text blocks, which scale the font size so that the text is stretched across the entire width of the container.
- In the button block, you can now choose between the HTML elements <a> (default) and <button>.
- Updates for the navigation block:
- When adding new menu items, a page can be automatically created from the menu component.
- When selecting a template part, there is a new “edit navigation” button in the block toolbar that immediately focuses on the navigation inside to allow faster access.
- Adding an existing page to a menu “synchronizes” that menu item. It is given a purple border in the editor and the URL cannot be changed because it is synchronized with the actual settings of the page. Old menu items must re-added to use the synchronization function. The “post link” block is required to add posts. By default, the “page link” block is active, so only pages can be selected.
- Query loop: Here you can now select various HTML tags (e.g., main, section, etc.).
- The separator block can now be a <div> ; previously, it was <hr> by default.
Helpful Links:
AI in WordPress
AI is also becoming increasingly important to WordPress core. Initial explorations have now given rise to a structured project led by the new WordPress AI team. Their work focuses on creating a framework that enables the development, testing, and integration of AI features in WordPress – starting with the block editor.
The new Abilities API is a new fundamental system that enables plugins, themes, and WordPress core to register and provide their functions in a standardized, machine-readable format.
Helpful Links:
What is Greyd working on?
As part of our core contribution, we have primarily been working on design and UX topics recently, supporting the core AI and design teams. You can find detailed information about our work in the articles linked below.
Helpful Links:
