WordPress has released version 6.8, packed with exciting new features to improve how websites look, work, and stay secure.
One major update is the Style Book, which now has a cleaner design and clearer labels. It helps you easily change colors, fonts, and other design settings all in one place. Even older “Classic” themes can now use the Style Book, as long as they include editor-styles or a theme.json file. You can find it under Appearance > Design in your dashboard.
The editor is also getting better. It’s now easier to work with Data Views and the Query Loop. For example, you can now choose not to show sticky posts in your query. Small updates throughout the editor make building pages smoother and faster.
A big performance boost comes with Speculative Loading. When someone hovers over or clicks a link, WordPress can preload the next page in the background. This means pages load almost instantly. It only works on modern browsers and can be customized using plugins or code.
Security has also been improved. WordPress now uses bcrypt to protect passwords, making them much harder to break. This happens automatically, so you don’t need to do anything.
Other improvements include faster editing and browsing, better block performance, and over 100 accessibility fixes. These changes make WordPress easier to use for everyone and take some pressure off your site’s database, especially if you have a lot of visitors.
