WordPress 6.6, Dorsey

WordPress 6.6, alias Dorsey, has been released, marking one of the most significant updates to WordPress in many years.

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Program transcript

Hello, I’m Alicia Ireland, and you’re listening to WordPress Podcast, bringing the weekly news from the WordPress Community.

In this program, you’ll find the information from July 15th to 21st, 2024.

The highly anticipated WordPress 6.6 has been launched in grand style. Following a previous version that focused heavily on laying the correct foundations and fixing many bugs, this version is very focused on functionalities and, above all, on expanding the capabilities of the editor.

WordPress 6.6, also known as Dorsey, is the 50th major release of WordPress, and its name honors the trombonist Tommy Dorsey and the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, formed in 1934.

This release introduces significant improvements in design, performance, and accessibility, allowing for varied design combinations using color and font sets, and offers a new Site Editor design for quickly previewing pages. It also includes automatic plugin updates with safe rollback, ensuring site security.

Performance improvements include the removal of unnecessary dependencies and faster template loading. In terms of accessibility, 58 enhancements have been implemented, making it easier to interact with blocks and patterns.

We must thank the efforts of more than 630 contributors from 51 countries.

And with the release of a major version, we also have the planning for the next minor version, WordPress 6.6.1 which already has a release date: July 23, 2024. The release candidate is now available for testing.

While the machinery never stops, the experimental plugin release Gutenberg 18.8 includes some improvements such as group shadow support, background image support in global styles, container block justification, and individual list item colors.

An article on JSON Schema in WordPress in the Developers Blog explains how this tool improves the validation and structuring of JSON data in projects.

JSON Schema allows defining rules for JSON data, facilitating error detection and autocompletion in code editors. This is especially useful in configuration files like theme.json, block.json, and wp-env.json, which configure themes, blocks, and local environments.

Additionally, JSON Schema plays a crucial role in the WordPress REST API, validating request and response data, and allowing clear API design. The article highlights the open contribution to WordPress JSON schemas, encouraging developers to participate in the continuous improvement of these tools.

The Design team has presented some of the work they are focusing on, such as improving filters, particularly regarding user experience, consolidating bulk task