1. Block Editor Performance and Asset Loading:
- Developers may create more effective block-based experiences with the aid of new technologies.
- To avoid needless re-renders, the useSelect hook now displays a warning for inline selector declarations.
- Block asset loading may be controlled using the should_load_block_assets_on_demand filter.
- Reduces the amount of unnecessary JavaScript and CSS on the front end.
- Improvements provide more effective and optimized development processes.
2. Roster of design tools per graph:
A table of all of the core blocks that are accessible in the inserter marks in the grid and the features they support in the block editor can be found below. It is a simple lookup table that facilitates rapid information retrieval for developers.
- Align
- Typography,
- Color,
- Dimension,
- Border,
- Layout,
- Gradient,
- Duotone,
- Shadow,
- Background image
- Pattern overrides / Block Bindings (PO/BB)
3. Updates to user-interface components in WordPress 6.8:
- RadioGroup: Warning about log deprecation
The RadioGroup component is no longer in use. Instead, use RadioControl or ToggleGroupControl to maintain consistency with the present WordPress design framework.
- Navigation: Get ready for extreme devaluation.
In WordPress 7.1, the deprecated Navigation component (as well as all of its subcomponents) will be removed completely. Instead, use the Navigator component.
- SearchControl: Discontinued on Close prop
A while back WordPress let users alter the click handler for the search clear button to also shut the search box. However, because it might mislead consumers, this technique is currently discouraged. If developers want that capability, it is recommended that they create a distinct close button in the user interface.
- Soft deprecate the ButtonGroup component
In light of possible accessibility concerns, the `ButtonGroup` component has been deprecated. To adhere to accessibility best practices and the new WordPress design system, developers should now utilize `ToggleGroupControl`.
- Default 36px sizes are now deprecated
Currently, the editor’s user interface elements (buttons, input fields, etc.) are rendered in a range of heights between 30 and 40 pixels.
Set the _ _next40pxDefaultSize prop to begin opting into the new 40px default height.
- Modal: Buttons in headerActions should use “compact” size
To utilize the “compact” button size(32px), the close button in the modal component has been expanded from the “small” button size(24px).It is advised to utilize the “compact” button size option to match if you are utilizing the headerActions prop to inject buttons next to the close button.
1.Stabilized BorderBoxControl :
- It is now possible to import the
- BorderBoxControl: _ _experimentalBorderBoxControl
- Deprecated status is applied to the
- older export: _ _experimentalBorderBoxControl
2. Stabilized BorderControl:
- It is now possible to import the
- BorderControl: _ _experimentalBorderControl
- Deprecated status is applied to the older
- _ _experimentalBorderControl export.
3. Stabilized BoxControl:
- It is now possible to import the
- BoxControl: _ _experimentalBoxControl
- Deprecated status is applied to the legacy
- _ _experimentalBoxControl export.
4.Stabilized Navigator:
- It is recommended to import Navigator instead of the deprecated old set of _ _experimentalNavigator* APIs.
- The Navigator namespace also provides access to all of the sub-components.
4. Accessibility:
Both WordPress Core and the Gutenberg Block Editor have significant accessibility improvements thanks to WordPress 6.8. Admin interfaces, editing processes, themes, and customization tools are some of the areas that have been improved. Particularly for users who rely on assistive technology, the modifications are intended to make the experience more inclusive and user-friendly.
Core:
- 33 accessibility improvements for all included themes
- Title attributes are removed from the admin interface.
- Better navigation and menu control
- Additional labels with more details in Customizer and Admin
- Improved response from screen readers and assistance for motion preferences
- Accessibility updates to the admin interface enhance navigation, clarity, and usability, especially for users using assistive technologies.
- Core post forms now have simplified “Add New” labels.
- Correct header semantics are restored.
- Enhances widget area selection by adding descriptions that are displayed.
- Observes decreased motion preferences
Editing:
- Optimized aspects of the UI
- Keyboard navigation was enhanced, and unnecessary features were eliminated to improve accessibility.
- The option to “disable the visual editor” is now only displayed when it is activated
- In Classic Editor, the “Text” tab was changed to “Code”
- Unique photos were added; title values in placeholder images were transferred to alt attributes
- Block Editor now consistently displays screen reader shortcuts
Miscellaneous:
- For protected posts with an invalid password, an error message has been added.
- Custom menu link accessibility validation
- For uniformity, the `screen-reader-text` CSS class was updated .
- The comment reply form’s escape key no longer deletes material.
- Deleted unnecessary title attributes from the calendar widget and shortlink function .
- Site Health Info tables now have better HTML semantics.
5. Speculative Loading:
Developers can now create quicker, more seamless user experiences, thanks to the improved Interactivity API standards and the new speculative loading capability. WordPress now provides a more performance-driven method for creating contemporary, interactive websites by preloading expected navigation pathways and adhering to better front-end coding principles.
More Info : Speculative-loading
A few additional Interactivity API best practices and standards are included in WordPress 6.8 as part of a longer-term continuous improvement initiative. An intermediate step is one of the pertinent modifications in 6.8: Although they don’t include these improvements directly, they set up the project to do so in a later version by including two more deprecation warnings.
More Info : Interactivity API
6. REST API:
Improved control for headless and decoupled WordPress systems is made possible by the addition of the new `rest_menu_read_access` filter, which limits public access to menus, items, and locations via REST API.
Key Changes for Developers:
- Filter to Control Menu Exposure: Menu data visibility in the REST API is controlled by the `rest_menu_read_access` filter; menus are not public by default.
- Per-Menu and Endpoint-Level Control: Users may manage access to particular menus, menu items, and menu locations in the REST API using custom logic by using the `rest_menu_read_access` filter. It ensures that just the desired data is accessible to the public by offering fine-grained control based on the endpoint being visited.
Extensibility Considerations:
- Default Behavior: By default, Menu information is private. Developers must use the given filter to explicitly enable its visibility over the REST API.
- Backward Compatibility:There are no backward compatibility issues with this improvement. Until the new filter is used to modify the default behavior, the current feature stays the same.
- Security Implications: Take into account the structure and content of your menus when making menu data publicly available to make sure no private information is unintentionally made available.
7. Security:
- Use bcrypt for password hashing:
By switching from phpass to bcrypt for user password hashing and to BLAKE2b via Sodium for hashing application passwords and other security keys, WordPress 6.8 brings about a significant security improvement. These modifications improve password security without needing users or site owners to take any action; sessions are unaffected and current credentials are still valid. Older application keys continue to work until they expire, however passwords will be rehashed using bcrypt when the user logs in or changes their password. Notably, until more analysis is conducted, post passwords will continue to be generated using PHPass.
- Portability:
WordPress 6.8 preserves the portability advantages of the earlier phpass technique while introducing more robust hashing algorithms like bcrypt and BLAKE2b. As a result, password hashes continue to work flawlessly across servers and settings, guaranteeing seamless migrations and upgrades free from the possibility of failed authentication or login problems.
Want to Dive Deeper? Head to Portability
8. Miscellaneous Developer Changes:
- Eliminated the option in the user profile settings to disable the Visual Editor.
- The function generate_filename( $suffix) in WP_Image_Editor has been modified to accept an empty string as an acceptable suffix.
- Custom menu link validation was added to the traditional menu management interface.
- The Import administration screen now has a new action hook.
- The HTML properties that the wp_video_shortcode() function uses have been updated.
- changed the HTML properties that the wp_audio_shortcode() method utilized.
- updated the register_post_type() method to include a new is_embeddable option.
- Updated class names were included to the body_class output.
- Now, the readme.html file is set to noindex, nofollow to stop search engines from indexing it.
- added support for traditional themes in the Style Book.
- Block Hooks for Post Content Synced Patterns Are Now Active Unified Behavior for render_block_context filter with Block Hook Support
- Cron API Update: wp_next_scheduled() Now has a New Filter
- Imagick Bit Depth Control and HDR Support
- Determine Image Quality by Size
- New Guidelines for Uploading Media Types that are not supported
- Refer to the Miscellaneous developer changes for Full Details
9. More than that:
- Administration: Change the phrase “Add New {Item}” throughout the administration to “Add {Item}”
- Theme Bundled: Enhance Twenty Twenty-Five’s text strings
- Theme Bundled: Site title link accessibility enhancements
- Time and Date: There should be two additional choices for date setting: j.n.Y and d.m.Y
- Embeds: Include Canva as a source of oEmbed
- Meta APIs and options: Make set_transient the new name for the setted_transient operation.
- REST API: Rest_preload_api_request handles trailing slashes.
- Security: During installation and upgrade, add requirement checks and explicitly need the hash PHP extension .
- Upgrade/Install: When the plugin update data is current, avoid doing an unnecessary plugin update check .
- Widgets: Give the get_calendar() method support for post types. Additionally, a new get_calendar_args filter is included in this changeset.
