We decided to test the new features prior to the official release of WordPress 6.2 BETA, as we do every time.
The year 2023’s first significant update to WordPress will be version 6.2.
March 28, 2023, is the planned release date.
It’s possible that some of the features and enhancements we’ll be talking about won’t make it into the final version of WordPress 6.2 since this is the BETA version.
You can install the WordPress Beta Tester plugin in order to test out the new features and enhancements that are part of WordPress 6.2 BETA.
On a production or live site, we do not advise installing this plugin. Utilizing it on a local site is therefore the best choice.
WordPress 6.2 BETA
Let’s get one thing straight: WordPress 6.2 is one of the final anticipated releases for Gutenberg phase 2.
With more potent tools in the future, this version looks back on the long road traveled while also celebrating it.
These are the subjects covered, taking this into consideration.
Beta Label Removed
WordPress 5.9 saw the introduction of full site editing and the release of the site editor for block themes.
Using this site editor, you can create templates and change themes and designs.
Overall, the site editor took the place of the customizer in block themes.
In light of this, you may have noticed the Beta label in front of the site editor in the Appearance section of your WordPress editor if you’ve been using it.
After WordPress 6.2, the site editor will no longer display this label.
With WordPress 6.2 BETA, the Site Editor Receives Improvements.
The site editor in WordPress 6.2 BETA has undergone numerous changes.
We’ll cover a few more in this section as well.
- Search Mode
After WordPress 6.2, the browse mode is the first change you’ll notice in the site editor.
Up until now, you could immediately edit the template when you opened the site editor.
In other words, you are not initially given the option to select which template or portion of the template to edit.
The sidebar now displays options for you to choose the Template, Template Part, or Navigation to edit when you open the site editor in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
After choosing, you must click the Edit button at the top to access the editor.
- Template And Template Part Drill Down
To return to the subject of selecting templates and template parts, click any of these choices, and all the available options will be shown to you.
- WordPress templates 6.2 BETA
- The Template Parts of WordPress 6.2 BETA
Before moving on, it’s crucial to remember that you will also have the option to add and manage here.
When adding, you have a choice of an area (the Template part) or a Template.
Additionally, it will take you to the same management interface as before.
- Preview Templates And Template Parts
You are probably already aware of the fact that there isn’t a way to preview templates or template components if you’ve been using the site editor.
The preview of a template or template part will now be shown when you select it in the new Browse Mode, thanks to a change in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
WordPress 6.2 BETA template preview
The template parts’ preview in WordPress 6.2 BETA
- Style Book In WordPress 6.2 BETA
You’ll notice a change in the site editor thanks to a new feature called Style Book.
Additionally, as the name suggests, users can preview, select, and modify the styling of
- Blocks
- Images
- Widgets
In addition.
To view the Style Book in WordPress 6.2 BETA, navigate to Style Settings in the site editor and click the eye or Style Book icon.
The Style Book will open when you click on this icon, allowing you to look through the various categories, choose what you want, and make changes.
The Style Book display can be scaled, and this must be understood.
Additionally, the changes you make affect the entire world.
- Custom CSS
And now,
While we’re on the subject of styling, you should be aware that Classic themes have a Custom CSS option called Additional CSS that you can use to add your own CSS.
This option, which was previously absent from the site editor, is now present in the WordPress 6.2 BETA.
Simply click the ellipsis next to the Style Book icon to bring up a menu, and then select Additional CSS to access this improvement.
- 6.2 BETA of WordPress
- Then comes WordPress 6.2 BETA.
Clicking Additional CSS will reveal the area in the site editor where you can add custom CSS.
After adding CSS, remember to save your changes.
- Additional Block CSS
Followed by
In WordPress 6.2 BETA’s Block Style settings, a very similar option called Additional Block CSS has been added.
Click Blocks in the Style Settings section of the site editor to reveal this option. Next, choose the block to which you want to add customized CSS.
These choices can be found down here.
- Earlier than WordPress 6.2 BETA
- Here is the WordPress 6.2 BETA.
The option to add unique CSS to blocks will appear when you click Additional Block CSS.
Make sure to save your changes after you’ve finished adding CSS.
Please note that the CSS above is incorrectly structured due to the absence of a selector.
However, WordPress takes care of it for you, so it works perfectly, and the code only applies to the paragraph block.
- Apply Globally
It’s important to note that the new option Apply Globally is now available when using blocks in the site editor before moving on.
The Advanced tab of the block settings offers this option.
- Before WordPress 6.2 BETA
- WordPress 6.2 BETA is used.
When you click Apply Globally, the block’s site-wide style options will be applied.
Reusable blocks and template parts have a color code
Reusable blocks and template parts are made using one or more blocks, which can then be used on different pages, posts, and templates.
To distinguish these blocks from other blocks, a new color has been assigned to them that will be visible in the List View, Block Toolbar, and Canvas.
- See a listing
- For Blocking Bar
- Canvas
You must be aware that this color code appears when you hover your pointer over Template parts and reusable blocks.
Navigation In WordPress 6.2 BETA
The Navigation block will be the subject of the next change after coloring template elements and reusable blocks.
- Improvements To UI
You will first notice the change in the navigation block’s user interface.
When you added this block, you previously had the option to select a menu, start empty, or have a default page list block.
On the sidebar of the navigation block, there was a dropdown menu with the options to select, add, or manage menus as well.
This has changed with WordPress 6.2 BETA, and whenever you add a Navigation block, it now starts empty.
Additionally, by selecting the ellipsis menu in the sidebar, you can select, include, or manage menus.
- List Based Editing
All you need to do now to manage and add menu items is click the + icon on the
for the navigation block’s placeholder
Block of sidebar navigation
Navigating by using the browse mode
The only thing left to do is drag and drop menu items into the sidebar or browse mode to reorder them.
To view the ellipsis menu when managing menu items, move the pointer over the menu item.
In the sidebar ellipsis menu, there are options to remove and add sub-menus.
Additionally, when you are in browse mode, it will show you the choices from an ellipsis menu for a block.
Patterns In WordPress 6.2 BETA
If you have read our articles about WordPress 6.1 BETA and WordPress 6.0 BETA, you must be aware that Patterns is a feature that has been receiving regular updates.
Following this pattern, WordPress 6.2 BETA has made a few improvements to the Patterns.
Those are:
- Updated Interface In Block Inserter
If you have been using WordPress Patterns plugin, you must have noticed a top dropdown menu with all the categories.
Any category you select will show patterns that are related to it.
After the interface has been updated, you will now notice the Patterns categories first.
If you click one of these, all of the Patterns will be displayed in a new extended pane.
Here, you can drag and drop items and edit Patterns to your specifications.
It’s important to note that the Explore all patterns or just the Explore button has been moved to the bottom in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
Before WordPress 6.2 BETA
WordPress 6.2 BETA is used.
- More Categories
While we’re on the subject of Patterns Categories, a brand-new one called Banner has been added to the list.
Media In WordPress 6.2 BETA
The block inserter now has a Media tab in place of the previous Patterns tab.
When you click this, two options will appear.
- Images
- Openverse
Let’s take a brief look at this.
- Images
When developing a website, making pages, or posting content, images are crucial.
It’s also easy to add images to the WordPress Media Library and then add them to pages or posts using the Image or another media block.
Before now, there was no way to add images from the Media Library using the block inserter.
Additionally, this has been modified by WordPress 6.2 BETA.
When you click Images under the Media section of the block inserter, all of the images that you have added to the WordPress Media Library will now be shown in a new pane.
You can search for images on this page using the search box at the top.
Once the image has been found, it is simple to drag and drop it onto the canvas.
You need to be aware that dragging and dropping these images onto Media blocks is not possible.
For instance, it is currently not possible to use this feature to add an image to a cover block.
In light of this, if you want to open the media library from the block inserter, the option to do so is at the bottom.
This is a good chance that will improve workflow all around.
- Openverse Integration
Let’s first define the Openverse Integration in WordPress 6.2 BETA before learning more about it.
An open-source media search engine called Openverse was created as a component of the WordPress project.
It has a sizable library of over 600 million creatives, including stock images, audio, and photos.
The best part is that everything is free for you to use.
In light of this, the Openverse has been added to the block inserter in WordPress 6.2 BETA.
Additionally, it can be found on the Media tab.
You can drag and drop the images onto the canvas by clicking Openverse, which will display all of the images in a new pane.
It’s important to understand that because these images are inserted from a URL, you won’t be able to find them in the Media Library.
In addition, you can search for Openverse using the search box at the top of the page to make things simpler for you.
Distraction Free Mode In Block Editor
If you have been using the block editor to create pages and posts in WordPress, you are probably already aware of the different modes that are available to you.
Additionally, these are reachable from the ellipsis menu in the top right of the block editor.
As you can see, the WordPress editor was used up until this point.
- Setting the spotlight
- To full-screen mode
In addition, WordPress 6.2 BETA has added a fresh mode called Distraction Free to this list.
Additionally, when selecting this mode, it
- The top toolbar is concealed and only becomes visible when you hover.
- There are some missing top toolbar buttons.
- blocks the toolbar and closes any sidebars
- Eliminates any sidebar
Split Block Tools In WordPress 6.2 BETA
We will discuss the division of block tools into setting and style after talking about the distraction-free mode.
Since all the settings were in the sidebar before, categorization was essentially nonexistent when using blocks.
Due to changes made in WordPress 6.2 BETA, you may find this split and categorized as Setting and Styles in some blocks.
You have the option to change or set the color, typography, and other general block settings under styles.
Import Widgets From Classic Themes
You must have come across websites with sidebars while browsing the internet.
Until disabled block widgets in WordPress, these areas are known as widget areas in classic themes and are constructed using blocks.
It is crucial to understand that when switching from classic, there was no way up until now to import widgets into block themes.
However, this has changed in WordPress 6.2 BETA, and you can now add a new Template Part in the site editor. You will also find the option to Import Widget Area under Advanced in the block settings.
You must then click Import after choosing the widget area from the dropdown.
When you click Import, WordPress 6.2 BETA will import it as a template part in the site editor.
Update From 6.1 To WordPress 6.2
Now that you’re familiar with the WordPress 6.2 BETA, the next topic we’ll cover is how to quickly update WordPress 6.2.
Before we get started, it’s important to understand that the provider will take care of this on your behalf if you’re using Managed WordPress hostings, like Nexcess, Elementor Cloud, or Cloudways.
If not, the first step in the process is to create a full backup of your WordPress website.
Use UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy for this.
Go to your WordPress admin sidebar and click Update under Dashboard after creating a backup.
It will also say if the WordPress 6.2 update is available for download.
If so, in order to download and install it, you must choose Update to WordPress 6.2.
It might not take long to complete this process.
You’ve now successfully updated WordPress on your website to the newest version.
Conclusion
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