New in WordPress 6.1: Theme, block editor & fluid typography

WordPress 6.1 is the next update of the popular content management system (CMS). We took a look at the beta version of WordPress 6.1 and show you in this article what you can expect after the WordPress update.

At WordPress, new major updates are always tested and discussed in detail by the WordPress community several weeks before the release. This is also the case with WordPress 6.1, on which work started back in May 2022. Once again, the expectations for WordPress are high. For this very reason, we took a look at the roadmap for the new version and the beta versions released so far.

Timetable: When can I start using WordPress 6.1?

The release of WordPress 6.1 is planned for 1 November 2022. As usual, WordPress starts rolling out its beta versions weeks in advance.

We are currently in the beta phases. The first beta version of WordPress 6.1 has been available since 20 September 2022, and since then another one has been released every week. The release candidates have been available since 4 October – there are three of them, which are also released every week. On 1 November 2022, WordPress 6.1 will finally be rolled out and made available to all users for updating.

The goal of WordPress 6.1 is mainly to improve the functions from the two previous updates WordPress 5.9 and WordPress 6.0, as we are in the middle of phase 2 of the Gutenberg Roadmap. The goal of the Gutenberg Roadmap is full site editing of an entire WordPress page with blocks.

This makes WordPress 6.1 the third major update this year, following WordPress 5.9 in January 2022 and WordPress 6.0 in May 2022.

Overview: These are the most important changes in WordPress 6.1

The update should provide users with many improvements for full website editing, the block editor and block-based patterns.

Let’s take a look at the biggest and most important changes that await you with the update to WordPress 6.1.

New standard theme Twenty Twenty-Three

One of the most important changes in WordPress 6.1 is the new default theme Twenty Twenty-Three. Like its predecessor Twenty Twenty-Two, the theme is block-based. One of the biggest differences, however, is that it no longer contains predefined images, instead placeholders for your own images are inserted.

The new standard theme Twenty Twenty-Three also includes ten style variations that come directly from the community. There are differences in the colours, layout and typography.

Improvements to the Block Editor

WordPress users use the block editor to create posts and pages for their website. The editor has been repeatedly improved in recent WordPress updates.

With WordPress 6.1, changes and improvements are now being made that were already introduced in the Gutenberg releases from 13.1 to 14.1. In these Gutenberg releases, the main focus was on standardising the various blocks. WordPress 6.1 builds on this and contains the following changes.

The table of contents block

The new table of contents block, which was originally introduced with Gutenberg 13.3, is improved with WordPress 6.1: As soon as you add the table of contents block to a new post, the block automatically recognises all heading blocks that have been added to the content. These are then displayed as anchor links in a list. Creating a table of contents is therefore much quicker and easier with this update.

Improvements to the comment block

WordPress 6.1 provides users with an improved comment block. For example, website operators can set different font colours and backgrounds to further customise the block.

New horizontal and vertical spacing in the gallery block

Those who create image galleries with the Gallery block have significantly more design freedom with WordPress 6.1. The update includes a new control element for the axis spacing, which can be used to vary the horizontal and vertical spacing in the gallery block.

More functions for featured images

WordPress 6.1 makes it much easier to select featured images: After the update, featured images can be selected directly from the placeholder of the cover block.

In addition to the changes mentioned above, there will be other new and improved block types. For example, border support will be introduced for the Columns block, allowing users to define individual borders and at the same time create each border in a different style.

Automatic image conversion to WebP format

WebP was introduced with WordPress 5.8. WebP is a modern image format that offers better and more lossless compression for images. Previously, you had the option of uploading WebP images to your media centre in WordPress.

However, WordPress did not support the automatic conversion of images into this format, which previously required a plugin. With WordPress 6.1, the automatic creation of alternative file formats is now supported.

More choice of template types in the editor

With WordPress 6.1, you can create a separate template for each post type. This means that you will find more template types for different use cases in the template editor. You can add and edit templates for custom post types and taxonomies. It is also possible to be very specific and use a different template for individual categories or tags.

For example, you can create and use a separate template for all your news articles in the “News” category, another template for all blog posts about travel in the “Travel” category and a third template for all personal blog articles in the “Blog” category.

With WordPress 6.1, various templates will be unlocked, regardless of which block theme website owners use. Templates include, for example, individual pages, individual posts, a single term in a taxonomy, a single category or a custom template that can be used for each post or page.

Fluid typography for responsive designs

WordPress 6.1 also supports fluid typography with the update. This innovation in web design is there to further refine responsive designs, as the text automatically adjusts its size to the user’s display.

Previously, you had to set this individually for each device type, which didn’t always work reliably. With WordPress 6.1, you can activate and deactivate fluid typography via theme.json.

WordPress 6.1: Changes for developers

WordPress 6.1 also brings some new features, especially for developers. For example, the API interface “Preferences Persistence API”. The aim of the interface is for editors or website operators to save their user settings directly in the WordPress database rather than locally. This has the great advantage that the settings can be saved in all browsers and on all devices.

WordPress 6.1 also allows theme developers to add button styles to their themes. This allows buttons in different blocks to have a standardised design. The update adds a new “wp-element-button” class to the elements. This means that the buttons always have the same style.

Conclusion: Which changes are worthwhile with WordPress 6.1?

WordPress 6.1 will be the third major update this year. The goal of WordPress 6.1 is to improve the features from the previous two updates, WordPress 5.9 and WordPress 6.0, as we approach the third phase of the Gutenberg roadmap. We are currently in phase 2, which is mainly about personalisation. The third of four phases will focus on more intuitive collaboration.
If you are interested in the WordPress development process and the planned features and innovations, you can find a list of the changes and much more information about the new WordPress 6.1 directly from the source at WordPress.org.

What do you think about the planned changes in WordPress 6.1? We look forward to your comments.