WordPress 5.9 has launched and is named “Josephine”, in honor of the acclaimed Jazz singer Josephine Baker.
She is a lifelong civil rights campaigner who believed that all people could live in harmony together, just as different instruments in a jazz band blend together to make a whole piece – just like this new release of WordPress.
The new update of WordPress releases full site editing, which puts you in full control of your whole site.
With this new update, the first default block theme in the history of WordPress is also released – Twenty Twenty-Two.
Block themes provide a wide array of visual choices, from color schemes, font combinations, page templates, and image filters, all from the site editor.
The Twenty Twenty-Two theme can be accessed in the theme library upon upgrade to 5.9.
Aside from the theme, other block themes are also available in the themes directory that you can choose from and explore.
When choosing the new block themes, there is no longer a need for the Customizer. You have the power of the Styles Interface directly inside the Site Editor.
Another added feature is the Navigation Block which provides the power to choose between an always-on responsive menu or a menu that adapts to the user’s screen size.
Other than those features, additional improvements and updates include better block controls, the WordPress Pattern directory, a revamped list view, and a better gallery block.
There are also additional changes and enhancements on the developer side. Full details of the release is at the WordPress blog.
You can download the latest release or update it directly from your WordPress site’s dashboard.