WordPress 6.3 the second major release of 2023 is here! This release is packed with new features and improvements mainly focused on enhancing the full-site editing experience.

With over 500 new features and improvements along with 400 bug fixes there’s a lot to explore in version 6.3. This update is designed to make your editing experience more intuitive simplify site maintenance and boost your site’s performance with some behind-the-scenes enhancements.

Let’s dive into the exciting changes you can expect when you upgrade to WordPress 6.3.

Table of Contents

The Command Palette: A Game Changer for Site Editing

One of the most notable additions in WordPress 6.3 is the brand new Command Palette.

It’s similar to the Spotlight Search feature on macOS offering a whole new level of productivity by bringing contextual elements directly to your fingertips.

No more clicking around no more navigating menus just a streamlined workflow directly within the Site Editor.

Within the Site Editor you can launch the Command Palette with Cmd+k on Mac or Ctrl+k on Windows then simply start typing your next destination.

It’s a real time-saver and makes navigating the Site Editor super efficient.

While the Command Palette is currently limited to the Site Editor in WordPress 6.3 we’re excited to see it integrated across the rest of the WordPress admin panel in future releases.

Streamlined Site Editing with Enhanced Navigation

Beyond the Command Palette the Full Site Editor has become even more powerful and user-friendly in WordPress 6.3. Here’s a breakdown of the new navigation elements that have been added:

Site Navigation: This section provides a direct path to manage your site’s navigation menu offering the ability to rearrange or add menu items directly within the editor. If you’re new to Full Site Editing I recommend building your navigation as one of your first projects. You can find a step-by-step guide in our e-book on Full Site Editing.
Templates: This section which was introduced in WordPress 6.2 allows you to select and edit individual templates or template parts of your site. It’s a convenient way to manage the building blocks of your site’s structure.
Styles: This new addition in WordPress 6.3 is a must for style editing. It’s a one-stop shop for previewing and modifying your site’s global theme styles. You can effortlessly make adjustments to your site’s overall design without the need for extensive navigation between different sections.
Content: This is where the real magic happens. In WordPress 6.3 you can seamlessly update your content directly within the full site editor. It’s a major improvement that eliminates the need to switch back and forth between the full site editor and other parts of the WordPress admin panel. This streamlines your editing workflow allowing you to make content changes effortlessly.
Patterns: This section replaces the old template parts section. There are some naming updates here. Reusable blocks are now known as synced patterns while traditional block patterns are now called unsynced patterns. I understand the confusion around naming conventions in recent Full Site Editing and Gutenberg updates so here’s a quick cheat sheet to help you:
- Synced Patterns: These are great for elements you use on multiple pages but you don’t want to manually update each instance. For example you might have a block displaying business hours or contact information. If you need to change your hours during a holiday season it’s much faster to update it once within a synced pattern than searching your entire site for all the places the hours are listed.
- Unsynced Patterns: These are perfect for elements that you want to maintain consistency across your site but need some customization. For instance call-to-action boxes should match your site’s design but might need slight adjustments on individual pages depending on the desired action.

New Blocks and Block Updates: Expanding Content Editing Capabilities

WordPress 6.3 brings two new blocks and updates to several frequently used blocks enhancing your content editing experience:

New Blocks:
- Navigation Block: This block is a welcome addition for creating custom navigation menus within your site. It allows you to build a navigation menu directly within the block editor providing greater flexibility and control over your site’s menu structure.
- Group Block: This block offers more control over organizing and styling multiple blocks within a single container. You can use this block to group related blocks together apply consistent styling to them and create visually appealing sections on your site.
Block Updates:
- Post Author Block: This block now provides a more intuitive and efficient way to display the author of a post. It allows you to showcase the author’s information such as their name bio or a link to their author archive adding a personal touch to your content.
- Social Links Block: This block has been streamlined offering a simpler way to display social media links. It makes it easier to integrate your social media profiles into your website encouraging engagement and connection with your audience.
- Reusable Block Block: This block now supports creating and managing reusable blocks providing a more efficient way to reuse common content elements across your site. It’s a time-saver for elements you want to maintain consistency across your site.

Time-Saving Workflow Enhancements: Beyond Content Editing

While the focus of WordPress 6.3 is on enhancing the Full Site Editing experience the release also includes several improvements designed to streamline your workflow and save you precious time.

Style Revisions: A New Era of Style Management

WordPress has always had post content revisions allowing you to easily revert to previous versions of your content or track its evolution over time.

WordPress 6.3 takes this a step further by introducing style revisions.

Now you can track and roll back changes made to your styles just as you would for your content.

Imagine implementing a new style that unintentionally breaks something on your site.

With style revisions you can quickly access the history of your style changes pinpoint the source of the issue and effortlessly revert back to a previous version with a single click.

This feature significantly simplifies style management allowing you to troubleshoot issues faster and keep your site running smoothly.

To explore the new style revisions feature select a block or style to edit in the styles panel and you’ll see a new Revisions button.

Enhanced Accessibility: Making WordPress More Inclusive

Accessibility is crucial for ensuring that everyone can build and experience the web.

The WordPress team is dedicated to improving accessibility with each new release and WordPress 6.3 is no exception.

This release includes over 50 accessibility improvements making it easier for people who use keyboard navigation screen readers and other assistive technologies to navigate the WordPress editing interface.

These improvements include:

Better Labeling: Elements within the WordPress interface are now more clearly labeled improving accessibility for screen reader users.
Optimized Tab and Arrow-Key Navigation: Navigation using keyboard shortcuts has been refined enhancing accessibility for those who rely on keyboard navigation.

Automated Rollback for Failed Updates: A Safety Net for Site Stability

Updating plugins and themes in WordPress is usually a straightforward process but things can go wrong.

We’ve all encountered the dreaded failed update where your site gets stuck in limbo leaving you wondering what to do next.

WordPress 6.3 eliminates this headache by introducing an automatic rollback feature for failed plugin or theme updates.

Now if an update fails WordPress will automatically revert to the previous version preventing your site from being stuck in an unusable state.

It’s a welcome addition that provides a safety net and ensures site stability during updates.

However keep in mind that this rollback feature currently only applies to failed updates.

If an update installs successfully but causes issues with your site you’ll still need to troubleshoot and fix the problem manually.

Under-the-Hood Improvements for Performance and Security

While the front-end enhancements in WordPress 6.3 are exciting some important improvements are happening behind the scenes to boost your site’s performance and security.

Enhanced Performance: Loading Faster Ranking Higher

With performance optimizations at the heart of WordPress 6.3 your sites will load faster and rank better in search engines.

Faster Emoji Loading: Emoji enthusiasts will rejoice! The new emoji loader significantly reduces the time it takes for the emoji script to load. This small but impactful change contributes to faster page loading times.
Flexible Script Loading Strategies: A long-awaited update WordPress now provides more options to define a loading strategy for scripts. You can defer or load scripts asynchronously minimizing their impact on page rendering. This feature directly addresses the common page speed optimization advice to reduce render-blocking resources.

Goodbye to PHP 5: Time to Embrace Modern PHP

WordPress 6.3 officially drops support for PHP 5. It’s time to say goodbye to an outdated technology and embrace the power of modern PHP.

The minimum supported PHP version is now 7.0 with 7.4 or greater still being the recommended version.

This update signifies WordPress’s commitment to keeping up with modern technology standards and ensuring better performance and security for your websites.

New Development Mode Constant: Simplifying Development Workflows

While not directly relevant for production sites the new development mode constant in WordPress 6.3 is a welcome addition for developers.

It streamlines the development workflow by providing different settings based on the type of development site you need.

Theme Development Mode: When in theme development mode caching for the theme.json file is disabled. This means theme developers no longer need to manually invalidate the cache making development more efficient.
Plugin Development Mode: This mode provides similar benefits for plugin developers.

This new WP_DEVELOPMENT_MODE constant is a powerful tool for developers.

It can be used to:

Enable Debug Logging and Tooling: Provide insights into the inner workings of your code.
Serve Un-minified Styles and Scripts: Make it easier to debug and understand your code.
Configure CORS: Ensure compatibility with cross-origin requests.

Ready to Upgrade to WordPress 6.3?

When you’re ready to embrace the power of WordPress 6.3 follow the usual update process.

However it’s always a good practice to test the update in a staging environment first to ensure a smooth transition.

For Pressable clients with their version set to “Latest” in the My Pressable Control Panel the update to the latest version will be automatic.

If you encounter any compatibility issues you can easily manage your version from within your site’s settings.

We’re excited about the possibilities that WordPress 6.3 brings to the table.

This release is a testament to the ongoing dedication of the WordPress team to continuously enhance the platform and provide a better experience for both users and developers.

We believe this version will save you a lot of development time and frustration.

Stay tuned for more updates and news on the WordPress front by following Pressable on social media.

WordPress 6.3 Release – What To Expect ⚠️