WordPress 5.7, named “Esperanza” in honour of musical prodigy Esperanza Spalding, was just released earlier this month (March 9). It’s available for download from WordPress.org or you can update in your WordPress dashboard.
This latest update provides more improvements to the Block Editor, tweaks to the standard WP Color schemes, and some improvements for developers.
Block Editor Improvements
The Block Editor in WordPress 5.7 now provides you with font-size controls on the List and Code blocks. There are also enhancements that make reusable blocks more stable and easier to use. They will now also save automatically with the post when you click the Update button.
It's now easier to add blocks and block patterns into your content. You're now able to drag ‘n drop blocks and block patterns straight from the Block Inserter right into your page.
The Cover block now allows you to make the image Full-height alignment. The Buttons block gives you the option of displaying the buttons horizontally or with a new vertical layout, along with the ability to set the width of a button to a preset percentage. The Social Icons block now lets you change the size of the icons.
Simplified Colour Schemes
The default WordPress colour schemes have been simplified down to seven core colours and a range of 56 shades that meet the WCAG 2.0 AA recommended contrast ratio against white or black.
HTTP to HTTPS in a single click
It's now easier to switch your site from HTTP to HTTPS in a single click. If WordPress detects that you have a valid SSL Certificate installed on your site, the Tools > Site Health page will provide you with a button to switch your site from HTTP to HTTPS. WordPress will automatically change your URL's from HTTP to HTTPS when rendering your content in the browser, but just to let you know, it won't actually change all the URL's in your content within your database.
Developer Improvements
WP 5.7 brings with it some ongoing cleanup after the recent update to jQuery 3.5.1. In 5.7, jQuery gets more focused and less intrusive, with fewer messages in the console.
It’s now easier to make your iframes lazy-load. By default, WordPress will add a loading="lazy" attribute to iframe tags when both width and height are specified.
You can now easily send a User a Reset Password link. Simply edit their User Profile and click the Send Reset Link button.
Latest Guide Updates
In this latest version of the guide there's updated descriptions and brand new images for numerous blocks, reflecting the UI changes in the Dashboard. This ensures that what you see in the guide is exactly what you see when using WordPress. I hope that you'll find this update makes it easier for you to work with WordPress.
Head on over to the download page to download the latest version of the Easy WP Guide, or if you want to get stuck straight into it, you can always read it online.
