WordPress 5.0 is now available! Its nickname is “Bebo” honoring a Cuban jazz musician, Bebo Valudés.

This particular major release of WordPress has been a big topic in the WordPress community for the past months as it introduces a new editor called “Gutenberg”. It’s the biggest upgrade to the editor in the history of WordPress.

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WordPress normally comes out with major updates a few times every year, adding new features, improving performance, etc, but this year, WordPress 5.0 is the only major update. And it certainly is a major one.

I normally recommend waiting for a couple weeks before updating WordPress, and that goes for this release as well. In fact, since this release is so different from the past versions, you will want to wait to make sure your plugin and theme developers have had a chance to make any necessary adjustments.

You can read more about why I’m not recommending Gutenberg just yet here. And also read this to learn how to install the WordPress Classic Editor plugin.

Watch this Video on WordPress 5.0 from WordPress.org

 

(Not familiar with updating WordPress? Check out my easy-to-follow step by step guide and video on “How to Update WordPress to the Latest Version”)

WordPress 5.0 – Brand New Editing Experience with “Gutenberg”

Build Your Page/Post with Blocks

WordPress 5.0 features a “block based” editor, allowing you to add and edit each component as a block. If you are familiar with a visual editor that is available with themes such as Elegant Theme’s Divi or with special plugins, you’ll quickly see how the new WordPress editor works.

With the new editor, you can…

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You’ll also see that the new editor has a simplified look so that you’ll see only what you need for the area you are working on. (If you are one of those who love to explore more available options and tools, etc., click on the setting button with 3 dots at the top-right.)

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WordPress 5.0 comes with tons of blocks ready for you to use. Here are some of those handy blocks:

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WordPress says:

We have tons of blocks available by default, and more get added by the community every day.

And more blocks are, in fact, already available in the WordPress 5.0 editor.

Whenever you use something new, you need to spend some time getting used to it, and WordPress 5.0 is no exception. As user-friendly as it is, it works very differently from the previous WordPress editors. As mentioned above, I would wait a bit before updating to WordPress 5.0, but I think this editor eventually is going to make it so much easier for non-techies to create and edit posts and pages!

WordPress 5.0 Brand New Theme “Twenty Nineteen”

Meet Twenty Nineteen

WordPress 5.0 comes with a new default theme, “Twenty Nineteen.”

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The Twenty Nineteen theme was created with the WordPress 5.0 block editor in mind. In the above image, you can see the actual page on the left looks pretty much identical to the editor screen on the right. Check out the new “Twenty Nineteen”theme here. (This theme will be installed automatically as you update your site to WordPress 5.0.)

Update your site to WordPress 5.0, but Wait on Using Gutenberg.

Watch this video below to see how to update your site:

 

As exciting as the WordPress 5.0 “Gutenberg” looks, there are so many unknown factors in terms of plugin/theme compatibility. So it’s safer to update and keep working as you normally do by installing the Classic Editor Plugin – See my video here

Want to learn about the new Gutenberg editor? Join us in the January 2019 Website Creation Workshop! 
Find out more here: