WordPress 5.0 arrives with block-based editor, new default theme, and developer features

WordPress.org today launched WordPress 5.0, which brings “big upgrades to the editor” in the blog management tool. You can download the new release, available in 37 languages, now from WordPress.org/Download.

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that powers over 30 percent of the web. The latest version is dubbed “Bebo,” in honor of Cuban jazz musician Bebo Valdés.

WordPress 5.0 introduces a block-based editor that offers a streamlined editing experience. The new editor is supposed to be better at inserting media content and rearranging any type of content. Each piece of content is in its own block, which is meant to help site owners decide how content is displayed. Blocks include everything from paragraphs, headings, and quotes to images, galleries, and videos.

For those who prefer the Classic Editor, WordPress.org has a new Classic Editor plugin that it promises to support through 2021. The plugin restores the previous WordPress editor, the Edit Post screen, and lets you keep using plugins that extend it. WordPress.org also notes that users of assistive technology should try the Classic Editor if the new block editor causes trouble.

Twenty Nineteen is WordPress’ new default theme designed to show off the power of the new editor. The theme uses editor styles so that what you create in your content editor is what you see on the frontend. It also features ample whitespace, modern sans-serif headlines paired with classic serif body text, and system fonts to increase loading speed.

WordPress 5.0 also keeps developers in mind:

• Blocks provide a comfortable way for users to change content directly, while also ensuring the content structure cannot be easily disturbed by accidental code edits. This allows the developer to control the output, building polished and semantic markup that is preserved through edits and not easily broken.
• Take advantage of a wide collection of APIs and interface components to easily create blocks with intuitive controls for your clients. Utilizing these components not only speeds up development work but also provide a more consistent, usable, and accessible interface to all users.
• The new block paradigm opens up a path of exploration and imagination when it comes to solving user needs. With the unified block insertion flow, it’s easier for clients and customers to find and use blocks for all types of content. Developers can focus on executing their vision and providing rich editing experiences, rather than fussing with difficult APIs.

The team did not mention WordPress 5.1, but presumably the next version is already being worked on and will be released in a few months.