WordPress 5.5 was released in August 2020, and shortly afterward, millions of websites experienced issues. Now, WordPress 5.6 is on the horizon, and it may cause similar disruptions.
One of the developers behind the jQuery Migrate Plugin mentioned in a support thread that the plugin would become “useless” once WordPress 5.6 is rolled out. Websites still relying on it come December might encounter considerable issues again.
### Why WordPress 5.5 Broke Websites
WordPress is undergoing a three-phase modernization of its use of jQuery. jQuery is a library of scripts that adds functionality like animation and interactive elements to websites, making plugin and theme creation more streamlined by handling common website features and CSS manipulation.
Many plugins and themes are still using older versions of jQuery, which contain vulnerabilities such as Cross Site Scripting (XSS) and Denial of Service (DoS). WordPress 5.5 aimed to modernize the platform by phasing out outdated jQuery code, compelling developers to update their software to the latest secure versions.
As part of this modernization, WordPress 5.5 removed the jQuery Migrate 1.x library. jQuery Migrate helps maintain compatibility for plugins and themes using older jQuery versions. Despite advance notice to developers about the removal, many did not update their software, resulting in widespread website malfunctions when WordPress 5.5 went live. Some users found themselves unable to log into their admin panels, while others saw their entire websites stop functioning.
In response, WordPress released a plugin named “Enable jQuery Migrate Helper” to restore functionality to the affected sites, which helped millions of websites return to normal operation.
### Why WordPress 5.6 Might Break Some Sites
With WordPress 5.6, the next step in modernizing jQuery use involves updating the jQuery Migrate library to the latest version, 3.3.1. Sites currently relying on the “Enable jQuery Migrate Helper” plugin to maintain functionality may face disruptions again.
According to the official announcement, part two of the process involves updating the bundled jQuery version to 3.5.1 and jQuery Migrate to version 3.3.1. The new Migrate script will not support features that were deprecated by the previous version, leading to potential compatibility issues.
In a support forum for the “Enable jQuery Migrate Helper,” a user inquired if the plugin would still work with WordPress 5.6. A developer responded that it would not, as the updated jQuery library in WordPress 5.6 would make the helper plugin ineffective.
Many developers have updated their themes and plugins to the latest jQuery versions, mitigating the problem. These updated products should continue to work without issues. However, themes and plugins that are no longer maintained or not yet updated may cause websites to malfunction.
### Will WordPress 5.6 Break Your Site?
If you are currently using the “Enable jQuery Migrate Helper” and see error messages in your admin panel, you might experience unexpected issues when WordPress updates to version 5.6. Conversely, if the plugin isn’t reporting any errors, it means your themes and plugins have updated their jQuery libraries, and your site should continue to function correctly.
