WordPress Gutenberg 7.1 has been updated with numerous improvements. Although there is a slight performance slowdown in this version, the range of enhancements may mitigate those concerns.
New Welcome User Interface
A notable feature is the improved welcome UI screen, designed to help new users familiarize themselves with the Gutenberg block editing experience.
Table Captions
This release introduces Table Captions, allowing users to add captions to the bottom of tables. It also features a new UI toggle for switching between editing and selection modes. Editing mode lets you modify content inside the table, while selection mode enables one to select an element of the table.
This enhancement makes Gutenberg’s table functionality more useful and eliminates the need for additional plugins. However, for advanced table features, users might still prefer a premium plugin like League Table by DAEXT.
Mobile Editing Improvements
Two key upgrades have been made to the user interface for mobile editing. A fixed-mobile toolbar now helps users select editing elements like paragraphs and links more conveniently.
Here’s an example of the new mobile toolbar in action:
Another improvement is the ability to select multiple blocks while editing on mobile devices.
Additionally, WordPress has removed PHP 5.2 compatibility code from the RSS block, emphasizing the importance for users to update to the latest PHP version, which currently is in the 7.x range. Upgrading your PHP version not only boosts site speed but also enhances security.
Two Dozen Bug Fixes
WordPress announced that there are two dozen bug fixes, including a fix for the CSS styles of the ColorPicker component.
Gutenberg Performance Benchmarks
Performance benchmarks indicate a slight slowdown in the Gutenberg interface’s loading time.
Loading time in seconds:
- Gutenberg 7.1.0: 7.45s
- Gutenberg 7.0.0: 6.84s
- WordPress 5.3: 6.33s
However, the keypress event metric shows improvement.
Keypress Event (Typing):
- Gutenberg 7.1.0: 88.56ms
- Gutenberg 7.0.0: 94ms
- WordPress 5.3: 75.19ms
Although the difference between versions 7.0 and 7.1 is under one second, it’s reasonable to expect performance to remain stable or improve.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s encouraging to see such significant improvements, especially the new mobile toolbar.
For more details, you can read the official WordPress announcement.
More Resources
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- WordPress SEO Without an SEO Plugin
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