Viptor Presents: WordPress 5.8 “Tatum” is here!

by Vipe Team in WordPress Development; Published on 20.07.2021 Last updated on 21.07.2021

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Hi, Viptor here! When I came to planet Earth, I immediately fell in love with this world’s most popular Content Management System (CMS) – WordPress.

Today is a super exciting day for the WordPress community because we’re celebrating the release of WordPress 5.8 “Tatum”!

Me and my friends from our WordPress Agency for Development – Vipe Studio – think that this is a very important release that deserves to be properly introduced.

In my humble opinion, WordPress 5.8 marks the beginning of a whole new chapter when it comes to web publishing and WordPress website development.

The new release is named after Art Tatum – an American Jazz pianist, widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. One of his most famous compositions – “Night and Day” – is even included in a favourite film of mine! I’m talking about “Fantastic Mr. Fox” by director Wes Anderson. Skim through the soundtrack and you’ll find Art Tatum’s song.

I really love Art Tatum and I would say that website development is definitely a Night and Day passion for me and the team at Vipe Studio.

Why Do I Love WordPress So Much?

When my friends from Vipe Studio first introduced me to WordPress, I was totally captivated by the platform’s robust performance.

What impressed me, even more, were the cool plugins and themes that can be used to transform any website project into an awesome reality.

A while ago, I was a newbie not only to Earth but also to WordPress website development. As it turned out though, I was able to use the CMS even as an absolute beginner and amateur.

The more time I spend on Earth, the more I learn about WordPress. Of course, I’m not alone on this journey. The WordPress developers at Vipe Studio help me every single day.

I’ve seen WordPress grow, change and progress with time. Now, with the new update of the platform, I’m once again eager to learn everything about the new features it brings to the table.

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WordPress 5.8 gives admins more control over their websites and I’m really happy I have the opportunity to tell you about some of the key features to look out for.

WordPress 5.8 Key Features

So let’s go and see what this new update has to offer. As the famous “Rick and Morty” quote goes – “Show me what you got!”.

Full Site Editing (FSE)

This is the big one – the most important update in the new version of WordPress. What exactly does Full Site Editing mean? From now on, you, as well as all WordPress developers, will be able to use the Block Editor to alter any element of your site. That includes the header, footer, and sidebar.

To do that, you will have to install a theme that supports the FSE functionality. That way, you will be able to use the new feature once you update to WordPress 5.8. But what’s the big deal with that? Well, let me tell you.

FSE is a super handy feature because it allows WordPress website owners to customize the design of their site without having to write any code.

There’s a catch though. Do mind that today’s release only provides WordPress developers with a confined introduction to FSE. The complete implementation will be happening later this year. For now, the first introduction will serve to advance site builders’ awareness and abilities.

Widget Blocks

Blocks as Widgets acts as an extension to the Full Site Editing feature. WordPress 5.8 introduces an all-new Widgets screen and enhanced customizer. This means that now, website owners and WordPress developers can use any block they want from the theme’s widget sections.

The flexibility of your WordPress sidebar widgets will be greatly benefitted by these new Widget Blocks. Website owners won’t need to install any plugins for colors, spacing, and typography utilization. This will make using design tools so much easier.

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To access the new widget experience, you’ll need to use the Customizer. The other option is to go to the Appearance » Widgets page.

With Widget Blocks, you can employ the traditional Widgets that are yet to be accessible as Blocks.

Extra Blocks for the Gutenberg Editor

The Gutenberg editor now has new Blocks that I and my friends at our WordPress Agency for Development are really excited about! These include page listings, site titles, and site logos. WordPress 5.8 offers different options for displaying lists of posts. This is in addition to the Query Loop Block.

A particular Block I’m super hyped about is called Duotone and it is available in this release. With the help of this Block, WordPress developers will now have the opportunity to customize new effects as part of the construction of WordPress themes or plugins.

WebP Images Support

WebP Images Support is another new feature that I and the WordPress developers at Vipe Studio are very happy about.

You might not know exactly what WebP means, so let me explain real quick. WebP images is a format that was first introduced by Google in 2010. It provides a better quality image at a reduced file size for websites.

Thanks to its small file size, the use of WebP Images can speed up the loading time of a page. I love that fact because this can directly result in a better user experience. After the WordPress 5.8 update, you’ll be able to save WebP images in your media library and use them to your liking.

Also, if you’re worried about whether a certain web browser supports WebP Images, you can quickly check that on the Caniuse site. I and the WordPress developers at Vipe Studio can assure you that most modern web browsers support that format.

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I should probably also warn you that this version of WordPress won’t convert your PNG and JPG files to WebP images automatically. You’ll have to do this on your own.

Template Editor

WordPress 5.8 lets you access the Template Editor function. With the help of this editor users and WordPress developers can easily exit content-editing mode from the page-editing interface. This allows you to edit the general template from there.

Put simply, this new feature can act as a landing page builder at least for this release. It will probably be fully functional in later releases.

Take a piece of advice from my favorite WordPress Agency for Development – Vipe studio – use the Template Editor to create and store templates for your WordPress website development. You can always use them later for any post or page you’re creating.

New Pattern Directory

This is another cool new feature that comes with WordPress 5.8. The editor will now suggest different patterns that you can directly add. The only thing you need to do is search for a Block on the Add Block panel.

There are a lot of new patterns ready for use. Once you integrate this feature with WordPress.org, you will be able to select from a variety of options that can be found in the Pattern Directory.

What I and the WordPress developers from Vipe Studio love about this feature is the ability to copy and paste your favourite patterns from the Pattern Directory.

Hello, WordPress 5.8!

So this is it, folks! Let’s say one big and warm welcome to WordPress 5.8. WordPress website development reaches new heights and becomes more and more professional with every new update release!

I can’t wait for website owners and WordPress developers to try all the new features. I myself will be spending my time experimenting with them and learning about everything that happens in the WordPress world. So long!