WordPress 5.6 Beta 1 is now available for testing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This software is still in development,<\/strong> so we recommend that you run this version on a test site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can test the WordPress 5.6 beta in two ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The current target for final release is December 8, 2020. This is just seven weeks away<\/strong>, so your help is needed to ensure this release is tested properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WordPress 5.6 includes seven Gutenberg plugin releases. Here are a few highlighted enhancements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To see all of the features for each release in detail check out the release posts: 8.6<\/a>, 8.7<\/a>, 8.8<\/a>, 8.9<\/a>, 9.0<\/a>, 9.1<\/a>, and 9.2 (link forthcoming)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The default theme is making its annual return with Twenty Twenty-One<\/a>. This theme features a streamlined and elegant design, which aims to be AAA ready<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The much anticipated opt-in for major releases of WordPress Core will ship in this release. With this functionality, you can elect to have major releases of the WordPress software update in the background with no additional fuss for your users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The next major version release of PHP, 8.0.0, is scheduled for release just a few days prior to WordPress 5.6. The WordPress project has a long history of being compatible with new versions of PHP as soon as possible, and this release is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because PHP 8 is a major version release, changes that break backward compatibility or compatibility for various APIs are allowed. Contributors have been hard at work fixing the known incompatibilities with PHP 8<\/a> in WordPress during the 5.6 release cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While all of the detectable issues in WordPress can be fixed, you will need to verify that all of your plugins and themes are also compatible with PHP 8 prior to upgrading. Keep an eye on the Making WordPress Core blog<\/a> in the coming weeks for more detailed information about what to look for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the REST API was merged into Core, only cookie & nonce based authentication has been available (without the use of a plugin). This authentication method can be a frustrating experience for developers, often limiting how applications can interact with protected endpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the introduction of Application Password<\/a> in WordPress 5.6, gone is this frustration and the need to jump through hoops to re-authenticate when cookies expire. But don’t worry, cookie and nonce authentication will remain in WordPress as-is if you’re not ready to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Application Passwords are user specific, making it easy to grant or revoke access to specific users or applications (individually or wholesale). Because information like “Last Used” is logged, it’s also easy to track down inactive credentials or bad actors from unexpected locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With every release, WordPress works hard to improve accessibility. Version 5.6 is no exception and will ship with a number of accessibility fixes and enhancements. Take a look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep your eyes on the Make WordPress Core blog<\/a> for 5.6-related developer notes<\/a> in the coming weeks, breaking down these and other changes in greater detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far, contributors have fixed 188 tickets in WordPress 5.6<\/a>, including 82 new features and enhancements<\/a>, and more bug fixes are on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Testing for bugs is an important part of polishing the release during the beta stage and a great way to contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you think you\u2019ve found a bug, please post to the Alpha\/Beta area<\/a> in the support forums. We would love to hear from you! If you\u2019re comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, file one on WordPress Trac<\/a>. That\u2019s also where you can find a list of known bugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Props to <\/i>@webcommsat<\/a>, <\/i>@yvettesonneveld<\/a>, <\/i>@estelaris<\/a>, <\/i>@cguntur<\/a>, @desrosj<\/a><\/em>, and <\/i>@marybaum<\/a> for <\/i>editing\/proof reading<\/em><\/span> this post, and @davidbaumwald<\/a> for final review.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WordPress 5.6 Beta 1 is now available for testing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10573955,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,14],"tags":[334],"class_list":["post-9085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-development","category-releases","tag-5-6"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pZhYe-2mx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10573955"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9085"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9121,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9085\/revisions\/9121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Improvements in the Editor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Improvements in Core<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A new default theme<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Auto-update option for major releases<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Increased support for PHP 8<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Application Passwords for REST API Authentication<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Better accessibility<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How You Can Help<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do some testing!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n