Besides some improvements to the back end that will make website development and management more fun (for us), the most meaningful part of this update is that the Site Editor has taxied out of the Beta hanger — it’s now an official part of WordPress.
Gutenberg Blocks and the Site Editor (originally called the Full Site Editor, or FSE) fundamentally changed the mechanism by which content is created and managed on WordPress websites. The development has been a huge step up from previously hackerish ways of combining ACF and CSS to force the CMS to behave in certain ways.
We’ve been building with the Site Editor since its experimental phase a couple years ago, and the ability to code around unified templates has been an exciting, if sometimes frustrating, shift. Because we think the best way to build WordPress websites is by hewing as closely to core features and lean code as possible, rather than relying on endless plugins, bloated themes or visual builder add-ons, it has been important to us to stay informed and involved with the latest developments. The ability to edit the entire site using blocks, while it took getting used to, has simplified the parts of the process that should be simple (having clear layouts for different page and post types, and being able to target those sections directly).
Moving branding into theme.json and using variables across the site has cleaned up the design process. Being able to code patterns for reusable templates within an organization or company’s brand that can be plopped onto any page or post has been a game changer. And now, the system runs more smoothly and seamlessly than ever before; we have come to rely on it to create some pretty exciting websites.
WordPress 6.2 is here. Should I update?
Yes. Please always update — even if you might need an adjustment, it’s a far easier problem to deal with than a hacking incident stemming from failure to adopt security enhancements in an update. Immune to advice like this? Let Typecoast host and maintain your website.