Discover What’s New in WordPress 6.2 version : 9 Features That Will Make Your Heart Skip a Beat

Do you find it daunting to navigate through the new wordpress version 6.2, Dolphy that’s recently been released?

To make your transition seamless from the previous beta version to the latest version, we are here to make your life easier.

According to wordpress.org, “WordPress 6.2 includes more than 292 enhancements and 394 bug fixes since the November 2022 release of WordPress 6.1. From quick highlights to developer resources, there’s a lot to explore.”

First check your wordpress version to confirm if you have updated your wordpress to the latest version or not.

Chances are you don’t have the latest WordPress version and want to upgrade it to capitalize on WordPress 6.2 features. If you are confused and still scratching your head in order to install it, fret not. I have got your back.

How to update your previous WordPress to latest version?

Caution: Create your wordpress backup before updating.

Navigate to WordPress Dashboard >> Updates.

Here you can see all the pending updates.

Scroll down the page and Click on Update to version 6.2.

You can either refresh or log in again to check if you have installed to the latest wordpress Dolphy 6.2 version. There are also other ways to update your wordpress.

What are Block Themes and How’s is it relevant for WordPress 6.2?

According to WordPress.org, “A block theme is a WordPress theme with templates entirely composed of blocks so that in addition to the post content of the different post types (pages, posts, …), the block editor can also be used to edit all areas of the site: headers, footers, sidebars, etc.”

Block Themes have become an indispensable part of WordPress 6.2 as they can only utilize the complete features provided by the new version unlike the their counterpart classical themes.

Navigate to Appearance >> Themes. Click on Add New, next to search bar at the top of the page. Under Block Themes tab, select any block theme of your choice.

Now that you have installed a Block theme, lets delve into the perks of having one. You can edit your block based theme by navigating to Appearance >> Editor.

9 New WordPress 6.2 Features

1. Distraction Free Mode

The latest version of WordPress now makes it possible to use the editor in Distraction Free Mode. If you don’t want to get overwhelmed by the menus and options around and want to write your content with undivided attention, then you can capitalize on this new feature.

Click on the vertical ellipses ⋮ ( three vertical dots) at the top right corner and select Distraction free menu to enable this mode.

Or You can press the shortcut key ( Ctrl + Shift + \ ) to turn on Distraction Free mode.

This is how you Distraction Free mode looks like.

You can make use of Distraction Free mode along with Full Screen Mode to cut down all the noise and write your content with unwavering focus and attention.

However, if you want to turn off Distraction Free mode, you can either press the same shortcut key ( Ctrl + Shift + \ ) or you can hover over the top right corner and click on the ellipses ( three vertical dots ) and unselect the Distraction Free option.

2. New Media Tab

A New Media Tab is added in the WordPress version 6.2 where you can access royalty free images from Openverse option.

3. Display of Template and Template Part Preview by default

Now the site editor previews Template and Template part by default instead of loading the conventional Homepage like classic wordpress theme.

As a result, you can now easily choose to add or edit existing templates according to your choice by selecting the template and template part options.

In order to do that

Navigate to Appearance >> Editor.

You can select the Template or Template Parts options as per your choice and edit different templates accordingly.

In addition to that , you can also resize the preview window to get an idea of how the website looks like in different screen widths.

After making necessary edits to Templates, you can save it to see the live preview.

Click on WordPress logo at top-left corner if needed to access the sidebar Template panel.

4. Smoother experience for Block Inserter

The new WordPress version, Dolphy equips you with smooth block inserter along with live preview which was not possible in the previous version.

This new design for Block Inserter improves the visibility for the content you might need.

You can now find WordPress Patterns faster with a split view that lets you navigate categories and see previews all at once.

5. Improved Sidebar Navigation

WordPress version 6.2, Dolphy also provides an improved sidebar navigation where you can add, reorder and delete menu items with utmost ease.

Follow the few simple steps mentioned below and you are set to go.

Navigate to Appearance >> Editor

Select Template Parts and then navigate to Header Template

Click on the menu options on the Header block like shown below. A new sidebar appears at the right-side of your site editor where you can configure your menu options.

You can also drag and drop a menu below other menu with a slight indentation to create a drop down menu .

6. Style Books

With Style Books ,the latest addition in wordpress version 6.2, you can preview styles of all the blocks and widgets with a single click. You can also style individual blocks using Style Books.

After navigating to the site editor by selecting Appearance >> Editor.

Click on circular icon with half black and white icon at top right corner to access Styles settings. Then click on the eye icon just below to preview the Style Book.

There are altogether 5 elements of Style Books. They are

• Text: Displays the style previews for Paragraph, Headings, Table, List and so on.
• Media: Previews the style of inserted medias like Images, Covers and so on.
• Design: Shows the style preview for inserted Buttons, Custom Links, Columns and so on.
• Widgets: Displays the preview for inserted widgets like Archives, Post List, Social Icons and so on.
• Theme: Displays the style preview for Navigation, Site Logo, Site Title and Site Tagline.

7. Copy and Paste Styles

Now you can copy and paste styles of one block to the other with a single click.

First configure styling of your block as per your requirements and then select that block.

A menu floats just above that block. Click on the triple vertical dots i.e. vertical ellipsis and select
Copy styles options from the menu.

Then select the destination block where you want to paste your style. From the menu, click on paste style just like above. Voila! You are good to go.

8. Better organization of Block Settings

The block settings is better organized in the latest wordpress version where the settings is segregated into separate Settings and Style Tabs.

To access Block Settings, click on Layout icon at top right corner of the site editor.

9. Custom CSS

The latest Dolphy 6.2 version of WordPress, now allows you to add Custom CSS not just your site but also to specific blocks for creating an aesthetic and an elegant design.

To add Custom CSS to entire wordpress site

First open your wordpress site editor by navigating to WordPress >> Editor.

Then, click on icon and then click on the vertical ellipsis ( three triple vertical dots) next to Style tab.

Finally, click on Additional CSS option and write your CSS under ADDITIONAL CSS section for your entire site.

Add Custom CSS to specific blocks only

Now you can add Custom CSS only to specific blocks which was not possible in the previous version.

Click on style icon at top right corner. Then scroll down and click on Block Tab.

Select the block you want to edit, then under click on Additional block CSS section to add your CSS for that block.

Summary

Congratulations! Now that you are equipped with the knowledge of some great features in Dolphy WordPress version 6.2. You might as well want to try it yourself?