make.wordpress.org: get the latest out of bleeding edge
see whats new in the core: https://make.wordpress.org/core/
High level feedback from the FSE Program (July 2021)
Improve settings experience
This section pulls together everything from feature requests for additional options for different blocks, desire for more control over spacing especially for the Column and Query loop blocks, general confusion around why certain settings exist in one place and not another (example with the Query loop block, with Color settings, and Columns block), and how to navigate the complexity of settings with more powerful blocks. As a specific example tying in these various items, let’s say you want the Query loop block to display 3 posts from a certain category and you want to set various colors for different parts of the set of posts. To accomplish that, you would have to interact with the block sidebar settings first to set the category before using the block toolbar to select the number of visible posts. To set various colors, you’d have to use List View or navigate through the nested blocks before opening up the block sidebar settings once more to make sure you’re styling what you want.
Make editing modes distinct (Site, Template, Query Loop block, etc)
Since the calls for testing began to focus on items related to 5.8 in the last couple of months, understanding how best to navigate template editing mode and the Query Loop block became major focuses of feedback. For example, this partially led to the decision to make the Query Loop block’s post content blocks view only. However, while lots of work has been done to provide clarity around what one is editing and adding the right amount of friction, this was still repeated feedback in nearly every test as an area that needs refinement considering how new this functionality is. For example, sharing information in the sidebar upon entering the template editing experience could go a long way in getting a user acquainted with this new experience.
Gutenberg 11.0 Plugin Release
Gutenberg 11. RC 1 released on 30 June. The link includes release notes.
WordPress 5.8
The first Release Candidate is available. A few quick things from this post:
Theme and plugin authors should test and update their readme file.
For theme authors, @youknowriad has a post on updating your theme for content width to work with global styles and settings.
For the ployglots out there, this release marks the Hard String Freeze for 5.8.
Everyone is needed for final testing!
