The team behind WordPress have launched their latest version on the 7th November 2023, WordPress 6.4 Shirley. The most up-to-date WordPress code name is derived from the name of a jazz pianist. The previous three updates were called WordPress 6.3 Lionel (named after the celebrated American jazz artist Lionel Hampton), WordPress 6.2 Dolphy (named after the woodwind jazz wiz, the multi-instrumentalist, Eric Allan Dolphy Jr), and WordPress 6.1 Misha (named after a Soviet-Norwegian jazz pianist, Mikhail “Misha” Alperin).
The latest version Shirley has been named after Shirley Horn, an iconic jazz artist. Through her dedication and perseverance she went from the Washington D.C. jazz scene to the international stage. WordPress 6.4 Shirley is now ready to download and it comes with an exciting set of new features. Let’s list the most powerful of them.
- New default theme – Twenty Twenty-Four
- Custom names for Group blocks
- Block Hooks
- Background images for Group Block
- New keyboard shortcuts and ability to preview images in List View
- Redesigned Command Palette
- Ability to categorise and filter Patterns
- Import and export Patterns as JSON files
- Expanded set of design tools
- Ability to enable lightbox functionality
- Open in new tab toggle on link preview
With over 100 performance-related updates, users can expect a faster and more efficient experience.
Updating WordPress
If you’re a client of our managed software updates service, you’ll have your site updated by one of our team shortly, alongside a proper manual check that the site is running OK afterwards. We’ll let you know if you need to update any plugins, themes, or bespoke code to work with the new version.
If you’re using an automatic update service, your site might have updated already or will do soon. Please check your site thoroughly to make sure that everything is still working OK; a version update like this might have a knock-on effect on plugins, themes, or bespoke code.
If you carry out updates yourself, be sure to read all the release notes and any information published by plugin/theme authors about knock-on effects. It’s recommended that you update your WordPress installation as soon as possible wherever your templates, plugins and any custom code allow. Take a backup and be sure that everything will be compatible before you update, and make sure that any custom code is transferred to your new installation where needed.
Pro WP hosting for WP pros
If you’re looking to supercharge your WordPress hosting, look at our feature-rich plans designed for hosting WP sites. Whether you’re a business owner or agency, there’s a plan for you.
In order to run WordPress 6.4, the following requirements are recommended:
- PHP 8.1 or higher
- MySQL 5.7 or higher, or MariaDB 10.1 or higher
- Nginx or Apache
WordPress 6.4 runs on PHP 7.4 but this version of PHP was discontinued in late 2022. Our advice is only run a website on a currently supported version of PHP but some older WordPress themes and plugins haven’t been updated to work with PHP 8.0 and above.
If you have any further questions regarding WordPress 6.4 Shirley then contact Enbecom today.