WordPress 5.1 Release "Betty
A few weeks ago, the first major update since the Gutenberg editor launch was made available with the 5 before WordPress. The release is called "Betty" and promises speed improvements. The release name is not a reference to Betty Page, the PinUP girl of the 1950s, but honors jazz singer Betty Carter. Betty Carter belongs together with Dinah Washington, Billy Holiday and of course Ella Fitzegerald to the giants of female jazz voices. WordPress wants to play in this league.
Speed improvement
at the Gutenberg Editor
Many still mourn the Classic editor, but those who have already warmed up to the Gutenberg editor can look forward to a faster typing speed and better adaptation of the Responsive Blocks. The WordPress update 5.1 includes the changes from Gutenberg 4.8, and the usability shows more optimized. The changes include:
- Increase of the editor performance
- Faster page load times
- Tuning some background processes
First Site Health feature found outdated PHP versions 5.1 and older
WordPress uses PHP on the server side and that should remain so. This page here already runs on PHP 7.1. Page operators of outdated PHP versions will receive a warning in the future, so with the release 5.1. Expected are still PHP 5.6 and soon but certainly at least PHP 7.1. Also, plugins and widgets will be checked in the future, whether the used PHP version of the desired plugin or the update of the plugin is compatible with WordPress. If this is not the case, the installation of WordPress will be denied.
The following improvements in WordPress Release 5.1
- New database table for metadata concerning multisite networks
- Update of the Cron API with new functions and filters
- New JavaScript build processes
- Improvement of the taxonomy metabox cleanup function
- WP_DEBUG_LOG value Update
What's next in the releases?
A minor update with version 5.1.1 scheduled for 03/12/2019 with important bug fixes as well as some improvements in the Gutenberg Block Editor. WordPress 5.2 is already in sight and beta testing is already in full swing.
