The team at WordPress is planning on releasing WordPress version 5.0 (Gutenberg) sometime in the next few weeks. The most recent expected release date of November 27th was scratched and the current release date is TBD according to the roadmap. This target date has changed often over the past 6 months but today’s release date is expected to hold.
Without going into technical details, this release brings in a completely new editor called Gutenberg that will replace the original editor (now called the “classic editor”) that many of you are used to. The new Gutenberg editor is a big change and WordPress has already released a plugin that will allow users to continue using what is now called the “classic editor”.
There are many other changes to WordPress itself in this release but the editor is what most users will notice and need to become accustomed to over time.
For my clients on a maintenance plan:
- The classic editor plugin has already been installed
- The Gutenberg editor plugin has already been installed and tested (this plugin will be absorbed into the 5.0 update)
- I will be updating my client websites to WordPress 5.0 gradually
- Each site will be tested individually
- I will let you know when your site has been updated and tested
Some sites may have issues with this new version of WordPress and each site will be fully backed up prior to me running the update. This is a major update to WordPress and will require more testing than usual and there will be an additional 1-2 hours of work added to all maintenance invoices.
I’ve already prepared all of my maintenance clients’ websites for this update and will test each site thoroughly afterward to make sure that they are running normally.