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We are always up for a chat - whatever your need or budget, get in touch! If we aren’t able to help, we’ll probably know someone else who can.
Get in touchOne of the best things about WordPress is that it is being constantly improved. Each new version brings new features and fixes, and this most noticeable with Gutenberg, the site editor. In recent years it has gone from being limited and difficult to use, to a fully functioning page building system. Each time a new version of WordPress is released, we’ll try to update this page, highlighting the recent changes that will be most relevant to Hands Up clients.
Please note that not all changes will be visible on all Hands Up sites. Some may require manual activation or may have been disabled to avoid a conflict with the existing setup. As always please contact support@handsup.co.uk with any questions.
Rename blocks in list view – We’ve wanted this one for a long time! You can now rename any block in list view, making it much easier to manage. Rather than seeing Paragraph, List, Group, you could see Team Grid, Our Mission, Email sign up
Gallery Improvements – the option to show images in a random order
Ability to duplicate and rename patterns
Improvements to dragging and dropping blocks
Improved link controls
Pattern categories – Categories can now be added to patterns, making it easier to keep them organised.
Image lightboxes – Images now have an ‘expand on click’ option which makes them open in a lightbox.
Improved list view – We always recommend using the list view to manage your pages, and some extra features have been added to make this even more powerful – specifically the ability to copy, duplicate and group blocks from that view
The Command Tool – Struggling to find a piece of content or a particular setting in the various menus and options? Simply press Command-K (or Control-K) and it will bring up a search box that searches literally everything.
Footnotes block – You can now add Footnotes without the need for a third party plugin.
Details block – This is what we call the ‘Accordion’, and provides options to have expandable sections open on click. You may well be using one of our custom blocks to fulfill this function, if not then you can have access to this functionality.
Image ratios – When inserting an image, there is now an option to choose an aspect ratio, bringing more consistency to your images.
Revamped block inserter – When you click on the button to add a block (in the top left), you’ll now see a tabbed selection of Blocks, Patterns and Media. Patterns (which are collections of blocks) have been an excellent recent development, if you’d like help developing a selection of reusable patterns please get in touch.
OpenVerse integration – Under the Media tab referenced above you’ll now see an option for ‘OpenVerse’. This is a huge database of open source images, that can be used on your website however you choose!
Distraction free mode – Click on the 3 dots in the top right corner to choose this view in the editor. It probably won’t increase your productivity, but it looks nice.
Tabbed block inspector – When you click on a block, the options in the right hand sidebar are now split between Settings and Styles tabs.
Block locking – This was a recent feature to enable to locking of individual blocks – so they can’t be moved or edited. This can now be applied to groups of blocks.
Post details – The details menu (accessible via the Document Overview icon in the top left) now includes ‘Time to read’ in addition to other metrics.
Here is a general Gutenberg update that we shared with Hands Up clients (of course this will date quickly as new versions are released but it has some useful general tips):
We are always up for a chat - whatever your need or budget, get in touch! If we aren’t able to help, we’ll probably know someone else who can.
Get in touch