WordPress released version 5.0 on the 6th December along with a new page editor called Gutenberg. Each major release of WordPress brings changes to the way we use the platform.
What does this mean for you?
The launch of Gutenberg means that you’ll need to get acquainted with a whole new editing experience. (Unless you have a page builder like Divi already installed – then you can continue to use that page builder). This new editor not only replaces TinyMCE, but the entire post editing page as well.
If you don’t want to use the Gutenberg Editor, you’ll still be able to keep the classic editor by installing the official Classic Editor plugin. The Classic Editor plugin will be supported until 2022, and users will be able to switch between the plugin and the newly updated Gutenberg version on a per-user or per-post level. Though at some point, you will need to update WordPress for security reasons.
Updating WordPress
When updating your website software, you should update your themes and plugins first before updating WordPress Core files. You might also want to take a backup of your website for doing all of this in case something breaks. Better yet, if you have a staging site, test the updates on that before pushing it live.
CAUTION: We advise not updating just yet until WordPress 5.0.1 is out. This will allow for any major bugs and security issues to be fixed. If there is no compelling reason for you to update, wait. WordPress 5.0 will probably be more stable in January next year after everyone else has tested it out fully.
Update: Wordpress can be updated past 5.0.0 and it is highly recommended to update. Major bugs and security issues were found in WordPress 5.0.0. Wordfence said all WordPress users running versions of the 4.x branch of WordPress core are also impacted by similar issues.
We’re Here to Help
If you want to not worry about all this, we offer a Website Care Plan where we look after your WordPress website for you. This includes updates, security, and backups (plus heaps of extras). If you have an urgent request as your site stopped working due to the update, please submit a ticket here.
