Nov 15, 2023

State of WordPress 6.4

Welcome back!

If you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty invested in WordPress for my content management needs.

Nerd Alert…

• The project that started my obsession turned 17 — happy birthday, AnimeChicago.com!
• I officially took the helm for Chicago’s WordPress Meetup last week (dormant since Lockdown). Ask me for details, and WordPress swag!
• I’ve converted over 10 Classic Themes to the block-powered Site Editor. Mostly for fun, but recently for a big client with equally big tech debt.
• And when WP 6.4 dropped last Tuesday, I spent a romantic evening fiddling with all of my personal projects.

Yeah, I drink the Koolaid. WP’s missing some advanced features, but nothing that a couple of trusty plugins and 30 lines of CSS can’t handle.

What’s new in 6.4? why care? ⬩ ⬩ ⬩ ⬩

The Editor’s gotten some polish with photo lightboxes, group background images, and enhanced List View to better organize your content. Jamie M’s tour summarizes it well.

For content managers: unless you’re building a directory, we no longer need “custom fields” to achieve marketing-style layouts. Your reusable layouts can be stored straight in the Pattern Manager. Classic themes are dead. Long live the Block Editor!

For mid-code devs like myself: my previous hotfix scripts are no longer necessary!

For those feeling behind: LearnWP and WordPress.tv have caught up on documentation. I’m also considering a WP coaching program in 2024 – ping me if you’re interested.

What’s lacking these days? ⬩ ⬩ ⬩ ⬩

• Media-specific controls to make mobile shine. CSS fills that gap, but we devs are still seething over it.
• Native SEO tooling, but I doubt this will ever happen. SlimSEO or RankMath plugins work.
• Any animation whatsoever. I rely on Animations for Blocks for basic entrance motion and Motion.page as a Webflow alternative.
• If AJAX capabilities actually land in 2024, I’ll eat my hat. I use a two-plugin combo to power directories and calendars: Advanced Custom Fields for post metadata and Search & Filter 2.5 for frontend filtering.
• I still loathe build processes (why I use a CMS), so I instantiate custom blocks with Lazy Blocks or ACF (the real MVP).

It sounds like a lot, but the Editor covers 90% of your content scenarios without spending a dime. Most clients I’ve helped offboard their Classic Theme or 3rd-party Page Builder are pleased with cleaner interfaces, faster workflows, and more consistent styling across their site.

Converting your Classic Theme? ⬩ ⬩ ⬩ ⬩

Good news! I’m testing a new service to do just that.

It’s best for brochures (max 10 pages) and blogs (max 5 templates). The process is straightforward enough for a 2-week turnaround but complex enough to outsource and have it done right. It’s a $1200 flat rate and includes 30-day post-launch support.

There are only two slots available, so ping me before Dec 1st. I may not offer this in 2024 or might increase the price.

And if anyone in your network struggles with WordPress, wants to trade notes, or needs a solid foot into the greater WP community – let’s chat!​

Thanks for reading, see you in 2 weeks.

— Jamie Sanchez

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