As scheduled,WordPress 5.3 “Kirk” was released on November 12 dubbed as “most refined user experience with the improved block editor in WordPress 5.3!”. This release comes exactly one after after the much controversial 5.0 release.
5.3 expands and refines the block editor with more intuitive interactions and improved accessibility. New features in the editor increase design freedoms, provide additional layout options and style variations to allow designers more control over the look of a site. Matt Mullenweg, 5.3 release announcement blog
Matt Mullenweg, 5.3 release announcement blog
The 5.3 release includes major improvements on image optimization along with other enhancements like site health and admin e-mail verification.
Major Highlights of this release include:
- Gutenberg block editor improvements: Improvements in large non-optimized image uploading, accessibility integration of block editor styles in the admin interface, and expanded design flexibility including grouping blocks, fixed-column width, background color options in heading block, and other 150 new features.
- Twenty Twenty default theme: The theme gives the user more design flexibility and integration with the block editor. It makes easier to create beautiful web pages and advanced layouts showing off services or products with a combination of columns, groups, and media blocks, and many more other features.
- Other enhancements: Other improvements in 5.3 release include: automatic image rotation, site health checks, admin e-mail verification, date/time component fixes and PHP 7.4 compatibility.
Additional documentation on 5.3 release | WordPress Support
The 5.3 release was lead by led by Matt Mullenweg, Francesca Marano, and David Baumwald with 645 volunteer contributors.
This post was created with Gutenberg block editor.