The Wise Report

WordPress has been one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) for more than a decade. Its development has been driven by an active community, resulting in continuous updates and new versions. Below is an overview of major WordPress versions and their key features from its inception to the latest release.

1. WordPress 0.7 (May 27, 2003)

• The Beginning: This was the first official release of WordPress, co-created by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little as a fork of b2/cafelog.
• Key Features:
• Simple blogging functionality
• Basic admin panel
• Manual installation of themes and plugins

2. WordPress 1.0 (January 3, 2004)

• Codename: “Davis”
• Key Features:
• Introduction of a plugin architecture
• User-friendly permalink structure
• Basic installation of themes and categories
• Comment moderation tools

3. WordPress 2.0 (December 31, 2005)

• Codename: “Duke”
• Key Features:
• New WYSIWYG editor (TinyMCE)
• User roles for better access control
• Introduction of the Akismet spam filtering plugin
• Built-in caching for improved performance
• Inline editing of posts and pages

4. WordPress 3.0 (June 17, 2010)

• Codename: “Thelonious”
• Key Features:
• Custom post types: Allowed developers to create new content types beyond posts and pages
• Merged WordPress MU (multi-user) into the core, enabling multi-site installations
• Custom menus and better theme APIs
• Introduction of the Twenty Ten default theme

5. WordPress 3.5 (December 11, 2012)

• Codename: “Elvin”
• Key Features:
• New media manager for easier image and media uploads
• HiDPI (retina) support for high-resolution displays
• Introduction of the Twenty Twelve theme
• Improvements to the user interface

6. WordPress 4.0 (September 4, 2014)

• Codename: “Benny”
• Key Features:
• Improved media embedding capabilities
• Redesigned plugin discovery and installation interface
• Refined content editing experience with smoother scrolling and media previews

7. WordPress 4.7 (December 6, 2016)

• Codename: “Vaughan”
• Key Features:
• Custom CSS in the live preview for easier design tweaks
• PDF thumbnail previews in the media library
• Introduction of video headers
• Rest API endpoints for easier integration with external apps and services

8. WordPress 5.0 (December 6, 2018)

• Codename: “Bebo”
• Key Features:
• Introduction of the Gutenberg Block Editor: This was one of the most significant changes in WordPress history, shifting from the classic editor to a block-based content editor.
• Blocks allowed for modular editing of content like images, text, buttons, galleries, and more.
• A new default theme, Twenty Nineteen, optimized for the block editor.

9. WordPress 5.3 (November 12, 2019)

• Codename: “Kirk”
• Key Features:
• Enhanced block editor with new blocks, improved interfaces, and performance enhancements
• New Twenty Twenty theme
• Improvements to site health checks and admin email verification
• Larger images supported for better media handling

10. WordPress 5.4 (March 31, 2020)

• Codename: “Adderley”
• Key Features:
• Two new blocks: Social Icons and Buttons
• Easier navigation in the block editor and block improvements
• Improved privacy tools for site administrators

11. WordPress 5.5 (August 11, 2020)

• Codename: “Eckstine”
• Key Features:
• Introduction of automatic updates for themes and plugins
• Native lazy loading for images, which improves performance
• Block patterns: Reusable, predefined blocks to build layouts faster
• XML sitemap generation for better SEO

12. WordPress 5.6 (December 8, 2020)

• Codename: “Simone”
• Key Features:
• Introduction of the Twenty Twenty-One theme
• Support for PHP 8.0
• Enhanced auto-updates for major WordPress releases
• Expanded support for block editor features

13. WordPress 5.7 (March 9, 2021)

• Codename: “Esperanza”
• Key Features:
• Streamlined editor experience with easier drag-and-drop in the block editor
• Improved color controls and full-height alignment options in the block editor
• Lazy load for iframes (in addition to images)
• HTTPS detection and migration tools

14. WordPress 5.8 (July 20, 2021)

• Codename: “Tatum”
• Key Features:
• Introduction of Full Site Editing (FSE), which allows customization of all parts of a website (header, footer, etc.) using the block editor.
• New Query Loop block for creating dynamic content
• WebP image format support for faster loading
• Widget areas powered by blocks

15. WordPress 5.9 (January 25, 2022)

• Codename: “Josephine”
• Key Features:
• Full Site Editing improvements: Site owners can now edit global styles (typography, colors, etc.) across their entire site.
• Introduction of the Twenty Twenty-Two theme, which fully embraces the block-based site-building approach.
• Block patterns: Ready-made layouts and sections for easier page-building.

16. WordPress 6.0 (May 24, 2022)

• Codename: “Arturo”
• Key Features:
• Expanded Full Site Editing (FSE) capabilities with more control over block-based templates and design elements.
• Block locking feature for more granular control when designing layouts.
• Style variations: Theme authors can bundle different visual styles into a theme, allowing users to switch between different designs.

17. WordPress 6.1 (November 1, 2022)

• Codename: “Misha”
• Key Features:
• Further improvements to block patterns and Full Site Editing
• More flexible layout controls with added options for spacing, padding, and border controls
• Template and theme improvements to enhance customization

18. WordPress 6.2 (March 28, 2023)

• Codename: “Dolphy”
• Key Features:
• Complete refinement of the Site Editor, making it more user-friendly for non-technical users.
• Improvements to block navigation, enabling easier management of nested blocks and sections.
• Enhanced template tools, with more intuitive ways to manage and customize templates for posts, pages, and archives.

19. WordPress 6.3 (August 8, 2023)

• Codename: “Lionel”
• Key Features:
• Further improvements to Full Site Editing, offering even greater customization control.
• New pattern management tools for faster and more dynamic content layouts.
• Enhanced accessibility and performance improvements for all types of sites.

20. WordPress 6.4 (November 7, 2023)

• Key Features:
• Focus on accessibility and inclusivity: ensuring the platform is more accessible to all users.
• Improved site editing tools with better block management and enhanced design options for templates.
• Continued focus on performance enhancements and greater control for site administrators.

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What to Expect in Future Versions (WordPress 7.0 and Beyond)

While WordPress has yet to announce exact details for its future releases, it’s expected that the platform will continue focusing on:

• Full Site Editing enhancements: giving even more control to site builders.
• Performance and security optimizations: as the web continues to evolve.
• Deeper integrations with headless setups: improving API support for decoupled applications.

Conclusion:

WordPress has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a simple blogging platform to becoming a robust, flexible, and powerful CMS. Each new version continues to refine the user and developer experience while keeping up with modern web technologies. With its commitment to continuous improvement, WordPress remains one of the most trusted and widely used platforms for building websites.