WordPress 5.4 available with New blocks and block-related improvements, faster loading time and more

And finally today on 31 March 2020, WordPress 5.4 “Adderley” was officially released, and is available for download. This is the fourth major release since the launch of the WordPress block editor (AKA Gutenberg) in WordPress 5.0. This version WordPress 5.4 “Adderley” includes new blocks, clearer navigation, a faster editor, privacy improvements, developer improvements and more.

Note: Minimum PHP Version Required to Run WordPress 5.4 Is Now 5.6.20. That means If you’re using an older version, you’ll need to update PHP before upgrading to WordPress 5.4.

WordPress 5.4 “Adderley”
The Name “Adderley” in honor of American jazz trumpeter Nat Adderley,

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Download WordPress 5.4

Before update WordPress to 5.4 we recommend to check and make sure all installed plugins are up to date.

When you open the WordPress Dashboard, you get notified WordPress 5.4 is available.
You only need to click “please update now” link to get WordPress 5.4 installed.

Also, you can click on the Updates icon in your WordPress admin dashboard.
And click on the “Update Now” button to get WP 5.4 update
While your site is being updated, it will be in maintenance mode.
As soon as your updates are complete, your site will return to normal.
As long as everything goes well with the update you should then see the “Welcome to WordPress 5.4” screen. And that’s it! Quick and easy.

If you are looking to download WordPress 5.4 files visit the release archive. For step-by-step instructions on installing and updating WordPress Updating WordPress

WordPress 5.4 features

WordPress 5.4 gives you even more robust tools for identifying and fixing configuration issues and fatal errors. Whether you are a developer helping clients or you manage your site solo, these tools can help get you the right information when you need it.

Here below are some new addition on the latest WordPress 5.4.

The biggest user-facing change is that the block editor now defaults to fullscreen mode. Users who do not prefer fullscreen mode can revert this change by clicking the tools and options button (vertical ellipsis icon) and uncheck the “Fullscreen mode” option

Two new blocks. And better blocks overall.

Two brand-new blocks: Social Icons and Buttons make adding interactive features fast and easy.
New ways with color: Gradients in the Buttons and Cover block, toolbar access to color options in Rich Text blocks, and for the first time, color options in the Group and Columns blocks.
The process for placing and replacing multimedia in every block now works the same “in almost every block.” Finally, images in the Media+Text block can now link to something else.

Cleaner UI, clearer navigation—and easier tabbing!

Clearer block navigation with block breadcrumbs. And easier selection once you get there.
For when you need to navigate with the keyboard, better tabbing and focus. Plus, you can tab over to the sidebar of nearly any block.
Speed! 14% faster loading of the editor, 51% faster time-to-type!

The block editor team has achieved a 14% loading time reduction and 51% time-to-type reduction, for a particularly sizable post (~ 36,000 words, ~1,000 blocks) since WordPress 5.3.

A Welcome Guide Modal

WordPress 5.4 adds a brand new Welcome slideshow providing basic information about the block editor and a link to the online documentation (added with Gutenberg 7.1). The modal is only visible right after updating to 5.4. If you’d like to trigger it again, just open the More tools & options menu from the upper-right button and find the Welcome Guide link.

Of course, if you want to work with the very latest tools and features, install the Gutenberg plugin. You’ll get to be the first to use new and exciting features in the block editor before anyone else has seen them!

Your fundamental right: privacy

5.4 helps with a variety of privacy issues around the world. So when users and stakeholders ask about regulatory compliance, or how your team handles user data, the answers should be a lot easier to get right.

Take a look:

Now personal data exports include users session information and users location data from the community events widget. Plus, a table of contents!
See progress as you process export and erasure requests through the privacy tools.
Plus, little enhancements throughout give the privacy tools a little cleaner look. Your eyes will thank you!

Developer features

WordPress 5.4 also brings the following for developers:

Natively add custom fields to menu items: Two new actions let you add custom fields to menu items, without a plugin and without writing custom walkers. On the Menus admin screen, wp_nav_menu_item_custom_fields fires just before the move buttons of a nav menu item in the menu editor. In the Customizer, wp_nav_menu_item_custom_fields_customize_template fires at the end of the menu-items form-fields template.
Simpler block styling: Negative margins and default padding are gone. Now you can style blocks the way you need them. And a refactor got rid of four redundant wrapper divs.
If you build plugins, now you can register collections of your blocks by namespace across categories.
Let users do more with two new APIs: block variations and gradients.
In embeds, the block editor now supports TikTok. Meanwhile, CollegeHumor is gone.

The release of WordPress 5.4 was led by Matt Mullenweg, Francesca Marano, and David Baumwald and was supported by a release squad that made the new version with all its enhancements possible for the general users.

Editor Tech – Jorge Filipe Costa
Editor Design – Mark Uraine
Core Tech – Sergey Biryukov
Design – Tammie Lister
Docs Coordinator – JB Audras
Docs and Comms Wrangler – Mary Baum

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