WordPress Annual Survey + More

September marked a shift in focus for the WordPress community. With major WordCamps wrapped up, all attention is now on WordPress 6.4 – the ultimate significant release of 2023. The primary beta version is out, giving us an early have a look at what to anticipate.

As for Hostinger, we have now released some exciting updates for our AI Assistant plugin to make your website more Web optimization-friendly and enhanced our WordPress Blog theme to offer you more customization options. 

Let’s dive into the WordPress news and updates for September. In the event you miss anything or have feedback for the community, complete the WordPress Annual Survey. 

Hostinger WordPress Updates

Let’s start by taking a look at the brand new features we have now released for our WordPress products.

Hostinger WordPress AI Assistant Updates

We rolled out necessary updates to our WordPress AI Assistant plugin. The AI now generates Web optimization meta descriptions and keyword suggestions. These features are designed to spice up your position in search engines like google and yahoo and click-through rates. 

You’ll see latest sections within the AI Assistant panel where you’ll be able to edit these generated suggestions.

As well as, the AI Assistant is now available in nine languages:

• French
• Spanish
• Arabic
• Chinese
• Indonesian
• Lithuanian
• Portuguese
• Ukrainian
• Turkish

In case your WordPress site uses one among these languages, the plugin’s interface will mechanically follow the defined language. Here’s an example of the interface once we set the language to French.

Hostinger Blog Theme Font Selection

We’ve also improved our WordPress Blog theme by adding a font selection feature through the onboarding process and within the theme settings on the WordPress dashboard. Because of this, you’re going to get more customization options to your design. 

WordPress Annual Survey 2023

Annually, WordPress carries out a survey to assemble feedback from users, developers, and contributors and discover key areas that need improvement. The survey helps the WordPress team understand users’ needs and choose the direction to maneuver the project forward.

Which means every response is crucial for making a higher user experience and improving the platform.

The survey is on the market in 10 languages you’ll be able to select on the location to your convenience. You may start filling out the survey by visiting the WordPress Annual Survey website.

WordPress 6.4 Beta Version

The primary beta version of WordPress 6.4 was launched at the top of September, introducing loads of workflow enhancements, because it backported six latest versions of Gutenberg – from 16.2 to 16.7 – into the core. The discharge date for this new edition is November 7.

We are going to write an in depth post about our beta testing to preview the new edition. Within the meantime, here’s a brief glance:

• Twenty Twenty-4 theme – the brand new versatile default theme caters to 3 use cases – blogs, portfolios, and businesses. That is an improvement from previous default themes that only focused on blogs.
• Query Loop pagination improvement – WordPress won’t reload the page anymore when users switch between pages. There’s also an choice to customize the quantity of displayed pages.
• Image block improvement – WordPress 6.4 adds aspect ratio settings to quickly change the dimension to fit your design. You may as well enable the lightbox feature to reinforce your user experience.
• Group block improvement – enhanced with background support, it now adds a visible element to sections of a page or post.

Hostinger Academy Podcast With WordPress Experts

We’ve released two podcast episodes featuring interviews with WordPress experts Hari Shanker and Destiny Kanno, recorded during WordCamp US 2023.

In our conversation with Hari, we discussed initiatives like Five for the Future and Contributor Mentorship, exploring their impact on the longer term of WordPress. 

With Destiny, we delve into her involvement with the Learn WordPress platform and its evolution to guide latest users, including introducing latest learning pathways. 

These insightful episodes can be found on our Hostinger Academy YouTube channel. Alternatively, you’ll be able to read the corresponding blog posts for Hari Shanker and Destiny Kanno.

WooCommerce 8.2 and Updated PHP Version Requirement

WooCommerce has rolled out the beta for its upcoming 8.2 version, set for release on October 10. A notable change is the PHP requirement, now elevated from 7.3 to 7.4. 

This move aligns with current trends, as PHP 7.3 users are declining. Dropping support for older PHP versions also improves WooCommerce security and prepares for higher compatibility with PHP 8.X versions.

In case your WooCommerce site is on PHP 7.3 or lower, it’s time to upgrade to 7.4. Use our staging environment and hPanel’s PHP configuration to make the transition seamless.

What’s Coming in October

Development for WordPress 6.4 is ongoing and might change before its November release. In the event you’re keen on testing the developmental version, use the Beta Tester plugin. Make sure you’re working on a secure test site or a staging environment.

Stay tuned for our October roundup on the newest WordPress news and developments.