WordPress 5.2 is expected to be released by the end of April 2019. We have been following the development and tested the first beta to try out new features that are on the way.
This release will bring improvements to the block editor, site health check, several bug fixes and minor enhancements.
In this article, we will show you what’s coming in WordPress 5.2 with features and screenshots.
Note: You can try out the beta version on your computer or on a staging environment by using the WordPress Beta Tester plugin.
WordPress 5.2 is still under development, which means some features may not make it to the final release.
That being said, let’s take a look at some of the upcoming features in WordPress 5.2.
Improved Fatal Error Protection in WordPress
The most common WordPress errors are usually fatal errors that stop users from accessing the admin dashboard.
Users are then required to undo changes using an FTP client or ask their hosting company for support.
WordPress 5.2 introduces a new recovery mode for site administrators. In case of a fatal error, you will see a message that ‘This site is experiencing technical difficulties’.
WordPress will then send an email to the admin email address with a special login link.
Using that link, you will be able to login to the WordPress admin area. After that, you can undo any changes that may have triggered the fatal error.
This feature will be a blessing for many beginners who find it quite difficult to fix such errors.
Block Editor Updates in WordPress 5.2
The WordPress block editor (Gutenberg) was introduced in WordPress 5.0. Since then there has been continuous development on the block editor to further improve it.
WordPress 5.2 will continue that with some new features and enhancements to the block editor.
Performance Improvements
The new WordPress block editor is much faster than the older classic editor. However, it could get slower when editing lengthier blog posts with tons of blocks.
WordPress 5.2 addressed that with significant performance improvements.
It will now shave 35% off the load time for massive posts. WordPress 5.2 will also cut the keypress time in half, which would make it feel way more responsive when you are typing.
Accessibility Improvements
The goal of WordPress is to democratize publishing and making the software accessible for all users. WordPress 5.2 will bring several accessibility improvements to the block editor.
- The block editor will now support reduced motion settings in user’s browser.
- The post URL slug will have better labeling and help text, which will make it easier to locate.
- Block editor will have a clearer and consistent focus styling for keyboard navigating through landmarks.
- WordPress 5.2 will also bring improved screen-reader experience with new speak messages. Existing speak messages are also improved to be clearer.
Introduction of New Blocks
WordPress 5.2 will also introduce the following new blocks in the default editor. Some of them were already available as Widgets, but now you can use them in posts and pages as well.
- RSS block – It will allow you to easily fetch and display any RSS feed in your WordPress posts and pages.
- Amazon Kindle embed block – Allows you to embed content from Amazon Kindle
- Search block – Add the default WordPress search feature in your content.
- Calendar block – Displays a calendar of your blog posts allowing users to click on a date to view posts published on that day.
- Tag Cloud block – Displays the tag cloud in your content.
A New Block Manager Tool
By default, the block editor comes with several default blocks. You also have plugins and themes adding their own blocks as well.
However, the reality is that you’ll probably never use all those blocks. Most users usually stick to a handful of blocks for writing all their content.
WordPress 5.2 will introduce a new block management tool, which will allow you to hide blocks that you don’t want to use.
The block manager will list all the blocks that you have available on your site. You can simply uncheck the blocks that you don’t want to use.
The Minimum PHP Version Requirement
WordPress is used by millions of people from all over the world, using different hosting companies, and hosting environments.
This is why WordPress still supports some older PHP versions, which is a bit problematic. Users may not even realize that they can improve the performance of their website by using a newer PHP version.
WordPress 5.2 will set the current minimum required PHP version to 5.6, which is still old (current stable PHP version is 7.3.2). The goal is to gradually increase the minimum required PHP version with future releases.
Users on the older versions of PHP will see a notification, that they are using an older PHP version and need to update it.
Under The Hood Improvements in WordPress 5.2
These are the changes in WordPress 5.2 which will mostly affect developers.
Users will be able to provide a log file path when adding WP_DEBUG_LOG in wp-config.php file. #18391.
Plugins will be able to specify the minimum required PHP version. #40934
Dashicons, the default icon font used for the WordPress admin area will have 25 new icons to use. #41074
We hope this article gave you a glimpse of what’s coming in WordPress 5.2. Let us know which features you find interesting and what new features you would like to see in the future.
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Alexis Marie
Hi, I am writing to introduce myself, my name is alexis marie. I am trying to download wordpress.org. but it keeps saying application is not found. I am trying to switch over to wordpress.org. But I do not know what going on. I try all my servers, all my browsers, not one of them is allowing me to download wordpress.org, can someone tell me what the problem. I need this down ASAP. Because I am switching. Please contact me back thanks.
WPBeginner Support
For how to install WordPress you would want to take a look at our guide here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/how-to-install-wordpress/
You would need hosting or set up some more tools for a local site
Admin
thananos
can’t publish pages
WPBeginner Support
It would depend on what error you are running into at the moment, for a starting point we have a troubleshooting article you can use here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-to-troubleshooting-wordpress-errors-step-by-step/
Admin
Razon Komar Pal
New Body Tag Hook!
5.2 will introduce a new wp_body_open() function that is used to trigger a wp_body_open action. This action is intended to allow developers to inject code immediately following the opening tag.
WPBeginner Support
Yes, the hook will be added, for most beginner users that is something that they likely won’t understand
Admin
Kamrul
Thats a very good writing. My question is : In future page builder can survive?
WPBeginner Support
Yes, even with Gutenberg page builders will survive.
Admin
Grahame Martin
Thanks for the insights,
I love blocks. The audio block is great, but I hope that soon you will get more control like being able to set an initial volume for instance. The more tweaks available through the audio block the better. Long live the audio block!
Grahame Martin.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you like our insights
Admin
Franci Hoffman
Thank you, Syed. This information is very helpful.
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome
Admin
Richard K. Schafer
I see warning that my serve is running PHP 5.538 but my server is actually running PHP 7.2…
PLEASE ADVISE… THIS IS SCARY!!!
WPBeginner Support
You would want to reach out to your hosting provider to ensure your site is on the correct php version.
Admin
Bill Patterson
I am somewhat afraid to upgrade past 5.0 since several of my themes crashed when upgrading to 5.1 and I had to have the theme producer remotely go in and fix the code. Was a huge mess and having to change themes is not doable when the client loves the current theme.
WPBeginner Support
You could create a local copy of the site to test the update as an option using the method in our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-live-wordpress-site-to-local-server/
Admin
NICHOLAS AMOL GOMES
Thank you syed for aarticle post
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome
Admin
Adewale Mudasiru
Nice info
WPBeginner Support
Thank you
Admin
Danny Brown
People still use tag clouds?
Thanks for the overview, hopefully the block speed improvement is as good as they promise, as currently it puts you off creating multi-block content.
WPBeginner Support
It is personal preference for those who want to use it
Admin
tarun
hi,
I was thinking to buy the ThemeForest subscription for the WordPress themes, plugins.
The question is:
If I cancel the subscription after a few months so can I use the existing themes on my blogs when I downloaded it under subscription period?
WPBeginner Support
That would depend on the specific theme, if you reach out to the theme’s support they should be able to let you know their specifics
Admin
Chris
But if I decided to go with Pro what is the total upfront cost?
WPBeginner Support
If you mean the cost of WordPress, you would want to take a look at our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-wordpress-website/
Admin
Carlos
Thanks for this info
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome
Admin
Debbee M
Hi, do you have a tutorial, or can you explain how and where to update the PHP version? Do I do this via BlueHost? Is there a cost?
WPBeginner Support
You would update PHP using your host and each host has their own method. If you reach out to your hosting provider they should be able to let you know the options they have available
Admin
Khaya
Very insightful and innovative piece, it’s really inspiring how far wordpress has come especially with all the improvements.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you
Admin
Brian
I just got a error of block edditor block edditor has experience and unexpected error
I disable all my plugins still didn’t work so i had to down load the classic editor plugin to edit my site and i am using the 2019 theme. I noticed there were 700,000 downloads of the classic editor i think wordpress stlll has a long was to go with the blocks
WPBeginner Support
While there are issues with it at the moment, it is still continuing to be improved to give those new to WordPress a good editing experience.
Admin
Brian
That amount has now crept up to 4 Million