Call for Testing: WordPress 5.4 (Beta)

WordPress 5.4 is scheduled for public release on Tuesday, on March 31, 2020.

What Is Being Added or Changed?

Block Editor: features and improvements

WordPress 5.4 Core will merge ten releases of the Gutenberg plugin, including the most recent, Gutenberg 7.5. This means there’s a long list of exciting new features. These features include new functionality, as well as accessibility and performance improvements. Some of the new features include:

Two new blocks: social links and buttons.
A Welcome Guide modal.
Tools for adding featured images in the Latest Posts block.
Easier navigation in the block breadcrumbs.
Several new APIs related to block scaffolding
Friendlier offline error messages on REST API request failures.
Table block captions.
Improved color options.

Site Health

WordPress 5.4 adds a widget on the dashboard that warns administrators of potential issues that could affect their site’s performance or security. A call-to-action button directs them to the Site Health screen for details and suggested fixes.

WordPress accessibility improvements

Improvements include changes to focus management in Menu, Customizer, and Site Health screens, easier keyboard navigation for better semantics in the Media modal, and an easier-to-read Privacy Policy Guide.

Developer-facing Changes

Instead of using do_shortcode(), apply_shortcodes() should be utilized instead. While do_shortcode() is not being deprecated, the new function delivers better semantics.
Clearer information about errors in wp_login_failed.
Site ID has been added to the newblog_notify_siteadmin filter for multisite installs.

When Will WordPress 5.4 Be Deployed?

VIP Go: WordPress 5.4 will be rolled out to all WordPress.com VIP and VIP Go sites on Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

WordPress.com VIP: As with all Core upgrades, we’ll be pushing incremental updates leading up to the public release.

Please note that the deployment dates are subject to change if critical issues are discovered during testing or the public release is delayed. We’ll post updates to the Lobby if the dates do change.

What Should I Do?

We highly recommend updating your local development environments to the beta release using the Beta Tester plugin or updating it to track 5.4 (i.e. trunk) via either the Subversion or GitHub repos.

For sites on VIP Go, you can have your non-production sites switched to WordPress 5.4 now. If this is something you’re interested in, please open a ticket and we can set it up for you.

And, as always, if you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket and we will be happy to assist.