WordPress 6.8 is coming: Release date and new features

WordPress 6.8 is on its way and promises to refine the user experience, while optimizing performance, design and security. Scheduled for April 15, 2025this new version should delight users.

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It can be a bit tricky to go fishing for information and figure out what's coming next... So we've untangled it all for you. Here's what's in store for WordPress 6.8.

WordPress 6.8 release schedule

WordPress always provides us with a detailed roadmap but it can be a little complex to grasp.

Here are the main steps before the official release of WordPress 6.8 :

What's new in WordPress 6.8?

WordPress developers have announced these features. While most of them should see the light of day in 6.8, it's possible that some won't be ready in time. Here, however, is a summary of what WordPress provides for us.

🔎 Improved "Zoom Out" mode

WordPress 6.8 now lets you edit compositions (patterns) in "Zoom Out. This enriches the workflow and should please those who have already adopted this mode and convert the most reluctant! #67140

✍️ Enhanced font selector

WordPress 6.8 adds a font selector with live preview on the drop-down menu in the Gutenberg editor, saving time when selecting typefaces. #67118

🧓 Display styles for non-ESF themes

Classic or hybrid themes that have adopted the use of a theme.json file will now be able to display a style preview via the site editor. #66851

🌈 Color reset button

It will be possible to reset a custom color with a single click. This little change will save editors a lot of clicks! It's a wonder we didn't think of it before! #67116

⚡ Boosted performance: speculative preloading

WordPress 6.8 adds plugin-based functionality Speculative Loading which will now be part of the WordPress core. It is the speculative preloadingan API that communicates with web browsers. It speeds up page loading by anticipating visitor interactions. For the time being, it is only supported by Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera). Firefox test this experimententally. Core WP #62503

This new technology is arousing curiosity, and LRob hopes to be able to measure its impact on server utilization and other metrics.

🔎 Display more efficient query loops

From now on, it will be possible to filter content by year, paginate more efficiently and structure queries with greater flexibility.

Query loops were causing logic issues when displaying highlighted posts in the editor. This will finally be corrected in WordPress 6.8. #68570 and #66126

It will be possible to ignore sticky posts and simply display all articles. Not just the sticky ones, or just the non-sticky ones. This will simplify the layout of query loops. And finally! #66221

It will also be possible to define a depth limit for child pages (sub-categories). #68620

👉 Enhanced interactivity API introduced in 6.7

At the very least, the "lightbox" in the gallery block will be back, along with an instant search function. And full-page navigation will be improved (no issue reference provided by WP.org, so it's hard to know what this means in concrete terms), with regional enhancements (depending on language).

Other related functionalities are in the pipeline.

🖥️ Improved data display in the back office

WordPress 6.8 unifies the behavior of lists and grids displaying templates in the site editor, for example. The discussion is so huge that it would take hours to summarize. For this one, we'll have to wait for the release! #67477

On page or post properties, it will be possible to edit several fields at once, saving a large number of clicks. #65399

A confirmation has been added when emptying items from the page recycle garbage can in the FSE editor. #67824

The margins around the action buttons have been slightly reduced to avoid wasting space. #67032

Grid display lets you choose the display density. #67170

A badge can be added to view grids (for template synchronization, for example). #68062

Spacing on filters in the editor's page display has been reduced to prevent clipping. #65835

Finally, FSE themes will be able to change page templates more easily from within the site editor. #66591

🧱 Gutenberg fixes and improvements

Several blocks lacked margin management and other controls. These have now been added. #68450, #64425, #68323

Adding background images (e.g. for groups) is now under a "+" button to standardize this optional choice with the other optional choices. #68085

Last but not least, chevrons for font selection and shadows for deleting everything will be available where they were lacking to re-unify the editor. #67253

🔐 Enhanced security with bcrypt for password hashing

Major security advance: WordPress 6.8 adopts bcrypt for password hashing, making storage and access protection much more robust. This change also strengthens the management of security keys and application passwords.

🚀 Additional optimizations for faster sites

WordPress 6.8 further optimizes performance with :

• Lazy load of article and user metadata,
• Improved query caching (especially in WP_Query),
• Optimized header image loading and random sorting ORDER BY RAND().

🏆 Accessibility: WordPress takes leaps forward

Notable improvements include :

• New accessibility audit process #50166
• Improved keyboard navigation #59188
• Contrast correction
• Better management of non-clickable links
• Reduce unnecessary attribute titles

The full list of patches and enhancements is long:

• Reviewing the use of target="_blank" in administration
• Removing unnecessary title attributes
• Add submission buttons to form fields in the Add Media panel
• Use of semantic elements for non-link links
• Added error message in case of incorrect password on protected items
• Code editor: linter (HTMLHint) should display an error if a checkbox has no associated label
• The media uploader doesn't restrict the file types it accepts, depending on the current context.
• Twenty Twenty theme: the submenu of a horizontal menu must be able to be closed
• Add prefixes to administration notifications (Warning, Error, Success, Info)
• Improved accessibility of administration notifications
• Corrected and improved rearrangement of metaboxes
• Added mechanism for tooltips accessible in WordPress core
• Twenty Twenty theme: closing the menu and search may cause scrolling to jump
• Excessive text reading with errors in the media library
• Password reset must pre-populate username to meet WCAG 2.2 standards
• Validation of custom links in administration menu not accessible
• Simplified add_new_item labels for default publication types
• Update of the screen-reader-text CSS class and its local implementations
• No submit button - bad for accessibility
• Clearer background added for administration
• Add padding and color changes to buttons and input fields
• Changing font weights for parameters and similar labels
• Adjustment of alternating line background in article and page tables
• The core/site-title block adds aria-current to the blog page, even if it's not the home page.
• get_custom_logo doesn't always apply the aria-current attribute correctly
• Improved HTML semantics in the site's Health Information tables
• Removal of title attributes from classic editor scripts

WordPress 6.8: A version focused on stability and optimization

WordPress 6.8 will greatly improve the administrator experience. And continue to convert more and more people to Gutenberg and Full Site Editing (FSE). Whether you're a developer, content creator, site owner, or even a visitor, this version guarantees an even more enjoyable ecosystem.

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