WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy”

WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy,” was released on March 29, 2023, just two days before WordCamp Switzerland. It’s named for the woodwind jazz wiz, the multi-instrumentalist—Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. Dolphy is acclaimed for having brought the bass clarinet to prominence in the jazz scene, creating a place for the flute and extending the lexicon of the alto saxophone. In a career that spanned continents, his artistry was at the forefront of pushing improvisational boundaries, ensemble work, and partnerships with well-respected artists like Charles Mingus and John Coltrane.

This latest version of WordPress reimagines your site editing experience, introduces more ways to style your site, and offers a new distraction-free way to write. Discover improvements that give you more control and freedom to express your creative vision. There’s something for everyone, whether you’re a content creator, developer, site builder, or designer. Let the music of Eric Dolphy delight you as you take in all that 6.2 has to offer.

Highlights

• Reimagined Site Editor
• Manage menus in more ways with the Navigation block
• Discover a smoother experience for the Block Inserter
• Find the controls you want when you need them
• Build faster with headers and footers for block themes
• Explore Openverse media right from the Editor
• Focus on writing with Distraction Free mode
• Meet the new Style Book
• Copy and paste styles
• Custom CSS
• Other highlights in 6.2
  • Sticky positioning
  • Importing widgets
  • Local fonts in themes

Performance

“Dolphy” includes several impressive performance improvements. You’ll note overall faster load times for block themes of 14 to 18%, and for classic themes, speed increases of 2 to 5%. Server-side performance is also significantly boosted, with an increase of 17 to 23% for block themes and 3 to 5% for classic themes, 3 to 5%. The performance team is dedicated to these kinds of improvements.

WordPress 6.2 is the first major release of 2023, covering over 900 enhancements and fixes. It’s also a transition point in the WordPress project’s development roadmap, shifting focus from customization to early exploration of workflows and collaboration.

WordPress 6.2 couldn’t be here without the countless effort and passion of more than 600 contributors in at least 50 countries. A special thank you to the 178 new contributors who joined a release for the first time. Their collaboration helped deliver hundreds of enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all—a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.

Credits

• Full release notes on wordpress.org
• Picture by Michael Myers.