WordPress 5.4 Update Log with Manual Update Method

WordPress 5.4 has been released as the first major version, featuring numerous enhancements, many of which revolve around the WordPress Block Editor. This update will significantly improve how you create content on your website. In this article, we will share the new features in WordPress 5.4 and the functionalities you should try after updating your site.

New Features in WordPress 5.4

WordPress 5.4 is a major release, and unless you are using managed WordPress hosting, you must manually initiate the update. Important: Before starting the update, do not forget to create a completeWordPress Backup。 New and Improved Block Editor in WordPress 5.4WordPress 5.4 focuses on enhancing the content editor. This includes new features, improvements, and new blocks. WordPress 5.4 displays the Block Editor in full-screen mode by default. This change will be noticeable on fresh WordPress installations or when accessing the WordPress Admin Dashboard from a new device, browser, or incognito mode. If you are upgrading from WordPress 5.3 using the same frequently used browser and device, the editor will open in the last mode you enabled. You can exit full-screen mode by clicking the editor settings and unchecking the „Fullscreen mode“ option.New Blocks in WordPress 5.4WordPress 5.4 introduces two new blocks for you to use while writing content. 1. Social Icons Block As the name suggests, the „Social Icons“ block allows you to add social media icons to Posts and Pages. Afterward, you can click the add button and select the social network to add. Then, you can click the social network icon and provide a link to your profile. The Social Icons block only allows you to add social media icons with links to profiles. It does not add social sharing buttons. For that, you still need a social media plugin with sharing functionality. 2. Buttons Block WordPress 5.4 introduces the Buttons block, which will replace the Button block. As guessed from the new block„s name, it allows you to add multiple buttons side by side. You can choose background or gradient colors for each button and select from two different styles.Improved Feature Blocks to Try in WordPress 5.4Several blocks in WordPress 5.4 have been enhanced with new improvements. Below are the most significant changes that will greatly improve your writing experience. WordPress 5.4 provides new color options for multiple blocks. This allows you to create more attractive layouts for Posts and Pages. Previously, users could only change the color of all text in a paragraph. With WordPress 5.4, you can now change the color of any text within a paragraph block. You can also choose text and background colors with gradients for the Cover block, and even set background and text colors for all blocks within a Group block. If you regularly use the „Columns“ block, you can also use colors to separate columns from regular paragraphs.Block Selection ToolA new button in the toolbar now makes it easy to select blocks. This is a very useful tool, especially when you have nested blocks within a Group block. Simply click the selection tool and move the mouse over the block you want to select. Previously, you needed to manually upload and set a featured image. This did not match the drag-and-drop functionality of the content editor. Now, with WordPress 5.4, you can simply drag and drop an image into the „Featured Image“ section.Better Mobile Toolbar for the Block EditorPreviously, if you had to edit a blog post using a mobile device, you might have noticed how the „Block Settings“ toolbar moved. This made using the editor on mobile very difficult. WordPress 5.4 addresses this issue with a fixed toolbar at the top.Select Image Size in the Gallery BlockPreviously, you could not select image sizes for images in the Gallery block. Now, you can directly choose the image size in the Gallery block settings.Improved Latest Posts BlockPreviously, the „Latest Posts“ block did not include featured images. You can now also select the size and alignment for the featured image. This makes the „Latest Posts“ block more attractive and practical.You Can Now Embed TikTok Videos in WordPressWordPress 5.4 includes embedded support for TikTok videos. Essentially, you can now add TikTok videos to WordPress Posts and Pages, just like embedding YouTube videos. Simply paste the video URL, and WordPress will automatically embed it.Updated Privacy Tools in WordPress 5.4WordPress 5.4 brings improvements to the built-in privacy tools. Personal data exports now include session tokens, community event locations, and custom user meta. Personal data exports are now provided as two files: HTML and JSON. The HTML file includes a table of contents at the top for easy navigation.Developer Changes in WordPress 5.4WordPress 5.4 includes several improvements for developers. These enhancements primarily affect Theme and Plugin developers. New hooks in WordPress 5.4 allow developers to add custom fields to navigation menu items. (Details) Developers can now add keyboard shortcuts to the Block Editor. (Details) WordPress 5.4 changes the HTML output of the calendar widget. It moves navigation links to HTML elements after the <table> element to generate valid HTML. (#39763) apply_shortcodes() can now be used as an alias for the do_shortcode() function with new functionality. (#37422) Some unused Customizer classes are now officially deprecated in WordPress 5.4. (#42364) As can be seen from the update, most changes are still focused on the Gutenberg editor. If you are using the Classic Editor, the impact on you is not particularly significant.

Manual Update Method

If you are using a domestic server, automatic updates usually cannot succeed, so you can only update manually. You can refer to the tutorial below:Automatic Update Failed_Several Methods to Manually Update WordPress Version