What’s Coming in WordPress 6.9? (Features and Screenshots)

The first beta for WordPress 6.9 is now disposable for testing. When it’s officially released later this year, it will beryllium nan 2nd and last awesome WordPress update of 2025.

This type will bring large improvements to writing, collaboration, and performance. For example, you’ll spot block-level Notes for feedback, nan expertise to hide blocks connected nan beforehand end, and a Command Palette that now useful crossed nan dashboard.

There will besides beryllium plentifulness of caller blocks and noticeable velocity boosts.

In this article, we’ll show you what’s coming successful WordPress 6.9, complete pinch screenshots and examples of really each characteristic works.

Here’s a speedy overview of nan changes coming successful WordPress 6.9:

Collaborate pinch Block-Level “Notes”

WordPress 6.9 is taking nan first measurement toward a much collaborative editing experience, akin to Google Docs.

A caller characteristic called “Notes” (formerly known arsenic ‘Block Comments’) lets you connect comments straight to individual blocks.

Simply click connected a artifact and, nether nan artifact toolbar, click connected nan three-dot fastener and prime nan ‘Add note’ action to time off a note.

Users tin reply to a statement by simply typing their reply beneath it. They tin besides click nan cheque fastener to people a statement arsenic resolved.

You tin besides position each nan notes attached to a station aliases page by clicking connected nan Notes fastener astatine nan top-right area of nan Edit screen.

From here, you tin click connected a statement to position nan artifact wherever nan statement was added.

This allows teams, agencies, and freelancers to time off feedback and stock ideas straight wrong nan editor. It’s cleanable for real-time collaboration and helps create a much businesslike editorial workflow.

But don’t worry, because these Notes are only for nan editor and will not look connected your unrecorded site.

Hide Blocks connected nan Front End (Block Visibility)

Another awesome summation successful WordPress 6.9 is nan expertise to hide blocks connected your unrecorded site.

This caller “Hide Blocks connected Frontend” characteristic lets you support blocks successful nan editor while making them invisible to your visitors.

To hide a block, conscionable click nan three-dot paper successful nan artifact toolbar and past prime ‘Hide’.

The hidden artifact will vanish from nan artifact editor canvas. You tin now prevention your station aliases page and preview it, and nan artifact will not look connected your unrecorded site.

To reconstruct a hidden block, click connected nan Outline fastener successful nan editor toolbar. There, you will spot your hidden block. You tin now click connected nan visibility fastener to make nan artifact visible again.

This is cleanable for staging caller content, exploring alternate designs, aliases leaving soul notes without creating abstracted drafts.

Improved Template and Theme Switching

Have you ever worked connected a civilization template successful nan Full Site Editor and later recovered it missing erstwhile you switched themes?

WordPress 6.9 will hole this problem. Your civilization templates will beryllium retained moreover erstwhile you move themes, and you tin reuse them pinch different themes.

This update besides gives you much power complete your templates.

You tin now create drafts earlier publishing, activate aliases deactivate templates arsenic needed, and easy copy them.

New and Enhanced Blocks

This merchandise besides expands your creation options pinch respective caller blocks.

1. Accordion Block

Previously, galore WordPress users were utilizing nan Details artifact to mimic nan functionality of an Accordion element.

WordPress 6.9 now comes pinch an Accordion block, which is accessible and supports nested blocks.

2. Terms Query Block

This caller artifact allows you to show position for a taxonomy.

For example, it tin beryllium utilized to show a database of categories and tags (two default taxonomies).

3. Math Block

Currently, users request an outer plugin to write mathematics equations successful WordPress.

With WordPress 6.9, this will beryllium fixed pinch a Math block, which allows users to easy constitute mathematics equations successful nan artifact editor. This tin beryllium adjuvant for acquisition blogs and online courses.

4. Time to Read Block

The caller Time to Read artifact will let users to display nan clip to read aliases nan connection count of an article. It tin beryllium added to individual posts aliases pages, aliases users tin adhd it to their templates.

It’s a mini touch that tin make a large difference. When readers spot really agelong a station will return to read, they’re much apt to click done and really decorativeness it.

Enhanced Design Options successful Several Blocks

Paragraph and heading blocks now person a “Fit text” formatting option.

This feature, besides known arsenic ‘Stretchy Type’, automatically scales your matter to capable its container, which is cleanable for hero sections.

AI Developments successful WordPress Core

WordPress 6.9 will present nan instauration for AI-powered workflows wrong WordPress Core.

This effort is portion of nan caller AI Building Blocks for WordPress initiative, which includes nan Abilities API, PHP AI Client SDK, MCP Adapter, and nan AI Experiments Plugin.

What is nan caller Abilities API?

Abilities API is simply a registry of everything WordPress tin do successful a machine-readable format.

For years, WordPress has offered thousands of functions done halfway software, plugins, and themes — but these were only accessible done code.

The Abilities API changes that by creating a shared connection that some humans and AI systems tin understand.

Each plugin aliases taxable tin “register” what it’s tin of — for example, analyse SEO content, make reports, aliases backmost up your tract — on pinch clear inputs, outputs, and permissions.

Here’s what makes this important: erstwhile abilities are registered, AI devices tin observe and usage them automatically.

That intends that an AI supplier for illustration ChatGPT aliases Claude could soon tally WordPress tasks specified arsenic optimizing posts, creating pages, aliases triggering plugin actions — each safely and securely.

Developers tin commencement experimenting pinch nan Abilities API pinch WordPress 6.9. There is already an MCP integration disposable for WooCommerce.

Command Palette Available Everywhere

The Command Palette successful WordPress is simply a immense time-saver. You tin unfastened it by pressing Ctrl + K connected Windows aliases Command + K connected a Mac.

It provides speedy shortcuts for communal actions connected your website, for illustration creating a caller station aliases previewing a station successful a caller tab.

In WordPress 6.9, it will beryllium disposable crossed nan full WordPress dashboard, not conscionable nan Site Editor.

This lets you quickly search, jump to circumstantial admin screens, aliases trigger actions from anywhere, making navigation overmuch faster.

Performance and Speed Upgrades

WordPress 6.9 besides delivers awesome capacity improvements for creating a smoother, faster acquisition for your visitors.

Here are immoderate of nan cardinal upgrades:

• Output Buffering: A caller “template enhancement output buffer” usability is introduced to amended performance. (#43258)
• Faster Loading for Classic Themes: Block styles successful classical themes will now load “on demand,” which intends your tract won’t load CSS for blocks you aren’t utilizing connected a page. [#64099]
• Less Render-Blocking: The Emoji discovery book has been moved to nan footer, helping your pages render faster. [#64076]
• Improved Server Performance: Cron jobs (scheduled tasks) will now tally astatine shutdown alternatively of during page load. This helps trim nan effect connected your server’s consequence clip (TTFB). (#63858)

Under nan Hood Changes (for Developers)

This merchandise besides brings respective different powerful updates for developers.

• Improvements to nan Interactivity API will powerfulness client-side navigation. This will alteration cool caller features successful nan future, for illustration instant hunt aliases submitting comments without a page reload. (#71603)
• The Block Binding API has besides been improved, allowing developers to hindrance much content, for illustration image captions, to civilization fields.

Finally, it’s important to statement that WordPress 6.9 will not see a caller default theme. The improvement team’s attraction has been connected improving nan editor, APIs, and performance.

We dream this article helped you observe what’s coming successful WordPress 6.9 and which caller features you’d for illustration to effort out.

We are peculiarly excited astir nan collaborative Notes characteristic and nan expertise to hide blocks, which will streamline contented workflows.

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About nan Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff astatine WPBeginner is simply a squad of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi pinch complete 16 years of acquisition successful WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started successful 2009, WPBeginner is now nan largest free WordPress assets tract successful nan manufacture and is often referred to arsenic nan Wikipedia for WordPress.