WordPress is by far the most popular Content Management System and for good reason. WordPress is a simple and intuitive web application that can be used by anyone with a little tech skills to build professional, corporate-quality websites. Many developers work to build and maintain the core WordPress software which is updated several times a year for security and feature-based reasons. Read on to find out what updates you can expect for the WordPress CMS in 2019 and how these changes will benefit your own WordPress websites.
Wide Adaptation of the Gutenberg Editor
The reviews are in for the new Gutenberg Editor that currently powers beta and early-release versions of the CMS. Web administrators seem to love the new, easy-to-use editor that can help you create and edit pages, posts, content, and media all from a single point of access. After its initial release you can expect users to adopt and embrace the new editor en masse throughout mid- and late 2019 as more users update to the newest version of WordPress.
Along with the release of the Gutenberg Editor comes a new format for building your pages and posts; blocks. Blocks can be used in WordPress to build and style your content without the need for any memorization of coding syntax. Blocks can be arranged with a mouse or stylus and can contain any sort of media you’d want to put on your website or blog including photos, video, and interactive JavaScript.
The Gutenberg Editor also contains graphical menu options to help you quickly stylize and customize your site’s color scheme, layout, and typography. Many WordPress users find such styling tasks frustrating at times, with dozens of varying methods currently being offered between today’s popular theme developers.
The Gutenberg Editor was created to unify these solutions into a singular, simple point-and-click tool for WordPress administrators. As more users update to WordPress version 5.0 and higher you can expect this editor will replace alternate editing tools that various third-party developers have created over the past couple of years. This won’t necessarily spell the end of third-party editors but 2019 will surely continue to see a growing reliance on WordPress’ new default editor.
WordPress Security Changes for 2019
As always, WordPress is continuously updating and improving website security through new code and the CMS’s core development. These efforts are expected to increase exponentially in 2019 as WordPress continues to saturate the CMS market and millions more users choose the CMS as their website’s primary platform.
Some of the most important changes you’ll notice in WordPress security throughout 2019 include the closing of many XSS security vulnerabilities, new methods of fighting bots and malicious, brute-force web apps to accompany or replace CAPTCHA, and an increase in two-factor authentication for both users and web administrators.
As WordPress increases their overall security and continues to close vulnerabilities throughout 2019 you can expect that safety to relieve you of some liability in terms of the data you store. The best way to get started on this new security trend today is of course to acquire WordPress hosting from a secure hosting provider that offers website backups, hacking protection, and up-to-date server environments.
New Themes and Designs for WordPress
Many theme and template developers are already working on designs and layouts for the next release of WordPress. Bug fixes and updates will certainly be published in the following months and developers are trying to stay ahead of the game by designing Gutenberg-friendly, mobile-first responsive themes and templates.
You can expect an increased usage of JavaScript in WordPress themes and plugins throughout 2019 as the language is holding stable on the current web and growing in popularity as devices become more equipped to render client-side code in a timely manner. Themes released throughout 2019 will likely incorporate more plugins and coding and require less coding knowledge and tech skills of website administrators.
This trend toward ease-of-use is not to be unmatched by impressive visual designs and stylistic changes to many of today’s most popular template bases. You can expect faster-loading, better-looking themes to start hitting the popular theme websites like ThemeForest throughout 2019.
Better WordPress Plugins in 2019
Another benefit of the growing use of JavaScript in WordPress development is the improvement of existing plugins and the advent of new, exciting plugins that incorporate A.I. and machine learning.
Among these plugins include spam-fighting apps, marketing tools, and software applications for organization and making better use of data collected by your websites.
WordPress has proven year after year that its development team can not only keep up with modern web standards but in fact lead the way. The CMS is expected to continue to grow and innovate in 2019 and many of the changes will save you time and frustration as a current WordPress website administrator. Make sure you regularly update your instance of WordPress and any accompanying plugins or themes to stay on track with the newest releases and features of the software.
