The WordPress core team is hard at work for the upcoming release of WordPress 5.9 in December 2021, the last major release which concludes the Gutenberg Project’s second phase.
With the release just a few months away, there have been concerns about whether version 5.9 would be completed in the projected time frame. However, much of the initial work has been started with the Gutenberg plugin updates, which come out every two weeks.
The two latest updates are Gutenberg 11.4 and 11.5, released on September 2 and 16, 2021, respectively.
Keep reading to learn more about the last two releases of the Gutenberg editor.
Gutenberg 11.4 Updates
Gutenberg 11.4 introduced image blocks in the gallery, duotone filters for featured images, and button block padding.
Gallery Blocks Use Image Blocks
Gutenberg 11.4 introduces support for nesting image blocks via the Gallery block.
Users can still insert media using Image blocks, but individual gallery images are treated like image blocks with the nesting image blocks function.
Any existing and future functions of image blocks apply to individual gallery images. For example, you can move, copy, or add custom links to individual gallery images.
The Gallery block is expected to come out in WordPress 5.9, but users who want to try it can do so on the Gutenberg Experiment page.
Duotone Filters for Featured Images
Gutenberg introduced duotone blocks to image and cover blocks in version 10.6.
Gutenberg 11.4 brings this functionality to featured images, enabling users to set consistent effects in post and page templates, Query Block content, and recent posts lists.
Button Block Padding
Gutenberg 11.4 lets you define values along the X- and Y-axis for spacing around the Button block.
The Gutenberg plugin still supports single padding values for all sides, but the introduction of this functionality allows users to control and customize the way button elements are displayed.
Support for Block Gap Spacing
One of the most requested feature requests the Gutenberg team has received was how to adjust the gap between blocks. Gutenberg 11.4 finally introduces the first step to adding gap spacing control to Image blocks, Button blocks, and Column blocks.
Gutenberg 11.5 Updates
The Gutenberg team released version 11.5 shortly after releasing version 11.4.
The latest version includes:
- Changes to the Navigation block.
- A new way of grouping widgets.
- Block gap feature integrations.
Changes to the Navigation Block
It has been difficult for users to edit navigation menus, so in version 11.5, the Gutenberg team added new levels of complexity by allowing Site Title and Logo blocks inside the Navigation container.
Introducing this feature gives theme authors limitless possibilities to create custom patterns.
Widget Group Block
The Widget Group block is a new feature introduced to widget block editors. It allows users to add a title to a group of blocks and is compatible with older themes. This feature will likely land in WordPress 5.8.2.
Additional Block Gap Integration
Column blocks now also have the block gap integration introduced in Gutenberg 11.4 to handle spacing between individual column blocks.
Gutenberg 11.5 also added a bottom margin to the post title in the Editor, so you might be seeing a little more white space.
Final Thoughts – What’s New in Gutenberg 11.5?
The Gutenberg team releases new improvements bi-monthly.
The improvements in Gutenberg versions 11.4 and 11.5 will be incorporated in WordPress 5.9, the last major release for 2021.
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