What Is New in WordPress 4.6
WordPress 4.6, "Pepper," introduces a set of focused improvements that streamline content creation and administration. The update prioritizes under-the-hood performance and a smoother user experience over flashy new features.
| Category | Key Changes |
|---|---|
| New Features | Streamlined Updates, Native Fonts in Editor, Content Recovery |
| Improvements | Resource Hints, WP_Site_Query, WP_Network_Query, Editor Linking |
| Under the Hood | Improved WP_Term_Query, WP_Post_Type registration, Script Loader |
How does WordPress 4.6 make updates faster?
The entire update process is now significantly quicker. WordPress uses "streamlined updates" where the "Are you sure?" confirmation prompts have been removed for certain AJAX-powered updates like installing and deleting plugins and themes.
In practice, this means fewer clicks and less waiting for admins managing a site. The update mechanism itself was also optimized to feel more responsive, making routine maintenance a less tedious task.
What's new for content editors in 4.6?
Content linking and recovery got major quality-of-life upgrades. The editor now uses native system fonts for a faster, more familiar writing experience, ditching the previous web fonts that could cause a flash of unstyled text.
When adding links, the editor provides inline search results from your own content, eliminating the need to open a separate modal window. If you accidentally close the browser tab while writing, the new content recovery feature will restore your unsaved changes when you return.
What under-the-hood developer changes are in this release?
Resource Hints
WordPress 4.6 adds support for Resource Hints, a W3C specification. It uses dns-prefetch to perform
DNS lookups for external resources in the background, potentially speeding up page load times for resources from
s.w.org and WordPress.com.
New Query Classes
Two new query classes, WP_Site_Query and WP_Network_Query, were introduced for fetching
multisite data. This provides a more consistent and powerful way to query sites and networks compared to the
older functions.
Term and Post Type Improvements
The WP_Term_Query class saw performance enhancements. Registering post types with
register_post_type() is now more robust, as the function returns a WP_Post_Type object
on success or a WP_Error on failure.
FAQ
Does the streamlined updates feature remove all security confirmations?
No, it only removes
the redundant JavaScript confirmations for specific AJAX-driven actions in the admin. Core updates and other
critical actions still have their standard security checks and prompts in place.
How does the content recovery feature work technically?
It uses the browser's local storage
to automatically save post content as you write. If you leave the page and return, WordPress checks for this
locally stored draft and offers to restore it.
Are the new WP_Site_Query and WP_Network_Query classes meant to replace existing
functions?
They provide a modern, object-oriented alternative to functions like
get_sites() and get_networks(). While the old functions aren't deprecated, the new
classes offer more flexible and powerful querying options for developers.
What was the motivation behind switching to native fonts in the editor?
The change was purely
for performance and user experience. Native fonts load instantly, removing the brief flash of unstyled text that
could occur while web fonts loaded, making the editor feel more responsive.
Has the Script Loader been updated in any way?
Yes, the wp_add_inline_script()
function was improved to allow adding inline scripts before or after a registered script, not just before. This
provides more flexibility for developers when managing script dependencies.