What started off as a blogging platform now rules the website-building market! Back in 2003, WordPress was just a small platform completely dedicated to blogging. Today, WordPress stands tall as a reliable tool that is used by millions of businesses globally. Just like any major WordPress update, WordPress 6.8 is nothing short of revolutionary.
These periodic updates are what kept WordPress at the forefront. They didn’t stop; they evolved constantly to gain such massive popularity. In a world where 1 out of 4 websites are powered by WordPress, business owners need to stay updated about the latest WordPress updates. So, the WordPress 6.8 update can make or break your business.
What’s more interesting is that you don’t have to be a developer to understand WordPress and its updates. They are simple enough for anyone to understand.
The latest WordPress 6.8 update introduces major improvements in performance, security, accessibility, and design control. However, users must be cautious of compatibility issues, and Webskitters offers expert support for a smooth upgrade and customized site development.
Let’s explore all that and more in detail.
The majority of businesses are using WordPress to build their websites. That too, for a very good reason! According to statistics, WordPress powers over 43% of all the websites on the internet.
But why is WordPress so popular? The answer lies in its flexibility and customization options. It even scales as your business grows with time. However, business owners face dilemmas when it comes to choosing WordPress.
Most business owners ask the wrong question. Instead of just thinking, “Should I use WordPress?” people should understand what could go wrong if they choose the wrong platform for their business website.
What’s one major myth about WordPress? It is just a blogging platform. But it’s not. It is much more than that! WordPress started as a tool just for blogging, but now it’s the most popular way to build websites. It has grown into a powerful system that helps people easily create and manage all kinds of websites.
Don’t believe us? Big companies like Sony, Disney, Target, Facebook, and Time Magazine use WordPress to build their websites. That shows how strong and reliable it is. Let’s look at the top 3 reasons for its popularity.
WordPress is free up to a certain extent. You can download, install, and modify it according to your needs. You can use WordPress to build any website. However, you need to invest in a domain name and hosting services to make use of WordPress properly.
Instead of being so powerful, WordPress is simple and user-friendly. It comes with a dashboard with options in the sidebar. You can create pages, posts, add navigation, and personalize your website designs. It is so simple to use that 1 out of 3 e-commerce shops are built and run on WordPress.
Even a great website is useless without search engine optimization (SEO). Fortunately, you can build SEO-friendly WordPress Websites. How is WordPress SEO-friendly? WordPress is built on high-quality code with semantic markup. In layman’s terms, Google and other search engines prefer WordPress sites.
This is why websites built on WordPress rank higher than any other website. Plugins like AIOSEO can further optimize your website to get exceptional WordPress SEO results.
What’s more? WordPress modifies itself through updates. It periodically releases WordPress updates, which can be easily installed. WordPress has released the WordPress 6.8 update recently in April of 2025.
Now that we know about WordPress’ popularity and the reasons behind it, let’s explore the WordPress 6.8 features.
WordPress users have been chatting about the new 6.8 update on X (formerly Twitter). The reactions have been a mix of excitement, caution, and insights. So, we have summarized that for you.
Official Announcement: The WordPress account celebrated the launch of WordPress 6.8 update. It has been named after Jazz legend Cecil Taylor. The update is known as Cecil. The company also stressed faster loading, security, and better design control in their post.
Performance Praise: Some users talked about the performance enhancements. They said that the performance has significantly improved because of speculative loading.
Enthusiasm and Excitement: The community also praised the naming of the update. They said WordPress 6.8 will be a big deal and really liked how it was inspired by Cecil Taylor’s creative style.
Usability feedback: The community also pointed out an issue with usability. In this update, a movable Meta box is required to split the screen. This is somewhat inconvenient.
Most people in the community liked the 6.8 update because it made websites safer and faster. Now, let’s discuss 10 major WordPress 6.8 features that enhance performance, security, and more.
WordPress 6.8 provides several exceptional upgrades that boost site performance. These upgrades include improved script loading, memory enhancements, and efficient asset handling. It helps your site load faster and performs effortlessly, leading to better UX on every device.
The update includes 33 improvements in accessibility. This increases the accessibility of WordPress across the editor and admin parts. It improves keyboard navigation, reading compatibility, and indicators. The WordPress 6.8 update helps make your website easier to use for people with disabilities.
The WordPress community often complained about problems when working with different custom templates. The WordPress 6.8 update solves that problem. In this upgrade, you can see the template being used while creating pages or posts. This brings transparency and better management of design.
For the first time ever, WordPress has changed its password hashing algorithm. They have moved from using phpass to Bcrypt. Bcrypt is a modern and secure hashing algorithm that protects user data. Once you install the WordPress 6.8 update, the system will switch to Bcrypt. This will provide robust security to the site.
The QLB is in WordPress to display post or product lists. This feature has received an important fix for sticky posts. These sticky posts appear in the appropriate positions, eliminating the past problems. The “Exclude Sticky Posts” toggle also enables you to hide posts from blog pages and archives for clarity.
One of the best WordPress 6.8 features is speculative loading. It is an innovative technique followed by modern web applications. It predicts the most clickable link on the page and starts loading it in the background. This way, the site navigation becomes smooth, which improves the UX. Speculative loading is useful for content-driven websites.
The style book is used by users to control global styles. This entails colors, spacing, and fonts in the visual panel. In this update, the style book feature now works with classic themes too, which wasn’t possible in older versions. This feature allows designers and developers to manage their workflow. Hence, the style book upgrade saves time and improves consistency.
The update also improves the way global styles are handled in the WordPress editor. Now, any changes you make to layout, colors, or text styles will look the same everywhere on your website. This makes the work of designers easy, eliminating the need for redundant personalization.
This update introduced a brand new way to show the total post number in the query loop. This is useful for SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) where the users want to see the number of matching results for their query. This small but powerful change makes your business website look more professional and easier for people to use.
In WordPress 6.8, the developers and creators can set the “feature image” smoothly. You can do this easily by right-clicking on the image and choosing “Set Featured Image.” So, there is no need to open the settings panel or the separate sidebar. It is a small change, but it enhances the UX substantially. It also helps you publish content faster and get your work done more easily.
Nothing in this imperfect world is perfect. So is the case with WordPress 6.8 improvements. You have to upgrade while considering certain problems that may arise in the future. However, these issues are not unsolvable. With proper precautions and techniques, you can overcome them.
Let’s discuss some of these challenges you might face.
As we already discussed, WordPress 6.8 has launched a different hashing algorithm. This is known as Bcrypt. But, if you upgrade to the 6.8 version and then try to downgrade to 6.7 or lower, there will be login issues. This is due to the new password hashing algorithm. So, if you’re planning on upgrading your site to the latest release, you have to reset the password or consult a WordPress development agency.
WordPress 6.8 is designed for backend compatibility. But, there are certain plugins and themes that are still incompatible with this WordPress version. This is one of the most common issues. Since plugin or theme makers need time to update their stuff, it might not always work perfectly with the newest version of WordPress right away.
Hence, before upgrading, you should check if your plugins or theme match with the update or not. How to do that? By testing the update on a dummy site.
Some of the elements might feel overwhelming and incorrect for a long-term WordPress user. The changes that are there to improve the workflow might feel less convenient for the user. This hampers the developer experience. So, you have to consider tweaks and adjustments to suit your business requirements.
You can also open a new tab to understand the existing issues by looking at the site and interacting with it. This will make sure that everything is working well after the upgrade.
This update of WordPress 6.8 may not have groundbreaking features, but it has upgrades that are truly impactful. Ranging from loading speed and improved developer experience to enhanced security and exceptional user experience, these small changes make your WordPress management easier. It actually sets the stage for bigger improvements that will be released by WordPress in the future.
However, you have to plan properly when thinking about upgrading your website. Back up all the data from your site and test the update before making the decision. You also have to back up your passwords or be ready to reset them. Plus, you have to check all the plugins and themes that are integrated into your site. By following these steps, you can migrate from previous versions to WordPress 6.8 smoothly.
Do you want to spare yourself or your team the headache of doing all that? Look no further, Webskitters Technology Solutions is here to help.
Hire our expert WordPress developers and create a custom and high-quality website for your business. We make sure that the site meets your unique business requirements and goals. We are a leading WordPress development agency that allows your site to stand out in the competitive digital arena.
Give your business the boost it needs! Contact us today and let’s make something extraordinary together.
What makes WordPress 6.8 different from previous versions?
WordPress 6.8 introduces significant upgrades in performance, accessibility, security, and design control, including speculative loading, improved password encryption using Bcrypt, and better template visibility.
Do I need to be a developer to understand or use WordPress 6.8?
Not at all! WordPress and its updates are designed to be user-friendly, even for beginners. The 6.8 version keeps things simple while offering powerful new features.
Are there any risks or challenges with upgrading to WordPress 6.8?
Yes, there can be issues such as plugin or theme incompatibility, downgrade problems due to the new Bcrypt hashing algorithm, and usability tweaks that may affect the workflow. Testing before upgrading is recommended.
How does the WordPress 6.8 update improve website performance?
The update includes speculative loading, better script and memory handling, and improved asset loading, all of which lead to faster load times and smoother user experience.
Can Webskitters help with upgrading to WordPress 6.8?
Absolutely! Webskitters offers expert WordPress development services to ensure smooth upgrades, plugin compatibility, and custom website solutions tailored to your business needs.