The first update of 2025, WordPress 6.8 Cecil, includes many new features and fixes. Here’s a quick overview.
WordPress 6.8, the first major update of the CMS in 2025, was released this Tuesday, April 15. As with every new version, this version, named Cecil in honor of Cecil Taylor, pianist and pioneer of free jazz, brings its share of technical and functional innovations. Between performance optimization, improved accessibility, enriched block editor and modernized code, WordPress continues its transformation while consolidating its fundamentals.
The main new features of WordPress 6.8
Block Editor Improvements
WordPress 6.8 includes numerous improvements from the Gutenberg project, including no fewer than 387 improvements and 525 bug fixes for the editor. Here are the most notable new features:
- Conditional loading of block resources: a new filter allows CSS and JS from blocks to be loaded only when needed, thus reducing the overhead.
- Better useSelect handling: A warning is now issued when selectors are defined inline, which can cause unnecessary recalculations in React.
- Enhanced design tools: The editing interface continues to evolve with an updated list of tools available for each block, facilitating customization.
- More consistent interface: Core components like buttons have been harmonized with the overall WordPress design system.
Performance: A step towards a faster WordPress
Version 6.8 focuses on speculative loading via the Speculation Rules API. This means that WordPress can now preload or pre-render pages that the user is likely to visit (when hovering over a link, for example), for smoother and more instantaneous navigation.
Another new feature on the back-end side: the interactivity API, introduced in previous versions, benefits from new best practices allowing for the production of lighter and more scalable front-end code.
Enhanced accessibility
Accessibility continues to be a priority, with 70 support tickets completed for Gutenberg alone. This includes:
- Better management of keyboard navigation and focus,
- More explicit tooltips,
- More semantic HTML markup in blocks like navigation or groups.
WordPress 6.8 also strengthens the consistency of the .screen-reader-text class, improving behavior with screen readers.
Security and REST API
On the security front, a subtle but important change: WordPress now uses bcrypt for password hashing, replacing phpass. For developers in a headless environment, the REST API is improving with a new filter, which allows for greater control over the data exposed publicly.
WordPress 6.8 by the numbers
This version 6.8 of WordPress is, as usual, the result of a massive collaborative effort. Here are some key figures from the official technical change guide, led again this year by Jean-Baptiste Audras:
- Over 300 tickets processed on Trac.
- 104 improvements and new features.
- 170 bug fixes.
- 23 tickets related to performance, 34 for accessibility, 16 for code modernization.
- 43 core WordPress components affected.
- Gutenberg side: 387 improvements, 525 bug fixes, 70 accessibility tickets.
The entire development cycle for this 6.8 release is available online.
How to install WordPress 6.8
As with every new release, WordPress 6.8 can be downloaded directly from the CMS’s official website. If you’re already using WordPress, you can also update easily from your admin dashboard.
To do this, simply:
- Go to the Dashboard menu,
- Click on Updates,
- Then start the installation by selecting Update now.
An alert banner will also appear at the top of the screen to let you know that the new version is available.
Before proceeding, it is strongly recommended that you perform a full backup of your site, including the database. This allows you to roll back to the previous version in case of a problem. A dedicated FAQ details the steps to follow to properly back up your installation.
