WordPress 5.0 is coming. What’s going to happen?

If you follow the WordPress news, you know that the launch of version 5.0 is coming. This could happen in November (we doubt it) or at the beginning of 2019. This major version could create problems on your website depending on your current setup. As WordPress experts performing maintenance work, we recently got in touch with our clients to inform them of what’s about to come.

We thought we’d share with you the exact email we sent them. Yes, we’re sharing our “secret” recipe… but our end goal is to help every WordPress website owner minimize risks when it comes to their website. Whether you’re our client or not, whether you have a WordPress maintenance plan with us or not, we recommend that you continue reading this and prepare accordingly for this next major update.

Without further ado, here’s the email we sent to our clients:

Hello,

This email contains important information about the release of WordPress 5.0. The current version is 4.9.8.

WordPress 5.0 is about to be released with a brand new content editor named “Gutenberg”. The content editor is the tool you use when you want to change the content of your website from within the administration section of WordPress, otherwise known as the Dashboard.

This new WordPress version is a major one and will include this new content editor which is still under active development. Even if our team follows WordPress-related news on a daily basis when it comes to this new functionality, many questions remain unanswered. For instance, we don’t know exactly what changes this new version will officially contain and what solutions will be chosen in regards to the various problems reported so far by the WordPress Test Team.

As WordPress experts, we strive to be proactive and are contacting you about our strategy for this upcoming update. Our goal is to minimize the risks with regards to your website and to ensure the update remains problem-free.

When WordPress 5.0 comes out:

• We will not update your website for a few weeks. As this version will not fix security issues and may cause issues due to the new editor, we will let the braver ones install this update and report back any bugs. When a minor update will be released by the WordPress team, we will wait until our team determines this version to be stable before considering any update to your website. This will also provide more time to theme and plugin developers to adjust as required.
• When a minor version will be considered stable, we will plan the update of your site. As each client’s site isn’t configured the same way and offers different functionality, it’s impossible to predict the impact this update will have. It is possible for us to test this new WordPress release on a separate copy of your site to make sure it’s compatible. If you’re interested in this option, please contact us now to plan accordingly.
• Should your site experience compatibility issues with the new editor, our team will start by deactivating the new editor and reactivate the “classic editor” (which is the one you are using now). Your website will still be fully functional and our team will help you evaluate what will be needed to fix the problems encountered.

We follow the evolution of WordPress 5.0 on a daily basis and have your best interests at heart.

If you have any questions about the upcoming release of WordPress 5.0, do not hesitate to communicate with us and we will gladly assist you.

Thank you for your trust.

We hope you can take advantage of our strategy when WordPress 5.0 is released. If you can’t do it by yourself, do not hesitate to ask our WordPress experts for help!