WordPress is releasing an update to its fundamental code – jQuery. How will it affect you?
jQuery is a JavaScript library that relates to the functionality of your website. Big changes like this may cause some uneven work and different issues. However, you don’t need to be a developer to make sure your site is ready for the update.
WordPress is updating for many reasons. Among them are the modern features, better DX, and security improvements. The update is expected to make some major changes. That is why we want to make sure your website will be working properly.
What is expected with the new update?
First of all, the new update is about core improvements and lots of benefits.
Among core improvements are:
- Lazy-load iframes – enabled by adding the loading=”lazy” attribute to iframe tags on the front-end.
- Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS – the process can be done now in one click. URLs in the database are automatically replaced when the site and WordPress address are both using HTTPS.
- Standardize colors used in WP-admin CSS to a single palette – The palette makes it easy to build components your users can read, because half the range gives you great contrast with white type and a half with black, according to current accessibility guidelines.
- Ongoing cleanup – jQuery deprecations in WordPress Core and bundled themes show up not that often as they used to, and the notifications make more sense to the user.
Editor improvements
Some editor improvements can significantly improve your work.
- Drag and drop functionality – blocks and block patterns can now be directly dragged into posts and pages.
- Full height alignment – various blocks can now have an option to fill the entire screen size.
- Block variations – icon and description of a block variation are now shown in the block inspector, and a dropdown allows you to switch between the variations.
- Reusable blocks – increased usability and stability of the feature, and reusable blocks are now saved at the same time that the post is saved.
Why prepare for the update
jQuery is the foundation for many of the visually appealing functionalities of modern websites
Such things as animated hero sliders, fading texts, and responsive graphics are all driven by jQuery. For example, if your theme is a few years old and hasn’t been updated, it will be running an old version of JQuery and that means there’s a good chance it will break with the new update.
How to prepare your website for the update
WordPress typically comes pre-packaged with a legacy version of jQuery, but with version 5.7, the upcoming release, it will update the jQuery version from 1.1.2.4 to JQuery 3.5.1!
To guarantee the flawless performance of your website you need to take a few steps. There are several ways to check if it works.
Test your website first
One option – is to create the subdomain and launch a replica of your site on it. Check the update and its functionality, if everything’s fine you can launch live.
Another option you can try is to create a local website. That means you will run your website locally on your computer instead of a live server. This is a good way to test all the changes before updating WordPress.
For your convenience let’s break down the preparation process into several steps. For example:
- create a staging site first
- update the plugins and only then move to the themes update
- test the staging site to make sure all functionality is there
- if the staging site is working you can launch it live
Enable jQuery Migration Helper Plugin
This is the plugin that enables the migration script and gives website owners to update and test their code. The plugin can also revert your site back to the old version of jQuery in case something went wrong and issues occurred.
This is not a long-term solution. You can use it as a patch that aims to help solve some of the problems while reverting the site to an older version.
Another great option about this plugin is that if it detects an issue the first time a visitor uses the site, it will automatically downgrade to the legacy version of jQuery.
Contact theme and plugin developers
This is not the only way of how you can resolve an issue. You can always contact theme and plugin developers. Report an issue and ask for support.
We can assure you all StylemixThemes products are ready for the update and you will not face any problems. Even if you do please feel free to contact our support team, we will be happy to help you.
Not updating could be risky for your website.
The biggest reason to update is to keep your WordPress site secure. The new update changes how existing plugin and theme developers follow the WP code guidelines to keep their code updated, clean and safe. If any of the developers have not updated their code your website will be at risk, or malware infection, which is hard to resolve. However, by following these simple steps you can avoid any issues and enable a smooth transition to the new version of WordPress.