WordPress 5.5 Released
WordPress has released version 5.5. and with it comes some more changes that try and take over management of your site. Make sure you take a backup before you upgrade!
Image Lazy Load
In WordPress 5.5, images wait to load until they’re just about to scroll into view. The technical term is ‘lazy loading.’ If you have a plugin or theme that already does this make sure you test for compatibility.
Sitemaps
WordPress 5.5 now includes an XML sitemap. Most professionally developed sites use an SEO plugin for this function and, as part of the setup, exclude certain “pages” from the map. It looks like the WP sitempa contains any and all possible pages including tags ad authors. Luckily it looks like if you have a sitemap then the WP is not in play. Make sure you have the “right” sitemap loading after you upgrade. If you want to control your sitemap without all the SEO bells and whistles then try the simple Google XML Sitemap plugin.
Auto Update of Plugins
WordPress now introduces auto-updates for Plugins and Themes (presumably only their own). Luckily it is off by default. We recommend you leave this off as auto updates can be very dangerous, particularly for WooCommerce sites. It is OK to auto-update WP default plugins like Askimet but auto-updating plugins used by your theme or that you have added yourself is dangerous. You should back and test first; ideally on a test site before going live with changes.
