The benefits of Craft CMS 5.6

Craft CMS continues to evolve as a powerful and flexible content management system, and with the release of version 5.6, both developers and content managers are well catered to. This update introduces new features and improvements that streamline workflows, enhance accessibility, and provide more control over content management. In this blog, we take a look at the key improvements and how they elevate your Craft CMS experience to the next level.

One of the main focuses of Craft CMS is the user-friendly content management experience. Version 5.6 adds some smart improvements to this:

Cross-site Field Value Copying

For multi-site implementations, it is now possible to easily copy field values from one site to another. This prevents duplicate work and ensures consistent content across multiple sites.

Revised Color Fields

A highly requested feature is finally available: the ability to set a predefined color palette within color fields. This ensures more consistency in branding and prevents content managers from adding random colors that fall outside the brand style.

Advanced Link Fields

Links within your content receive a significant upgrade. In the "Advanced" section, additional settings can now be added, such as target, title text, ARIA label, URL suffix, classes, IDs, and relationship settings. This makes it easier to create SEO-friendly and accessible links without requiring additional manual adjustments.

Craft CMS 5.6 also offers improvements that make developers' work easier and provide new opportunities for custom solutions.

Standalone Live Preview

With the new standalone Live Preview, developers can open a specific route within the CMS to directly view the Live Preview of an item. This speeds up the editing process and makes it even easier for content managers to test changes in real-time before they go live.

Front-end Login and 2FA Templates

Where previously a lot of customization was needed, Craft CMS 5.6 now offers standard login and two-factor authentication templates for the front-end. This makes it easier to implement secure, well-designed login systems without extra plugins or complex code.

In addition to content management and development, there are also improvements in administration and security, making Craft CMS even more robust for production environments.

Manage Frontend Redirects

There is now a native way to manage redirects via a dedicated config/redirects.php file. This provides a streamlined method to process 404 requests and correctly redirect users without external plugins.

Read-only Settings for Secure Environments

In environments where allowAdminChanges is disabled, users can now view settings but not modify them. This prevents unwanted changes in production environments and increases security.

Site-specific Email Settings

For multi-site installations, unique email settings can be configured per site, such as the sender address, name, and HTML template. This is ideal for organizations with multiple brands or subdomains, each with their own communication preferences.

Craft CMS 5.6 brings over 200 improvements and optimizations, including enhanced accessibility, stability, and a smoother user experience. Whether you are a content manager looking to work faster and more efficiently or a developer seeking more control and flexibility, this update offers something for everyone.

With features like advanced link fields, an improved Live Preview, native redirects, and optimized color fields, Craft CMS confirms its reputation as one of the most versatile and user-friendly CMSs on the market.

Want to know more or curious about how we at PixelDeluxe use Craft CMS for custom solutions? Contact us and discover how we can help you!