At WebDevStudios, we know that every second counts when you’re building and managing websites. That’s why we’re always looking for ways to make WDS BT more efficient, more intuitive, and more powerful—so you can focus on creating, not troubleshooting. With the release of WDS BT v1.1, we’re taking a big step forward in optimizing performance, cleaning up code, and making sure your site runs as smoothly as possible.
This release introduces a unique feature that no other block theme currently has: Smarter Loading of Third-Party Block Styles. We’re also highlighting a key fix in the Query Block to keep your post listings reliable and predictable.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s new and how these improvements will make your work easier.
Smarter Loading of Third-Party Block Styles
One of the biggest pain points in block-based themes is unnecessary CSS bloat—stylesheets loading even when they aren’t needed. WDS BT v1.1 is the first block theme (that we know of) to solve this issue. Instead of enqueuing third-party block styles globally, they now load only when the block is actually used—just like core blocks in WordPress. Additionally, with this new release, we now have the ability to override styles of third-party blocks as needed.
What does this mean for you?
- Faster load times because your site isn’t weighed down by unused CSS.
- Better performance with fewer assets to process.
- More control over third-party block styles, allowing customization without unnecessary overrides.
- A more scalable, efficient approach to building with third-party blocks.
If you’ve ever had to manually dequeue styles or fight against unnecessary CSS, this update should feel like a breath of fresh air. It’s a small change with a big impact on performance and maintainability.
Query Block Fix: Keeping Your Post Counts Consistent
If you’ve ever worked with sticky posts in WordPress, you might have noticed some unexpected behavior—especially when it comes to respecting the perPage count. While this fix has been in WDS BT since version 1.0, it’s something we want to highlight because of its importance to a smooth content workflow. This is currently being discussed to be fixed in core here: https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/41184
With this improvement, you can trust that:
- The perPage count will always be respected, even if you’re using sticky posts.
- Query results will stay consistent and predictable.
- You won’t have to manually override post counts or adjust layouts due to unexpected behavior.
For developers and content managers alike, this means one less thing to worry about—and a more reliable experience when working with dynamic content.
More Improvements You’ll Notice
Beyond these key updates, WDS BT v1.1 includes several refinements to improve workflow, speed, and security:
- Code Cleanup & Performance Enhancements
- Removed redundant CSS and unused files.
- Standardized function naming for cleaner, more maintainable code.
- Minified CSS/JS for improved frontend performance.
- Faster Build Processes
- Refactored Webpack for more efficient builds.
- Integrated automated accessibility checks.
- Enhanced CI/CD workflows for more reliable deployments.
- Security & Stability Improvements
- Strengthened security by properly escaping outputs.
- Applied WordPress coding standards for cleaner, safer code.
- Deferred non-essential scripts to improve loading times.
What’s Next for WDSBT?
We’re always looking ahead, and our focus remains on making WDS BT the most efficient, developer-friendly block theme available. That means continuing to refine performance, improve security, and push the block editor experience forward.
We’d love to hear your thoughts! If you have feedback or ideas, drop by the repository and let us know how we can make WDS BT even better for you.
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