Is your WordPress.com site ready for a refresh? Today, we’re unveiling Seedlet, a new theme that’s simple yet stylish.

Designed by Kjell Reigstad, Seedlet is a great option for professionals and creatives seeking a sophisticated vibe. Classically elegant typography creates a refined site that gives your writing and images space to breathe — and shine. 

Seedlet was built to be the perfect partner to the block editor, and supports all the latest blocks. Writing, audio, illustrations, photography, video — use Seedlet to engage and direct visitors’ eyes, without the theme getting in the way. And the responsive design shifts naturally between desktop and mobile devices.

Learn more about setting up Seedlet, and explore the demo site to see it in action. 

Our team is hard at work developing new block-powered themes. Watch this space for updates!

The world is mobile, and your visitors and customers expect to be able to easily contact you using their mobile device. With WordPress.com’s new WhatsApp button, you can provide a one-click, secure way for people to open WhatsApp, with your phone number and a message pre-filled.

Adding the button is easy. In the block editor, create a new block and search for WhatsApp:

The WhatsApp button is available now to all WordPress.com sites on a Premium, Business, or eCommerce plan. You can upgrade your site to one of these plans, try it out for 30 days, and if you’re not satisfied with your upgrade we’ll grant you a full refund.

If you decide to cancel your paid plan after you’ve already accepted the free custom domain, the domain is yours to keep. We simply ask that you cover the costs for the domain registration.

We hope the WhatsApp button helps you connect with your customers and visitors in new ways. Give it a try today!

We wanted to make it easier to manage posts and pages when you’re working within the Block Editor. With the Block Editor Sidebar you can view, create, edit, and manage posts and pages right from the Block Editor!  

Wait, another sidebar?

Have you ever finished editing something and then needed to make a quick edit to an existing post, or start a new one? Previously this meant navigating to your dashboard and to the posts list.

The Block Editor Sidebar allows you to view and access your site’s posts and pages — whether they’re drafts, published, or scheduled — and create new ones right from the editor.

Using the sidebar

The sidebar is available in the Block Editor when editing both posts and pages. For now, when editing a post you’ll only be able to see recent posts, and create new posts. Similarly, if you’re editing a page you’ll see a list of your recent pages and a link to create a new page.

The following steps refer to posts, but you can use the same steps to edit pages.

Open an existing post or create a new one to open the editor.

To view the sidebar, click on the WordPress.com logo at the top left of the editor.

To return to your posts list, select the View Posts link.

To load an existing post, select the post title in the list of recent posts. Unless it’s already been published, the post’s status will appear next to the title, for example “Draft” or “Scheduled.”

To create a new post, click on the Add new post link.

To dismiss the sidebar, click anywhere outside the sidebar or press the “Escape” key.

What’s next?

Now that we have the Block Editor Sidebar in place, we’ll extend its capabilities with more tools and shortcuts to help you manage your site’s content.

Do you have ideas for site-level features you’d like to see in the Block Editor Sidebar? Or suggestions about how we can improve this feature? Please let us know in the comments!