As of now, I am shooketh at what I’ve read about upcoming features for WordPress 6.8. The release will be in April 2025 and it’s more of a bug-fix and stability update, rather than filled with a lot of useful features.

I’ve been interested in WordPress for a long time, exploring its features here and there whenever I had the chance. That said, I still consider myself new to blogging since this particular blog is just getting started. Some of you have noticed that I seem to know my way around web design and WordPress, and that’s simply because I enjoy learning. There’s something about WordPress that keeps me coming back—it’s been a quiet little hobby of mine for quite some time.

Currently I’m keeping track of the WordPress 6.8 update, and one of the features in it is something called Speculative Loading. I’ve actually tried it and O. M. G. It’s absolutely amazing! They’re not lying here. I’ve tried this feature both locally and on a live server (using a domain I will not disclose of course, but it’s unrelated to this one) and I’ve also tried it with different browsers. The speed is absolutely thrilling!

I’ve often had issues with WordPress and performance, but this plugin that will be a part of the WordPress core when the 6.8 version comes out will most likely erase those issues. And I can’t wait! Luckily, both WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress blogs will take advantage of this and the major changes in speed that we will see in other browsers like Safari (that’s filled with bugs) will most likely be through the roof. After my own testing, I noticed huge differences in the WordPress admin.

Most noticeable changes that I saw was in the WordPress site editor, because in Safari – it’s extremely buggy so that I usually have to use Chrome or some other browser just to add, change or delete something without my site crashing down on me. With this plugin, I saw no bad things whatsoever and that’s amazing to me! Imagine what it will be for everybody else after this plugin is integrated into the WordPress core?!

Here’s some more information about the Speculative Loading plugin for WordPress 6.8 release

WordPress 6.8 introduces native support for speculative loading, a feature designed to enhance site performance by enabling near-instant page load times. This functionality leverages the Speculation Rules API to prefetch or pre-render URLs based on user interactions, such as hovering over links, thereby reducing load times for subsequent pages. 

By default, WordPress 6.8 employs a conservative prefetching strategy, initiating resource loading only when there’s a strong indication of user intent to navigate to a particular link. This approach balances performance benefits with resource efficiency. Developers can customize speculative loading behavior using newly introduced filters, allowing for tailored configurations to suit specific site requirements. 

Prior to its integration into the core, speculative loading was available through the Speculative Loading plugin, which has been successfully utilized on over 50,000 WordPress sites. With the release of WordPress 6.8, the core implementation adopts a more conservative prefetching strategy compared to the plugin’s moderate prerendering approach. The plugin will adapt to the core implementation, allowing for deeper customization. 

It’s important to note that the Speculation Rules API is currently supported in Chromium-based browsers such as Chrome (version 108 and above) and Edge (version 108 and above). Browsers that do not support this API will ignore the functionality without any adverse effects, maintaining the site’s original behavior. 

Overall, the integration of speculative loading in WordPress 6.8 represents a significant advancement in enhancing user experience through improved site performance.

Final thoughts

I know that this information clearly states that it works primarily in Chrome and Edge based browsers, but I’ve tested it in Safari and I really saw amazing changes in speed and performance which is kind of unheard of previously regarding WordPress.

Have you tried this plugin? If you have, what is your experience with it in performance? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

I moderate all comments, so it might take a while for you to get a response. Trolling will be reported to WordPress.com and legal action will be taken if continued. Please read my comment policy before you leave a comment, thanks!