The updates in WordPress 6.9, releasing the first week of December 2025, focus on some serious behind-the-scenes improvements that make your site faster and more efficient! This release addresses performance through 38 Trac tickets and 31 Gutenberg editor updates. There are many editor and database-level optimizations, but we’ll focus on the impact to the front-end changes and how they can improve web metrics like TTFB, FCP, and LCP. Even for sites with lots of content, users, or categories, these enhancements help pages load more quickly and run more smoothly.
Key Performance Improvements in WordPress 6.9:
- Smarter CSS loading: Only the CSS needed for the blocks on a page is loaded, reducing unnecessary code. The limit for inlining CSS has doubled, which helps more styles render immediately without extra file requests.
- Improved script handling: Non-essential scripts are deprioritized using the new fetchpriority attribute, and small scripts like the emoji loader are now placed in the footer to avoid blocking page rendering.
- Optimized background tasks: Cron jobs, such as scheduled posts or site cleanup routines, now run at the end of the page request instead of during it. This reduces delays that previously slowed down page loading for visitors.
- Better caching and data handling: WordPress now manages cached content more intelligently, reduces unnecessary term counting for categories and tags, and only loads user metadata when needed. These changes save memory, reduce server load, and improve response times.
- Frontend stability and smoother navigation: Layout shifts, especially in media blocks like video, are minimized. Navigation back and forth between pages feels almost instant, improving perceived performance for visitors.
- Web vitals impact: These optimizations together improve key performance metrics like TTFB, FCP, and LCP, which contribute to a faster, more responsive experience and better search engine performance.
One of the most noticeable improvements is in CSS and script loading. WordPress now detects which blocks are actually used on a page and only loads the necessary styles, avoiding the unnecessary CSS that could slow down rendering. Additionally, more CSS rules are inlined directly within the page, allowing the browser to display content faster. On the script side, WordPress now prioritizes critical scripts while deprioritizing non-essential ones. Even the small emoji script has been moved to the footer so it no longer blocks the page from loading. Together, these improvements help pages render more quickly and reduce delays in metrics like FCP and LCP.
Background tasks have also been optimized. In previous versions, scheduled posts, automated cleanups, and other cron-based tasks could run during the page load, sometimes causing delays for visitors. In 6.9, these tasks now run after the page finishes loading, ensuring visitors get a faster response without waiting for background operations. This is particularly beneficial for larger sites with high traffic or lots of scheduled actions, improving both perceived and actual page speed.
Caching and data handling have been refined as well. WordPress now tracks cached content more accurately, avoids unnecessary database operations for categories and tags, and only loads user information when it’s actually needed. These changes reduce server load, save memory, and make pages faster under heavy traffic. Combined with smarter CSS and script handling, they ensure a more stable and consistent experience for site visitors.
Finally, frontend stability and navigation have been improved. Layout shifts that could previously occur when images or videos loaded are now minimized, giving a cleaner, more professional appearance. Navigation back and forth between pages feels almost instant, even for logged-in users, thanks to browser caching improvements. These subtle but important changes contribute to a smoother, faster, and more predictable browsing experience.
For site owners, these updates mean your visitors see pages load faster, interact with your content more smoothly, and experience fewer layout shifts or delays. Importantly, these improvements are easy and often automatic, as you get the benefits simply by updating to WordPress 6.9. Faster page loads, improved web vitals metrics, and better performance for both large and small sites make this release a significant step forward for user experience.
If you have any concerns about your site’s speed, or if you want help identifying and resolving performance issues like these, and other factors that can affect page load and visitor experience, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team can review your site, recommend improvements, and make sure it runs as fast and smoothly as possible so your visitors have the best experience.
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